COLSTRIP, MT Coal-fired generation of elecricity

Until closure of Colstrip Unit 1 and 2, Coal-fired generation provided the majority of the electricity produced in Montana since construction of Colstrip Unit 4 was completed in 1986. In 2015, coal generated 16K GWh representing 55 percent of all in state electric generation, in 2017, 2300 MW 37 % of the states generating capacity. The majority of Montana’s coal-fired facilities are owned by regulated utilities. The four units in Colstrip are jointly owned by six entities: Unit 3 & 4 25% Puget Sound Energy, 30% Talen Energy, 20% NEW, 15% Avista Corp, 10% PacfiCorp. Units 1 and 2 are rated at 307 MW, units 3 and 4 at 740 MW.SHUT DOWN: In 2010, a significant number of coal-fired power plants across the nation announced plans for retirement. Since then, 101 GW of coal generation in US have...

Published on 7/21/2022 (244 days ago) Coal

Clean Coal Technology

What is Clean Coal Technology (CCT)? Clean coal technologies are several generations of technological advances that have led to more efficient combustion of coal with reduced emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide. The U.S Department of Energy (DOE) administers the CCT program to encourage and support public/private partnerships to research, develop and demonstrate clean coal technologies that ultimately can be brought to large-scale commercial deployment. In the first generation of CCT, private industry was required to provide half of the funding for each project, but historically contributed significantly more.The clean coal technology program has resulted in more than 20 new, lower cost, more efficient and environmentally compatible technologies for electric utilities, steel...

Published on 7/21/2022 (244 days ago) Coal

More than 20 Republican-led states sue Biden for canceling the Keystone XL pipeline (VOX)

In a last-ditch attempt to revive the Keystone XL pipeline, 21 states led by attorneys general from Texas and Montana have sued President Joe Biden, alleging he overstepped his presidential authority in canceling the pipeline.The lawsuit, which also names several of Biden’s Cabinet officials, argues the power to revoke Keystone XL lies with the states. In their complaint, filed March 17, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen allege Biden “lacks the power to enact his ‘ambitious plan’ to reshape the economy in defiance of Congress’s unwillingness to do so.”Read the Full Article At: VOX...

Published on 7/20/2022 (245 days ago) Oil/Gas

Biden Cancels Keystone XL Pipeline Permit (IER)

President Joseph R. Biden canceled the Keystone XL pipeline permit on his first day in office, despite the pipeline being completed at the border, the greenhouse gas emissions from the pipeline’s operation becoming carbon-free by 2023, the Canadian government supporting the pipeline, the technology advances that have resulted in a decline in greenhouse gas emissions per barrel of oil sands by 30 percent since 1990, the thousands of jobs that will be lost, and the less safe and more expensive movement by rail and truck that will be used to bring the Canadian oil into the United States instead. To make the $8 billion project more palatable for the Biden administration, Keystone XL’s owner TC Energy announced an array of initiatives to accompany the pipeline’s construction.Read the Full...

Published on 7/20/2022 (245 days ago) Oil/Gas

Biden administration cancels Alaska oil and gas lease sale (CBS News)

The Biden administration has canceled one of the most high-profile oil and gas lease opportunities pending before the Interior Department. The decision, which halts the potential to drill for oil in over 1 million acres in the Cook Inlet in Alaska, comes at a challenging political moment, when gas prices are hitting painful new highs.In a statement shared first with CBS News, the Department of the Interior cited a "lack of industry interest in leasing in the area" for the decision to "not move forward" with the Cook Inlet lease sale. The department also halted two leases under consideration for the Gulf of Mexico region because of "conflicting court rulings that impacted work on these proposed lease sales."Read the Full Article At: CBSNews.com...

Published on 7/20/2022 (245 days ago) Oil/Gas

5 big questions about the new Biden plan for offshore oil and gas leases (msn.com)

Just before the July 4 holiday, the federal agency that manages offshore energy development proposed a five-year plan for as many as 11 and as few as zero new oil and gas sites in the Gulf of Mexico and off Alaska’s coast.The proposal would clear the way for up to 10 new oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf and one in federal waters of Cook Inlet  — a significant decrease from the 47 lease sales proposed under a 2018 Trump administration draft plan.Read the Full Article At: MSN.com...

Published on 7/20/2022 (245 days ago) Oil/Gas