Welcome to Grid Brief! Here’s what we’re looking at today: Colorado steps away from 2.1 GW of renewables, an East Coast storm leaves customers in the dark, and more.

Colorado PUC Hits Brakes on 2.1 GW of Renewables

The Colorado Public Utility Commission delayed substantial parts of Xcel’s $15 billion clean energy plan. The PUC postponed wind and solar projects, as well as about $3 billion in transmission.

“The alternative plan Colorado regulators approved includes 5,835 MW of new resources compared with almost 7,200 MW in the preferred portfolio,” reports Utility Dive. “The alternative plan also reduces the share of new generation that Xcel would own, from roughly two-thirds to about 50-50.”

The regulator paused on the projects so it can more prudently move forward with regards to cost, especially concerning transmission. “If we approve all the generation that’s in the preferred plan, I’m concerned that we may be obligated to the new transmission no matter what the costs,” PUC Chairman Eric Blank told Utility Dive.

Xcel initially suggested 3,406 MW of wind capacity, yet received approval for only 1,700 MW. Likewise, their solar proposal of 1,969 MW was cut to 1,619 MW. Approved storage resources totaled 1,848 MW, differing from the utility’s desired portfolio of 1,170 MW.

The Colorado PUC’s cautious approach reflects a downbeat swing in the renewable energy sector. A recent report from Alpha Sense, an energy analytics firm, shows that renewable energy profit margins shrank sector-wide this year. Recently, solar equipment manufacturer Enphase cut 10% of its staff, citing market turbulence. SunPower, rooftop solar firm, also saw its stock slide 41% on Monday.

Storm Batters East Cost Power System

The East Coast is getting hammered by a storm that has left hundreds of thousands without power.

Flood warnings have stretched from Maine to South Carolina. As we mentioned in this week’s Monopoly Area Monday, Florida has already been battered by the storm.

“From Virginia to Maine, 701,766 customers were without power, with more than 270,000 in the dark in Massachusetts,” reports Bloomberg. Hundreds of flights have also been cancelled as a result of the storm.

Experts say the storm is only going to grow more powerful, with some places potentially seeing wind speeds as high as 70mph.

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Conversation Starters

• BP pauses Red Sea tanker routes. “BP Plc said it will pause all shipments through the Red Sea after attacks on merchant vessels escalated, adding to signs that trade through the vital waterway is grinding to a halt,” reports Bloomberg. “BP’s decision, the most tangible sign of disruption to energy flows since the Hamas-Israel war started, comes days after all the world’s top container shipping lines said they were temporarily halting. Norway’s Equinor ASA made a similar announcement hours later.”

• The US tries to enforce Russian crude price cap. “The United States will push shippers to disclose more information about their Russian oil dealings in a bid to enforce sanctions, U.S. officials said on Monday, while acknowledging that a big chunk of the trade has already escaped Western oversight after Russia built a parallel fleet,” reports Reuters.

  “The Group of Seven countries (G7) agreed a price for Russian crude in December last year, which bans Western companies from providing maritime services including financing, insurance and shipping for oil sold above $60 per barrel.”

• Israeli group claims credit for Iranian gas station cyberattack. “Iran’s petrol stations nationwide have been disrupted by a cyberattack, according to Iranian officials, who have placed blame on a hacking group linked to Israel, Iranian and Israeli media report. It is unclear how many petrol stations have been affected in the attack, with the Iranian oil minister saying earlier on Monday that some 70% had been disrupted, but later noting that 1,650 out of 3,800 petrol stations had been attacked,” reports Oilprice.com. “Iran is blaming a hacking group that goes by the name of ‘Predatory Sparrow’ (Gonjeshke Darande), which issued a Telegram statement saying that the attack was ‘carried out in a controlled manner to avoid potential damage to emergency services’. The stated reason for the attack was ‘in response to the aggression of the Islamic Republic and its proxies in the region’. The same group has claimed responsibility for cyberattacks on Iran in the past.”

Crom’s Blessing

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