The PJM Interconnection’s response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s investigation into the grid operator’s rules for colocated loads indicates FERC may not approve new regulations by mid-year, as some people initially thought, according to utility-sector analysts. FERC on Feb. 20 launched a review of issues related to colocating large loads, such as data centers, at power plants in PJM’s footprint. The outcome of the review could set a precedent for colocated load in the power markets FERC oversees. Talen Energy, Constellation Energy and PSEG Power, a Public Service Enterprise Group subsidiary, are among the companies that are considering hosting data centers at their nuclear power plants in PJM. In its “show cause” order, FERC asked PJM and stakeholders to explain why the grid operator’s colocation rules are just and reasonable or to offer rules that would pass agency muster. FERC established a comment schedule that enables the agency to issue a response by June 20. The agency said it could make a decision on a PJM proposal within three months. However, instead of proposing new colocation rules, PJM on March 24 said its existing rules are just and reasonable. The grid operator also offered five conceptual colocation options that have been proposed by stakeholders or developed by PJM. PJM urged FERC to issue “detailed guiding principles” that the grid operator could use to craft colocation rules for the agency’s approval. The lack of a proposal from PJM likely extends FERC’s review process, according to analysts. “FERC may still act on the show cause order in June, but we don’t rule out a new iteration of process instead of a clear policy decision,” ClearView Energy Partners analysts said in a client note on Friday. It will likely take FERC until late this year to approve changes to PJM’s colocation rules,

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a motion Wednesday opposing motions for injunctive relief filed by three nonprofits that have had their access to Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund grant money frozen, arguing that their monetary harm does not warrant an injunction and is not irreparable.  The nonprofit Climate Fund United, which received a $6.97 billion National Clean Investment Fund grant, was the first to sue over the frozen funds last month, targeting EPA and fund holder Citibank. The Coalition for Green Capital, which received $5 billion from the NCFI, and Power Forward Communities, which received $2 billion from it, have each filed lawsuits against Citibank.  EPA argued for the injunction requests filed by each to be denied, as “an injunction should be denied when Plaintiffs’ alleged harms are monetary and may be remedied by damages” and “in terminating Plaintiffs’ grants, EPA has not prohibited or made it unlawful for Plaintiffs (or their subgrantees) to carry out their work.” “Nor has any other government action,” EPA said. “The government is not preventing Plaintiffs from providing services; EPA has just terminated the contracts under which the government would provide reimbursement for those services.” In a joint response filed Friday, the three plaintiffs argued that they have already “demonstrated several forms of irreparable harm, including potentially fatal disruption to Plaintiffs’ operations; irreplaceable loss of clients, partnerships, and opportunities; devastating reputational injury; interference with Plaintiffs’ missions; and an immediate risk of insolvency for some of the Plaintiffs and their subgrantees.” “Many of these injuries have already materialized and will worsen if Plaintiffs continue to be deprived of access to their funds,” they said. The plaintiffs argue that the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where the case is being heard, has previously held that financial harm can constitute irreparable harm when the existence

As U.S. transit agencies increasingly order buses powered by batteries or hydrogen fuel cells, some of these same agencies are beginning to look at trains that use similar technologies. Stadler, an international train manufacturer, already has trains in testing and on order in two states, while other manufacturers of such trains operating in Canada and Europe are eyeing U.S. opportunities, too. California puts Stadler hydrogen trains to the test California announced a $310 billion plan in January to develop a zero-emission passenger rail network across much of the state by 2050. A hydrogen-powered passenger train built by Stadler, a Swiss company, began testing on San Bernardino County’s Metrolink commuter line between San Bernardino and Redlands, California, in November. The San Bernardino County Transportation Authority expects the train to go into regular service this year. “We’re confident that once that train goes into revenue service soon, that we’ll see a lot of positive feedback,” said Stadler’s Martin Ritter, executive vice president for North America. Ritter said California signed a contract with Stadler to provide up to 29 hydrogen fuel cell trains; it had ordered 10 as of a year ago. The state is bundling the procurement contract and will assign trains to different transit agencies, he said. Prior to its arrival in California, the SBCTA hydrogen train underwent testing at the Ensco Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado. During that process, the train set a Guinness World Record for traveling 1,741.7 miles around a test loop without refueling or recharging.  Ritter said zero-emission trains are quieter and produce fewer vibrations than conventional fuel trains as they speed through communities along the line. He noted that the only byproduct of a fuel cell train is water vapor. Electric trains and streetcars have existed for more than a century. Passenger railroads like the

The New England grid operator on Monday published a request for proposals to address the region’s longer-term transmission needs, aimed at upgrading the electric system between anticipated wind generation in northern Maine and demand centers to the south. ISO New England said it published the RFP at the direction of the New England States Committee on Electricity. Proposals are due in September, though the schedule is subject to change, the ISO said. After evaluation by the ISO, a preferred solution may be selected by NESCOE as early as September 2026.  Proposals must aim to increase the amount of power that can flow across the Maine–New Hampshire and Surowiec–South transmission interfaces, and develop new infrastructure around Pittsfield, Maine, that could accommodate the interconnection of 1,200 MW of land-based wind generation, the ISO said. “A strong preference will be given to proposals with an in-service date on or before December 31, 2035, or as close as possible,” according to the RFP.  Massachusetts officials celebrated the announcement, noting that the first competitive RFP for longer-term transmission investments has been “a long-time goal of the New England states.”  “This RFP will address long-standing constraints on the New England power system and integrate new, affordable, onshore wind resources in the coming years,” according to a statement from Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, D. Previously, New England lacked a mechanism to enable the ISO to procure transmission at the states’ request. The RFP process was developed in collaboration between the ISO and regional stakeholders, allowing the states to request that the grid operator pursue transmission investment “that is grounded in the evaluation of broad regional benefits and consumer interests,” according to the Massachusetts statement. “This milestone represents what can happen when we work together — innovative and cost-effective solutions to our region’s most pressing energy challenges,” Healey said. “We are grateful

In an oil and gas report sent to Rigzone late Monday by the Macquarie team, Macquarie strategists revealed that they are forecasting that U.S. crude inventories will be up 4.2 million barrels for the week ending March 28. “This follows a 3.3 million barrel draw for the week ending March 21 and compares to our initial expectation for a larger crude build this week,” the strategists said in the report. “For this week’s crude balance, from refineries, we model crude runs down meaningfully (-0.4 million barrels per day) following a strong print last week,” they added. “Among net imports, we model a moderate increase, with exports (-1.0 million barrels per day) and imports (-0.7 million barrels per day) much lower on a nominal basis,” they continued. The strategists warned in the report that timing of cargoes remains a source of potential volatility in this week’s crude balance. “From implied domestic supply (prod.+adj.+transfers), we look for a bounce (+0.3 million barrels per day) this week,” they said in the report. “Rounding out the picture, we anticipate another small increase in SPR [Strategic Petroleum Reserve] stocks (+0.3 MM BBL) this week,” they added. The strategists also noted in the report that, “among products”, they “look for draws in gasoline (-0.9 million barrels) and distillate (-4.1 million barrels), with jet stocks effectively flat”. “We model implied demand for these three products at ~14.4 million barrels per day for the week ending March 28,” they said. In its latest weekly petroleum status report at the time of writing, which was released on March 26 and included data for the week ending March 21, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) highlighted that U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the SPR, decreased by 3.3 million barrels from the week ending March 14 to the

NEO Energy has released five tenders seeking contractors to help decommission its Donan, Balloch and Lochranza fields, along with the Global Producer III floating production offloading and storage (FPSO) vessel. According to data from the North Sea Transition Authority’s (NSTA’s) Pathfinder database, the decommissioning campaign is expected to start in the second quarter of 2026 at the earliest, when work to disconnect the subsea infrastructure is expected to commence. This will also see the FPSO unmoored and towed to an unspecified location. By 2027, NEO plans to begin recovering the subsea infrastructure, followed by plugging and abandoning a total of 19 wells in 2028.- To help with this, NEO Energy is looking for a contractor to perform P&A activities on the wells. The tender is expected to take place on 31 December 2025 and has a value of over £25 million The company also announced four additional tenders, each with a value of less than £25m, covering recycling the FPSO, flushing, isolating and disconnecting the subsea infrastructure from the FPSO, disconnecting the moorings and towing the FPSO, and bulk seabed clearance. NEO Energy recently announced plans to merge its North Sea operations with Repsol Resources UK’s. The deal will see Repsol retain $1.8 billion (£1.4bn) in decommissioning liabilities related to its legacy assets, which NEO said will enhance the cash flows of the merged business. NEO said it expects to complete the deal during the third quarter of 2025, subject to regulatory approvals. © Supplied by SystemNinian South. CNRL Canadian Natural Resources Ltd (CNRL) has issued two tenders to assist with decommissioning its Ninian field in the Northern North Sea, located east of Shetland. The decommissioning scope consists of three areas, covering the Ninian South Platform, Ninian Central Platform and the Ninian subsea infrastructure, which includes the Strathspey, Lyell, Columba