Nevada Gets a Gas Plant

The Public Utilities Commission of Nevada has approved NV Energy's plan to construct a natural gas-fired power plant near Apex for $350m.

“The decision by the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada will give the state’s largest energy provider a green light to spend about $350 million to build and connect what is known as a ‘peaking’ power plant because it is only turned on when demand for electricity peaks,” reports The Nevada Independent.

Critics, including Google and clean energy groups, decried the approval. They had called for more analysis and consideration of carbon-free alternatives, arguing that it was a shortsighted decision that would have negative environmental and energy impacts.

The NV Energy argued that the plant is necessary to fill a supply gap, particularly in the face of rising temperatures and uncertainty around purchasing energy from the open market.

“Nevada’s historic reliance on the energy market to meet peak period demand is no longer viable and has introduced significant risk of energy shortfalls and associated rolling blackouts in recent years,” NV Energy wrote in a filing to the utility commission last December.

The gas plant will be the first fossil fuel plant NV Energy has built in over a decade.

Goldman: IRA Will Cost US $1.2 Trillion

Biden’s big green push, the Inflation Reduction Act, is the most ambitious piece of climate/clean energy legislation in American history. Analysts at Goldman say that it’s going to cost a pretty penny.

“Goldman’s analysts estimate that the $1.2 trillion in government outlays will unleash another $3 trillion in investment by businesses and individuals to build and expand climate-friendly ventures,” reports Bloomberg.

Goldman’s estimate is triple that of the government’s. This is a watershed moment for both the renewable energy industry and the environmental movement. With such a boost to their efforts, there will be no more excuses or scapegoats available if the IRA’s impacts don’t live up to expectations.

100k Prepay Meters Installed in UK

The UK government has announced that over 94,000 prepayment meters were forcibly installed in homes in 2022 by energy companies such as British Gas, Scottish Power, and OVO Energy. Scottish Power was identified as the “worst offender” for installing over 24,000 prepayment meters.

This comes as household energy bill debt continues to rise, with an estimated 2 million English households falling into fuel poverty due to the crisis in Ukraine, according to Oilprice.com. In February, the UK government ordered a halt to forced installations until new regulations were introduced.

“Prepayment meters are pay-as-you go gas and electricity meters. They can be topped up online or with a card at certain shops and post offices,” reports Sky News. “About four million UK households have them. They are mostly used by people who are struggling financially - as they allow you to pay for small amounts at a time. But this means that when the money runs out, your electricity and heating switch off.”

“Today’s figures give a clear and horrifying picture of just how widespread the forced installation of prepayment meters had become, with last year seeing an average of over 7,500 force-fitted a month,” energy secretary Grant Snapps said. “Prepayment meters are right for some people, so I do not want to ban them outright, but I do have concerns that companies have not been treating their customers fairly, over an already difficult winter during which the government has tried to help families by paying around half the energy bill of the average household.”

The energy regulator, Ofgem, reported that household energy bill debt reached over $3 billion between July and September 2022, a $1 billion increase from the beginning of the year. The economic fallout from the energy crisis will likely evolve into a variety of political and economic controversies in the UK for years to come.

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Conversation Starters

1. China is bringing solar to Brazil. “Chinese state-owned energy company PowerChina has invested in a new solar PV plant with a 343MW capacity in Brazil. With a total investment of BRL1.8 billion (US$344 million), the construction is expected to start in March 2023 with a target to reach commercial operations in February 2025,” reports PV Tech. “According to state government officials, the project will be developed in the north-eastern state of Ceara, in the city of Mauriti. The Chinese state-owned energy company currently has six projects in the construction phase across the country. Last week, the Brazilian government unveiled a US$9.5 billion investment to improve its transmission lines and infrastructure in a move to boost solar PV and wind deployment.”

2. The Biden administration is about to get sued by a renewable energy company. “The nation’s largest geothermal power company is preparing to sue the Biden administration over its decision to protect a tiny toad, in the latest high-stakes showdown between renewable energy development and wildlife conservation,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “In a letter to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service…Ormat Technologies Inc. warned Wednesday that it would sue the wildlife service in 60 days if the agency doesn’t revisit its decision to declare the Dixie Valley toad an endangered species. That decision might otherwise derail Ormat’s plan for a Nevada geothermal plant that could potentially supply climate-friendly electricity to California.”

3. Big oil trouble in Iraqi Kurdistan. “Oil production in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region (KRI) is at risk after a halt in northern exports has forced firms operating there to divert crude to storage, where capacity is limited,” reports Reuters. “Iraq was forced to halt around 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude exports from the KRI on Saturday through an export pipeline that runs from its northern Kirkuk oil fields to the Turkish port of Ceyhan. Turkey halted the pumping of Iraqi crude from the pipeline after Iraq won an arbitration case in which it said Turkey had violated a joint agreement by allowing the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to export oil to Ceyhan without Baghdad's consent.”

Crom’s Blessing