Energy News for week ending August 23, 2019

License Transfer Approved | Is there anybody out there | Charge up with soap and laxatives

Happy Friday afternoon.

We start this week’s Energy News with news out today that the NRC approved Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station’s license transfer from Entergy to Holtec. Holtec promises to decommission the plant in 8-10 years vs. 60 years if Entergy were to remain the owner. From Power Engineering, “Federal regulators have approved Entergy Corp.’s application to transfer the licenses of the closed Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station to a decommissioning specialist firm. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the Pilgrim transfer from Entergy to a subsidiary of Holtec International. This will pave the way for completing the plant sale to Holtec…Holtec International is a large player in the nuclear decommissioning and cleanup sector. Earlier this year, Entergy also decided on Holtec as the buyer for its Indian Point nuclear facility in New York, planned for closure by 2021. Pilgrim still employs close to 230 people after permanent shutdown on May 31.”

I’m guessing the answer is yes and we’ll find out soon enough as South Coast Today asks, “Will anyone bid? Bids are due Friday for Massachusetts’ second offshore wind farm, even as the first, Vineyard Wind, struggles to get federal approval. The deadline is Friday, Aug. 23 for confidential bids. By Aug. 30, companies must submit public versions of those bids that do not have to include pricing information. Vineyard Wind’s wholesale energy price last year was lower than expected, leading to concerns that bidders would shy away from trying to beat that price. The state’s 2016 energy law set a price cap by requiring each procurement to produce a lower energy price than the last. Within the last few weeks, Gov. Charlie Baker and the Legislature agreed to amend the fiscal year 2020 state budget to eliminate the price cap until 2021, when the cap will be reestablished, according to an official at the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Vineyard Wind’s price was 6.5 cents per kilowatt-hour, in 2017 dollars, levelized over a 20-year term.”

The last highlight for this week, from our love of new technology stories, comes from the New York Times, “Soap, Detergent and Even Laxatives Could Turbocharge a Battery Alternative. Living in a world with smartphones, laptops and cars powered by batteries means putting up with two things: waiting for a depleted battery to charge, and charging it more frequently when its once-long life inevitably shortens. That’s why the battery’s cousin, the supercapacitor, is still in the game, even though batteries dominate electricity storage…In a study this month in the journal Nature Materials, researchers reported a new phenomenon that could potentially bring a supercapacitor’s energy storage capacity on par with lithium-ion batteries: by using a new class of electrolytes composed of ionic liquids, or salts that remain liquid at room temperature. The materials are abundant: The molecular components in this novel class of liquid salts are found in soaps, detergents and even stool softeners.” Talk about cleantech.

That’s the recap for this week. We’re going to take next Friday off from the news so we’ll be back in your inboxes on September 6^th.

Have a wonderful weekend and enjoy the Labor Day holiday.

Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling

After dumping coal in front of State House, protesters vow to shut Bow power plant, Concord Monitor

Utility company tries to ease fears as gas pipeline, storage tank push continues, New Hampshire Union Leader

Longmeadow votes to ban construction of gas facility in residential zone, WWLP

21 states sue Trump administration over new coal rules, AP

Federal judge nixes lawsuit seeking gas pipeline in Maryland, Washington Post

Somerville startup wins spot in energy-focused accelerator program, (paywall) Boston Business Journal

Renewables/Climate Change/RGGI

How grid operators forecast weather and output from renewables, Utility Dive

Vermont farm turns manure into renewable energy, powering Middlebury College, NBC 5