14 Mar
A disappointing ruling by the International Chamber of Commerce in an arbitration proceeding over failed steam generators at Southern California Edison’s San Onofre Nuclear Generation Station will provide ratepayers little relief. In its decision in the case of Edison against Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the arbitration panel ordered the Japanese maker of the steam generators to […]
1 Mar
California’s Feb. 22 carbon emissions rights auction showed little demand based on results released March 1. Fewer than one-fifth of the 2017 allowances offered for sale actually sold. Interest was even more lackluster for 2020 allowances, with only about 7 percent of those offered selling. Both types of allowances went for $13.57 a ton. The […]
23 Feb
Last weekend’s heavy precipitation kept offline the state’s large hydropower plant next to the compromised Oroville Dam in Butte County. The Department of Water Resources’ 819 MW Hyatt hydro facility can’t be restarted because of continued high water and debris levels in the upstream diversion pool, said DWR spokesperson Chris Orrock. It is not known […]
15 Feb
The California Department of Water Resources was ordered this week to perform a “forensic analysis” of the failure of the spillway at Oroville Dam by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. FERC, which licenses dams that produce hydropower like Oroville, also ordered the department to convene an independent board of consultants to review the situation and […]
5 Jan
Tesla and Panasonic Jan. 4 began mass production of lithium-ion battery cells at the automaker’s “Gigafactory” in Nevada. They will be used in Tesla’s energy storage products and Model 3 car. Production is underway for cells that will be used in Tesla’s Powerwall 2 and Powerpack 2 energy products. Model 3 car cell production will […]
17 Dec
The Department of Water Resources entered a 20-year solar power purchase agreement Dec. 15 with the Solverde I Solar Facility. The 85 MW photovoltaic facility near Lancaster in northern Los Angeles County uses solar tracking technology to enhance output. DWR said that through the life of the contract Solverde should provide it with nearly 4.8 million […]
6 Mar
The Department of Water Resources’ manual reading of Sierra snowpack—closely related to hydropower production in spring and summer—again yielded disappointing results March 3 showing water content at just 5 percent of normal. (more…)
27 Feb
In the second carbon emissions rights auction held jointly by California and Quebec, 73,610,528 vintage 2015 allowances were sold for $12.21 apiece. (more…)
27 Feb
Energy regulators agreed to scale back their laborious assessment of proposals by the Department of Water to reduce bond costs for the remaining energy contracts signed in 2001 to save ratepayers money. (more…)
20 Feb
A warm, dry winter is dimming the outlook for hydropower supplies this spring and summer both in California and the Pacific Northwest. (more…)
6 Feb
How to fund water conservation programs targeting low-income households was a key topic at the Low Income Oversight Board’s Feb. 4 meeting held at the California Public Utilities Commission. (more…)
CA Current
