Our July 2022 Power Generation & Supply Market Recap is a snapshot of the data and information we curate. We share industry drivers, notable projects, recent mergers and acquisitions, interesting reads, and updates on upcoming meetings and conferences.
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Industry Drivers
Our data team tracks new and updated industry drivers. Here are some recent drivers we have been following this month:
The Utility Thermal Energy Network and Jobs Act
Status: Proposed
Organization: State of New York Legislature
Summary: On July 5, 2022, the State of New York Senate passed a bill that authorizes the State’s utilities to possess and employ thermal energy networks. The bill would help buildings decarbonize at the utility and community level through thermal energy networks to reach New York’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA) goals. The bill charges the State’s Public Service Commission (PSC) with initiating proceedings to support and regulate thermal energy network deployment. The bill also states that the PSC must initiate proceedings by October 2022 and promulgate regulations by 2024.
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Rhode Island Affordable Clean Energy Security Act
Status: Effective
Organization: Rhode Island State Legislature
Summary: On July 6, 2022, Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed into law historic legislation seeking to expand state offshore wind energy resources. The new law requires a competitive market procurement for 600 to 1000 megawatts (MW) of the newly developed offshore wind capacity, leading Rhodes Island Energy, state's main utility, to issue the procurement no later than October 15, 2022. In addition, the bill allows the Public Utility Commission to decide whether the utility will receive a payment of up to 1% of the contract's amount.
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Illinois Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP)
Status: Proposed
Organization: Illinois Commerce Commission
Summary: On July 12, 2022, the Illinois Commerce Commission published the first draft of the Renewable Energy Access Plan (REAP), which establishes the state's shift to a lower carbon energy mix. The REAP identifies key working areas and gives steps for energy transmissions and land analysis to be used for the coming months. In addition, the Plan will serve as a document for clarifying and quantifying policy requirements regarding the volume of renewable and clean resources needed over time. The Plan is required by the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), which sets a target of 100% clean energy in Illinois by 2050. Under the law, the commission must open an investigation by December 31 to develop and adopt a renewable energy access plan. REAP was the first; a second draft is expected later this year.
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Reinvesting in Shoreline Economies and Ecosystems Act (RISEE Act)
Status: Proposed
Organization: U.S Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee
Summary: On July 21, 2022, the U.S Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee advanced legislation providing funding for solutions to increase climate resilience. The RISEE Act will fund coastal infrastructure and resiliency to protect the vulnerable communities and businesses most impacted by sea level rise and coastal erosion, improving their quality of life, creating jobs, and enhancing water quality. This act would also direct funding to the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund (NOCSF) from revenue generated by offshore wind production. In addition, it would expand restoration funding for the Mississippi River Delta and the Gulf Coast by eliminating the revenue sharing cap under the 2006 Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act (GOMESA).
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An Act Advancing Offshore Wind and Clean Energy
Status: Proposed
Organization: State of Massachusetts Legislature
Summary: On July 25, 2022, the Massachusetts legislature passed a climate bill to expand offshore wind energy and energy efficiency, limit biomass subsidies, and curb transportation emissions. The bill targets offshore wind to reach 5.6 gigawatts (GW) by 2027. The bill is a massive step towards abandoning fossil fuels while growing a local clean energy economy that creates good-paying jobs.
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Inflation Reduction Act of 2022
Status: Proposed
Organization: U.S. Senate
Summary: On July 27, 2022, the U.S Senate introduced a budget reconciliation bill that includes about $138 billion in energy security and climate spending. The bill addresses record inflation by paying the national debt and lowering energy and health care costs. In addition, the bill addresses the nation's energy and climate crisis leading to the adoption of common sense solutions that allows decarbonization, ensuring American energy is clean, affordable, reliable, and secure. The bill invests in domestic energy production and manufacturing, thus reducing carbon emissions. In addition, the bill includes new production tax credits lending the department of energy $2 billion for transmission projects, $760 million for interstate power lines, and $100 million for interregional and offshore wind transmission planning and analysis.
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The Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act (WRDR Act)
Status: Proposed
Organization: House of Representatives
Summary: On July 29, 2022, the House of Representatives passed the Wildfire Response and Drought Resiliency Act to support desalination projects and strengthen the electric grid threatened by wildfires. The bill includes the Desalination Development Act, which authorizes $260 million over the next five years for desalination projects and creates new environmental safeguards for the funded projects, made possible by the Infrastructure and Investments Jobs Act (IIJA). It also includes the Desalination Research Advancement Act, which would reauthorize the Bureau of Reclamation’s desalination research grant authorities and increase its funding authorization from $5 million per year to $20 million per year through FY 2027. The bill also includes the Grid Resilience Act, legislation to conduct a joint study on a reliability standard for thermoelectric power plants during droughts. Finally, it consists of the Reinforcing the Grid Against Extreme Weather Act which requires the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish minimum transfer capability requirements between transmission planning regions. This would provide significant reliability benefits as planning areas could share power in the case of a power emergency.
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Notable Projects
We track notable projects from the proposal stage to becoming effective. Here are some of the recent notable projects we have been tracking.
$1.1 Billion Dunns Bridge Solar Project
Type: Generation - Solar
Status: Proposed
Organization: NextEra Energy, Inc.
Region: Indiana
Summary: The groundbreaking of the Dunns Bridge Solar Project took place on November 10, 2021, at the Dunns Bridge site near Wheatfield. The project is an innovative solar project proposed by NextEra Energy, Inc. in Jasper and Starke Counties, Indiana, that will combine up to 700 megawatts (MW) of clean solar energy with 75 MW of battery energy storage. The project will occupy a total land area of 5,000 acres. Construction began in August 2021, and the project's first phase (265 MW solar) is scheduled to start operations by the end of 2022. The second phase of the project (435 MW solar and 75 MW battery energy storage) is expected to begin operations by the end of 2023. According to the Applicant, the project is valued at an estimated $1 billion.
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$326 Million Castle Gap Wind
Type: Generation - Onshore Wind
Status: Proposed
Organization: Swift Current Energy
Region: Texas
Summary: Swift Current Energy has signed an agreement with the Nordex Group on December 14, 2021, to purchase 41 N149/4.X wind turbines for the proposed Swift Current’s Castle Gap Wind Project in Central Texas. The project will be a 196 megawatts (MW) nameplate capacity wind-powered electric generation facility located in Mills County, Texas. The Facility will also include electric interconnection facilities necessary to effectuate the Company’s wholesale power sales from the Facility. Delivery and installation of the turbines is scheduled for summer 2022 with commissioning of the turbines planned for the end of the same year. According to Power Technology, the project is valued at an estimated $326 million.
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$258 Million Ready Wyoming Project
Type: Transmission - New
Status: Proposed
Organization: Black Hills Corp.
Region: Wyoming
Summary: Black Hills Corp., a subsidiary of Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, submitted filings on February 15, 2022, to the Wyoming Public Service Commission (WPSC) for the proposed Ready Wyoming Project. The filing is a request to construct an estimated 260-mile transmission expansion project. The facilities will be in four Wyoming counties: Converse, Laramie, Platte, and Goshen, and a bit of mileage in Nebraska. The project includes one new substation, two replacement substations, four expanded substations, three new 230-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines, and two new 115-kilovolt (kV) transmission lines. If approved, the project's construction will occur in multiple phases or segments spanning 2023 through 2025. According to Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, the estimated cost of the Ready Wyoming Project is approximately $258 million.
Contact FirmoGraphs to See the Document
$217.7 Million Cherrywood Solar I Project
Type: Generation - Solar
Status: Proposed
Organization: Cherrywood Solar 1, LLC
Region: Maryland
Summary: Cherrywood Solar 1, LLC submitted filings on February 15, 2022, to the Maryland Public Service Commission (MPSC) for the proposed Cherrywood Solar Project. The project will be an approximately 202 megawatts (MW) solar electric generating facility on about 1,000 acres in the Towns of Greensboro and Goldsboro, Maryland. The project is being developed by Open Road Renewables and is currently owned by Cherrywood Solar I. The company is expected to install 499,806 modules at the site. Construction of the project started on April 16, 2022, and is expected to begin operations on April 16, 2023. According to Cherrywood Solar 1, LLC, the project will cost $217.7 million to build.
Contact FirmoGraphs to See the Document
Notable M&A
The following M&A transactions in the Power Generation and Supply Industry stand out in the month of June:
What We Are Reading
Here are some recent articles our team has been reading:
- Wind Developers Plan To Add 6 Gigawatts Of U.S. Offshore Wind Capacity Through 2029
- NYS Public Service Commission approves utilities EV charging infrastructure programs
- FirstEnergy submits plans to modernize grid for its Ohio utilities
- Georgia Power’s Integrated Resource Plan approved by Georgia regulators
- "Newsom sets out 20GW offshore wind target for California"
- To avoid blackouts, California may tap fossil fuel plants
- Minnesota Power and Great River Energy to Build Transmission Line to Bolster Electric Reliability in Northern Minnesota
- Bureau of Land Management OKs California solar project
- Fluor wins contract for Gulf Coast liquefied natural gas project
- GoM: Department of the Interior announces next steps for offshore wind energy in Gulf of Mexico
- Pattern plans 'largest ever US green power infrastructure project' with $8bn SunZia
- BLM approves construction for Starwood’s 3.2 GW Arizona-to-California transmission line
- Carbon capture projects, regional CO2 pipeline design to get $2.6B in DOE funding proposal
- $225M for energy-efficient building codes, $96M for EV charging, innovation in new DOE funding
- FirstEnergy proposes $626M Ohio grid modernization plan with smart meters, bidirectional EV chargers
- Hawaiian Electric proposes $190M of resiliency spending in first phase of climate adaption push
- New York turns to transmission expansion to meet clean energy goals as NextEra energizes 3.7-GW line
- Nuclear industry applauds Tennessee Valley Authority request for 5 GW of clean energy by 2029
- Panasonic to open $4B EV battery plant in Kansas
- WAPA approves interconnection request for ConnectGen’s 504-MW Wyoming wind project
- Tech giants plan to spend billions to construct new plants, data centers
- EPA, Justice Department, and State of Colorado settlement with DCP Operating Company LP Resolves Clean Air Act Violations at natural gas plants in Colorado
- NextEra plan for 200 MW solar, 75 MW storage at shuttered nuclear plant approved by Iowa regulators
- New York announces 2-GW offshore wind solicitation with a focus on supply chain infrastructure
- MISO board approves $10.3B transmission plan to support 53 GW of renewables
- DOE announces $2.5B loan to GM, LG Energy JV to support EV growth as US battery manufacturing heats up
Meeting Planner
Organizations have shifted their event strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic. We are tracking these changing meeting plans.
Meetings in August and September 2022
- AWEA American Clean Power Week - Aug. 15 - Aug. 19, 2022
- AESP Summer Con - Aug. 16 - Aug. 18, 2022
- ICMA National Brownfields Training Conference - Aug. 16 - Aug. 19, 2022
- ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings - Aug. 21 - Aug 26, 2022
- AshTrans Transglobal Ash Conference - Sept. 5 - Sept. 6, 2022
- EGSA Fall Conference - Sept. 11 - Sept.13, 2022
- NCTA Annual Business Meeting and Conference - Sept. 12 - Sept. 14, 2022
- ICMA Annual Conference - Sept. 17 - Sept. 21, 2022
- SEPA RE+ - Sept. 19 - Sept. 22, 2022
- AEE World Energy Conference & Expo - Sept. 21 - Sept. 23, 2022
- ACAA Fall Membership Meeting - Sept. 27 - Sept. 28, 2022
Early Bird Registration
- Event: ICMA National Brownfields Training Conference
Dates: Aug. 16 - Aug. 19, 2022
Deadline for Early Registration: Aug. 15, 2022 - Event: ICMA Annual Conference
Dates: Sept. 17 - Sept. 21, 2022
Deadline for Early Registration: Aug. 17, 2022