BP to acquire retail power and gas provider EDF Energy Services as it shifts into broader energy market

Under the agreement, BP will obtain EDF’s full retail operating capabilities while EDF integrates with other BP businesses that are focused on decarbonization, including BP Wind Energy, BP pulse and BP Launchpad.

By Brett Dworski • Sept. 14, 2022

BlackRock blasts Republican AGs’ ‘misconceptions’ on its ESG role

The asset manager doesn’t “dictate to companies what specific emission targets they should meet,” BlackRock’s head of external affairs wrote last week in a letter. Rather, it asks companies to disclose climate-related data.

By Dan Ennis • Sept. 12, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

PECO Energy agrees to $150K civil penalty, energy assistance payments, for improper 2018-19 disconnections

The issues stem from software updates at PECO Energy's customer call center. The utility has also agreed to contribute about $400,000 to a bill payment assistance fund.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 30, 2022

Court places Tampa Electric on probation, orders $500K fine for fatal 2017 coal furnace accident

The utility will serve 36 months probation and implement a safety compliance plan designed by an independent third party auditor, in addition to the fine.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 29, 2022

Risk of cyberattack emerges as top concern of US executives

A PwC study shows cyber risk is a top concern among entire C-suite and corporate boards as companies are spending additional funds to boost resilience.

By David Jones • Aug. 24, 2022

What inflation – and the Inflation Reduction Act – mean for the clean energy sector

While inflation rates could pose challenges for clean energy projects, the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act could more than make up for those impacts, experts say. 

By Kavya Balaraman • Aug. 16, 2022

Ford unveils largest-ever renewable energy purchase from a US utility with 650-MW DTE Energy deal

The deal will allow every vehicle Ford builds in Michigan to be assembled with the equivalent of 100% carbon-free electricity 10 years earlier than its global goal, the company said.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 11, 2022

Xcel Energy expects to build $1.2B in power line projects under MISO’s new $10.3B transmission plan

At $7.4 billion, transmission spending makes up the second-largest piece of Xcel’s 5-year capital expenditure plan.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 9, 2022

Dominion Energy mulls appeal of ‘untenable’ performance standard for $9.8B offshore wind project

Meanwhile, the utility has paused hooking up data centers in northern Virginia due to transmission constraints, company officials said Monday.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 8, 2022

Virginia regulators approve Dominion Energy’s 2.6-GW, $9.8B offshore wind farm

The project will be the largest wind farm in the U.S. and the first with diversity hiring requirements, the Sierra Club noted.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 8, 2022

Duke Energy to consider selling its $4B, 5.1-GW commercial renewable energy arm, CEO Good says

Any earnings from the sale will be used to avoid high-interest debt as the company’s regulated utilities transition to clean energy, company leaders said Aug. 4.

By Emma Penrod • Aug. 5, 2022

Ford expands EV battery sourcing pool as supply concerns mount

The automaker is diversifying the mineral mix for batteries used in electric vehicles as it looks to ramp up production.

By Kate Magill • Aug. 5, 2022

GM secures supply agreements with LG Chem, 2 others to support goal of producing 1M EVs a year

The automaker’s sourcing agreements were announced as the industry scrambles to secure battery materials amid tight supply.

By Megan Ruggles • Aug. 5, 2022

Sunrun, SunPower gain as residential solar grows amid rising utility bills, reliability concerns: Morgan Stanley

Falling rooftop solar and microgrid prices could threaten utilities, according to Paul Patterson, a Glenrock Associates equity analyst.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 5, 2022

NRC authorizes Southern Nuclear to begin operation of Vogtle Unit 3

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision follows it issuing the first design certification for a small modular reactor and comes as Congress considers billions of dollars in financial incentives for existing nuclear plants.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 4, 2022

Global renewable investment sets new record at $226B in H1 despite supply chain constraints: BNEF

Bucking the “headwinds” of inflation and other challenges, BloombergNEF data shows an 11% rise in global renewable energy financing in the first half of 2022.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 3, 2022

NextEra’s ‘game-changing’ Real Zero emissions goal spurs questions about hydrogen, demand-side management

NextEra, the world’s biggest IOU by market cap, wants a “real” reduction of all carbon emissions by FPL, its regulated subsidiary, with solar, batteries and green hydrogen, but it will go without much help from the demand side.

By Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 3, 2022

Vistra, Sempra and Exelon poised for solid earnings this week: Morgan Stanley

For regulated energy companies, this earnings season “will be characterized by heightened sensitivity to beats and misses given a broader defensive leaning within the sector,” analysts say.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 1, 2022

Utility marketplaces are taking bold moves to build awareness

To increase customer awareness and drive traffic, utilities are making bold moves to differentiate their marketplaces from the plethora of options in today’s e-commerce landscape.

Aug. 1, 2022

First Solar mulls U.S. manufacturing expansion on prospect of new incentives

With its current manufacturing capacity sold out through 2023, First Solar CEO Mark Widmar says the creation of a new tax credit could put new U.S. factories on the table.

By Emma Penrod • July 28, 2022

AEP Q2 results belie recession talk as sales jump 3.5%, helping drive earnings growth, officials say

American Electric Power plans to launch a sales process for its unregulated renewable fleet by early September, officials said Wednesday in an earnings call.

By Ethan Howland • July 28, 2022

Tesla rewrites software to get around chip shortages hampering EV production

The semiconductor deficit has prompted the automaker to reduce the number of chips needed to produce a single vehicle.

By Sarah Zimmerman • July 27, 2022

NextEra plan for 200 MW solar, 75 MW storage at shuttered nuclear plant approved by Iowa regulators

An Alliant Energy utility plans to buy the project and recently increased a proposed cost cap for it by 23% because of supply chain and solar market disruptions.

By Ethan Howland • July 27, 2022

NextEra plans to shift away from Chinese solar panels within 2 years, company leaders say

NextEra continues to see growing demand — and rising profit margins — for renewable energy, setting the company on a path for significant growth, executives say.

By Emma Penrod • July 25, 2022

State regulators approve Georgia Power's plans to retire all coal plants by 2028 except for Plant Bowen

The state’s Public Service Commission voted to decide the retirement of the remaining two units at Plant Bowen, totaling nearly 1,600 MW, in the utility’s 2025 IRP proceeding.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • July 22, 2022