Energy Transition

U.S. natural gas utilities are using innovation and technology to improve their portfolios, adding more renewable natural gas (RNG) and alternative fuels while reducing coal, executives said during the recent second quarter conference calls.  Some utility executives noted that higher costs affected their recovery from last year’s high natural gas prices, but they are steadily…

Louisville Gas & Electric Co. (LG&E) and Kentucky Utilities Co. (KU) have filed a joint application requesting approval by the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) to retire and replace three natural gas simple-cycle combustion turbines and four coal-fired electric generating units.  Under the proposal, the utilities would replace the retired facilities with two natural gas…

Sempra’s Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has reached a tentative settlement with California authorities in connection with claims made in 2019 that the utility’s natural gas was “renewable.” California Attorney General (AG) Rob Bonta announced the agreement Monday, in which he called the claims by SoCalGas misleading.  “The vast majority of natural gas — including…

Houston-based Fidelis New Energy LLC plans to build a carbon-neutral hydrogen facility in West Virginia using a combination of natural gas and renewable energy, in addition to carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS). The Mountaineer GigaSystem in Mason County would be completed in four phases, with the first phase expected to begin operations in 2028.…

Liberty Energy Inc. President Ron Gusek does not shy away from the reality of climate change. He is convinced the planet is warming and sea levels are rising. Still, these are not overwhelming problems that necessitate bans on natural gas and other fossil fuels. In fact, Gusek said, a diverse array of energy sources is…

Occidental Petroleum Corp., which has drawn the support of Warren Buffett to reduce carbon emissions from natural gas and oil operations, agreed to go all in on direct air capture (DAC) technology through a $1.1 billion deal to buy out technology pioneer Carbon Engineering Inc. Houston-based Oxy, as it is better known, said subsidiary 1PointFive…

Some North American renewable natural gas (RNG) operators are expecting a more favorable market for selling environmental credits after federal biofuel volume requirements were updated. Three of the largest domestic RNG operators said in their second quarter results that revamped rules issued in June by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) may help them improve…

Conservation groups are again challenging Alaska LNG’s export approval from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), arguing the agency’s latest environmental assessment should have measured the project’s potential contribution to climate change. The Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity submitted a petition to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia…

Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) has filed an application to develop a pilot project in the state that could produce up to 4.5 Bcf/year of renewable natural gas (RNG) using organic waste from chipped wood and nut shells.  If approved by regulators, the project would be the largest of its kind in California, according to…