EarlyBird News

The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) responsible for the operations of the state’s energy market is waiting for $2B in payments from retail providers to pay suppliers after the winter vortex made energy prices skyrocket to over $9,000/MWh. ERCOT was able to transfer $800M from a separate market, but still owes $1.3B. If ERCOT […]

Over the past years there has been a fight over the building of an AVANGRID power line bringing hydroelectric energy from Quebec to the New England area. The project is estimated to cost $1B, and last week was hit with a referendum that would kill the project if approved by Maine legislators. This project is […]

As rolling blackouts began in Texas last Thursday, ERCOT officials have said the power grid was “seconds and minutes” from a complete collapse. If the grid would have gone down it could have created random, uncontrollable blackouts for months to come. This would have created an “indeterminably long” crisis, as grid operators took difficult decisions […]

As Texas continues to see extreme cold weather the natural gas industry is facing extreme pressure from all angles. Governor Greg Abbott has decided to act on the matter by forbidding sales to power producers outside its borders through Feb 21. Natural Gas suppliers will have to sell to Texas power generation assets until that […]

Residents across Texas found themselves covered in snow and freezing temperatures this Monday February 15th. People went inside their cars and turned on heaters as the temperature in their homes without insulation dropped below 40 degrees. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) responsible for operating the electric grid issues rotating blackouts as generation assets […]

Elon Musk – $100M Carbon-Capture Prize Challenge Elon Musk unveiled a $100M prize pool for the Carbon Removal XPrize challenge for companies to design and build carbon capture technologies. More specifically, the goal is for teams to construct a project that makes a meaningful difference in removing carbon from the atmosphere, instead of just neutralizing […]

Most recently the Baker Administration released a draft of the roadmap to achieve zero emissions by 2050, part of which include the 2030 Clean Energy and Climate Plan (CECP). This plan establishes carbon reduction goals of 45% by 2030, and we are currently at 22% meaning this plan will require the building of more renewables, […]

As companies ask their employees to work from home, residential energy usage has jumped over the past year. In comparison to 2016 – 2019, residential electricity usage increased by 10%, commercial decreased by 12%, and industrial decreased by 14%. Particularly, this has been the case in the most densely populated areas of the U.S such […]

The Department of Energy (DOE) just released its new Hydrogen Program Plan, outlining the strategic framework for researching and implementing hydrogen energy technologies. The program is designed to advance affordable production, transportation, storage, and use of hydrogen by different economic sectors and industries. It forms part of a cross departmental initiative with the Offices of […]

Over the past week, daily COVID-19 have been quickly increasing as Massachusetts slowly reopened businesses. This has seen a 300% increase in cases since Labor Day. Given this situation, Governor Charlie Baker has issued new orders and limits on face coverings, gatherings, and hours of operation for businesses. A state-wide mandate enforcing face coverings was […]