Ohio River discharge lawsuit settled by LG&E and the Sierra Club
In accordance with a proposed consent decree filed by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky at Louisville on Tuesday, Louisville Gas and Electric Company (LG&E) and the Sierra Club settled an active lawsuit concerning the handling of direct discharges from Mill Creek’s ash p... Read More »Minnesota Power partners with Smart Wires to optimize power grid
Minnesota Power and Smart Wires announced a partnership on Tuesday, releasing plans to deploy an innovative solution to optimize the flow of the power grid using devices installed directly on existing power lines that act as valves for electricity. The first deployment of Smart Wires at Minnesot... Read More »Washington utilities challenge Clean Air Rule
Four utility companies filed a joint action in the U.S. District Court on Tuesday, challenging the Washington Department of Ecology recent promulgation of the Clean Air Rule (CAR). Avista Corp., Cascade Natural Gas Corp., NW Natural and Puget Sound Energy offered feedback and public comment prior... Read More »U.S. nuclear power plants to provide $85 billion in carbon-abatement value by year 2020
The study “Nuclear Power and the Clean Energy Future” revealed on Monday that the carbon-abatement value of U.S. nuclear power plants will be worth approximately $85 billion by year 2020, without which states would find it very difficult to meet federal clean energy goals. The 531 million ton... Read More »Expanded whistleblower protection bill to cover fraud, abuse, waste
New legislation introduced on Monday by U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO) would strengthen protections for whistleblowers, after a report requested by the Government Accountability Office revealed instances of retaliation and intimidation within the Dep... Read More »Maryland Public Service Commission initiates distribution systems proceeding
The Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC) announced on Monday that it is launching a proceeding to review electric distribution systems in the state, drawing on insight gained from recent data from technical conferences. The proceeding will be conducted to ensure that distribution systems in M... Read More »NEI report reveals how the energy renaissance strengthened America’s economy
A second reported filed on Thursday in the New Energy Institute’s (NEI’s) Energy Accountability Series (EAS) found that America’s economy would currently be much weaker had oil and natural gas resources not been developed during the energy renaissance. The report delved into what would happ... Read More »Wisconsin to build a natural gas-fueled generating facility with solar field
Wisconsin began one of its largest economic and job growth projects on Thursday, announcing Alliant Energy’s Riverside Energy Center expansion, a 700-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fueled generating facility that integrates a two MW solar field. The project will cost approximately $700 million and ... Read More »Daniel G. Stoddard