An environmental assessment published by the Department of Energy found that Project Tundra, a major coal carbon capture project proposed in North Dakota, would emit more greenhouse gases than it stores. The environmental assessment also “includes numerous egregious errors” and “does not even meet the basic standards” for a life cycle assessment, according to Dr. Emily Grubert, former deputy assistant secretary of carbon management at the Department of Energy. As the Department of Energy considers funding the coal carbon capture project, documents show that cost estimates for Project Tundra ha ..read more

A coal industry group focused on keeping coal plants from retiring has lost all of its members that are investor-owned utilities and railroads, and recently deleted the list of member companies from its website. In a sign of the declining political power of the once-broad coalition of coal-supporting interests, “America’s Power” members now consist mostly of coal mining companies, along with a few smaller power companies that account for just 6.25% of US coal generation. The group describes itself as “a partnership of industries involved in producing electricity from coal,” and seeks to influe ..read more

A North Dakota coal industry front group, the Lignite Energy Council, has jumped state lines to wage a campaign to weaken a bill in Minnesota that would require the state’s utilities to transition to 100% clean electricity by 2040. While the Lignite Energy Council has touted its success in working with Republican state legislators in Minnesota to block clean energy legislation during previous sessions, the coal industry group now appears focused on weakening the bill by including coal carbon capture projects. Among the groups promoting carbon capture to Minnesotans is the “Coalition for a Secu ..read more

– The Department of Energy increased its share of the costs to study a carbon capture proposal at the San Juan Generating Station in the final week of the Trump administration. – Enchant has focused its spending on lobbyists for additional subsidies from Congress, federal agencies, and the state of New Mexico. – Environmental and Native groups say the federal government must complete an Environmental Impact Statement before continuing to fund the carbon capture proposal. The developers of a controversial coal carbon capture proposal at the San Juan Generating Station in New Mexico have not att ..read more

A rate increase settlement between Florida Power and Light, Florida’s consumer advocate, and several intervenors would result in an increase in customer bills over the next four years and fund investments in fossil gas infrastructure.  The settlement would guarantee a 10.6% return on equity for the utility, a measure of profitability that would be the highest of any utility in the state. The Florida Public Service Commission (PSC) will review the settlement later this week, which Florida Power and Light (FPL) reached with the state’s Office of Public Counsel, which is charged with represe ..read more

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission has rejected a coal industry front group’s efforts to intervene in Xcel Energy’s resource plan, after the Colorado Office of Consumer Counsel and Colorado Energy Office highlighted an Energy and Policy Institute investigation showing that the group’s earlier efforts before the Commission were part of an effort by Wyoming’s coal industry to keep coal plants running. In April, attorneys claiming to represent the “Coalition of Ratepayers” sought to intervene in Xcel Energy’s resource planning process before the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC). P ..read more

Minnesota’s Attorney General thinks utility ratepayers should not be forced to fund the Lignite Energy Council, a coal industry group that has opposed clean energy policies in Minnesota and supported policies that subsidize the coal industry in North Dakota and nationally.  The Minnesota Attorney General (AG)’s office submitted testimony to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission last month objecting to Otter Tail Power’s efforts to charge its ratepayers for dues it pays to the Lignite Energy Council. The AG’s office explained that the Lignite Energy Council does not benefit electric ra ..read more

The generation and transmission association that provides electricity to large swaths of the rural West and Upper Midwest is facing increasing pressure from its member cooperatives and lenders about its reliance on coal, challenges to its rates in proceedings at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and efforts by some member cooperatives to end their contracts in order to purchase wholesale power from other providers. Those challenges facing Basin Electric reflect the growing tension between some of the electric cooperatives that provide electricity to much of rural America, and the gener ..read more

A coal industry group focused on keeping coal plants from retiring has lost all of its members that are investor-owned utilities and railroads, and recently deleted the list of member companies from its website. In a sign of the declining political power of the once-broad coalition of coal-supporting interests, “America’s Power” members now consist mostly of coal mining companies, along with a few smaller power companies that account for just 6.25% of US coal generation. The group describes itself as “a partnership of industries involved in producing electricity from coal,” and seeks to influe ..read more

A North Dakota coal industry front group, the Lignite Energy Council, has jumped state lines to wage a campaign to weaken a bill in Minnesota that would require the state’s utilities to transition to 100% clean electricity by 2040. While the Lignite Energy Council has touted its success in working with Republican state legislators in Minnesota to block clean energy legislation during previous sessions, the coal industry group now appears focused on weakening the bill by including coal carbon capture projects. Among the groups promoting carbon capture to Minnesotans is the “Coalition for a Secu ..read more