The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday approved Shell Energy North America’s planned purchase of a 596-MW, gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Rhode Island. Shell Energy North America, a subsidiary of Shell, expects to buy the Rhode Island State Energy Center in Johnston, Rhode Island, from investment funds managed by The Carlyle Group and from EGCO RISEC II, a subsidiary of Thailand-based Electricity Generating Public Co. Shell plans to close the deal this quarter. The deal comes as ISO New England expects electricity use in its footprint to grow by 1.8% a year from 2024 to 2033, according to an annual 10-year forecast of capacity, energy, loads and transmission the grid operator released in May. Shell buys electricity from the power plant under a tolling agreement that runs through this year, according to an application for the deal filed at FERC. The contract started in 2019, Shell said in an Oct. 22 press release announcing the deal. “Shell has had a successful integrated gas and power business in the growing ISO New England market for over 20 years, and this acquisition secures valuable trading opportunities by guaranteeing SENA’s position in the market,” Huibert Vigeveno, Shell downstream, renewables & energy solutions director, said in the release. “Our strong understanding of this plant’s performance positions Shell to capitalise on its value within our existing trading portfolio.” The power plant’s capacity cleared ISO-NE’s annual forward capacity auction for the current and upcoming delivery years and is committed to ISO-NE through May 31, 2028, except for a limited amount of excess winter capacity that may be offered into ISO-NE’s monthly reconfigurations for the months of October through May, Shell and the power plant’s owners told FERC. The Rhode Island State Energy Center produced 3.6 million MWh in 2023, up from 3.3 million MWh the year before, according to

Listen to the article 23 min This audio is auto-generated. Please let us know if you have feedback. 2024 was a busy year for the U.S. power sector with a number of significant policy advancements in renewables, transmission, nuclear energy and other areas. The year ahead will undoubtedly be an active one, too, as the sector navigates ongoing business challenges and the impacts of the 2024 elections. Here are nine key issues to watch in 2025.  Electricity prices continue perpetual ascent, driven by demand and gas exports The price U.S. consumers pay for electricity will continue to ascend in 2025, driven by a range of factors including rising demand, transmission and distribution cost increases, and an anticipated rise in the price of natural gas, experts say. Across all customer classes, U.S. electricity prices are expected to average 13.2 cents/kWh in 2025, up from 12.68 cents/kWh in 2023, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Residential electricity prices across all regions will average 16.7 cents/kWh in 2025, up from 15 cents/kWh in 2022. “Both transmission and distribution cost increases are driven by decarbonization and that is expected to continue nationwide,” Paul Cicio, chair of the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition, said in an email. Natural gas prices were low in 2024 but as liquefied natural gas export terminals come on-stream in late 2025 and in 2026 and more U.S. natural gas is shipped out of the country, “we expect higher natural gas prices and resulting higher electricity prices,” Cicio said. U.S. LNG exports have tripled over the past five years, are expected to double again by 2030 and could increase even further under existing authorizations, Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said in December. The rise in natural gas exports is also a threat to reliability, Cicio said, “because there is

Morson Group has expanded its portfolio with the acquisition of Orange Solutions, a Manchester-based safety and control systems engineering firm. The group confirmed that Orange Solution’s founder and managing director, Tony Hynes, will retain his position ” along with the company’s experienced team of engineers.” Morson told Energy Voice that it is looking to create more than 10 jobs at the firm over the next year and that its “intention is to increase the footprint” of Orange Solutions in the UK and overseas. Currently, Orange Solutions has one base in Irlam. The deal, agreed for an undisclosed sum, brings Oange Solutions under the group’s engineering division which includes Morson Projects, Waldeck and Ematics. Morson claims that the work of Orange Solutions will complement fellow Manchester firm Ematics. Orange Solutions is already well acquainted with its new owners, having worked with Ematics and Morson Projects on “a number of past and current projects,” Morson Group wrote. Morson Group chief executive, Ged Mason commented: “The synergy between Orange Solutions’ track record and client base, and our Ematics business will enable us to offer clients even more expertise from within the Morson Group, with additional capacity and capabilities to resource projects effectively.” © Supplied by Morson GroupMorson Group Acquired Orange Solutions for an undisclosed figure as it looks to expand the firm’s UK and international footprint. Orange Solutions has worked across oil and gas operations, renewables projects and transmission line rollout. Hynes added: “Orange Solutions has grown by providing the knowledge and experience needed to deliver complex projects on time. “With so much potential in our sectors, the time was right for us to seek a strategic partner that can support our continued growth. The synergy and existing relationship with Morson, which is based locally to our existing HQ, made them an ideal

Shell Plc said its natural gas divisions saw lower sales volumes and trading earnings, the latest sign that 2024 ended on a weak note for major energy companies.  The warning on Shell’s crucial natural gas division, in a fourth-quarter trading update published on Wednesday, was accompanied by figures showing a slight rise in operating expenses across the company and lower profits from buying and selling oil products.  Shares of Shell fell as much as 2% in London trading. The figures were weaker than expected on “a combination of softness in both oil and gas trading” and “continued depressed margins in chemicals,” Citigroup Inc. Managing Director Alastair Syme said in a note. It’s another indication of a fourth-quarter dip in earnings for the world’s largest energy companies. Late on Tuesday, Shell’s largest rival Exxon Mobil Corp. said its profit for the period took a $700 million hit from lower crude prices and narrowing refining margins. In the closing months of 2024, unexpected weakness in what is typically one of the strongest seasons for oil demand forced big players in the market to adjust, with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies delaying the planned restart of some idle production. Brent crude futures have risen more than 3% so far this year, although many analysts see OPEC+ having little room to revive output with a supply glut looming.  The outlook for natural gas in the coming months is stronger, especially in Europe, where prices surged to a 14-month high after Russian gas flows through Ukraine halted following the expiration of a transit agreement. Shell’s natural gas production in the fourth quarter is seen at 880,000 to 920,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, down from 941,000 a day in the third quarter due to maintenance at the Pearl Gas-to-Liquids plant in Qatar,

U.S. gas prices were put through the wringer in 2024. That’s what a BofA Global Research report sent to Rigzone on Tuesday by the BofA Global Research team stated, highlighting that Henry Hub natural gas prices averaged “just $2.41 per million British thermal units (MMBtu)”. That was “the lowest level since 2020 and second lowest level in at least 25 years”, the report pointed out. “Loose balances pushed storage to a multi-year high of 678 billion cubic feet (Bcf) above five-year average levels in March, but agile producers and strong power sector demand helped whittle that surplus down to just 154 Bcf by year end,” the report said. “Tightening storage, the first forecast for significant cold, and news that the Plaquemines terminal will begin shipping LNG cargos in January helped push Henry Hub gas up to $4 per MMBtu by late December,” it added, noting that “since then, weather forecasts have shed HDDs, causing gas to ease lower”. The BofA Global Research report stated that U.S. output has likely peaked seasonally and predicted that this “should fall back below 104 Bcf per day (Bcfpd) by spring, before regaining its footing into year-end and registering 2.3 Bcfpd of growth year on year”. “Most year on year growth will come from the Permian (1.9 Bcfpd) due to the ramp up of supply into year-end 2024 as the Matterhorn pipeline allowed supply to rise, and the Northeast (0.5Bcfpd), where the mid-2024 MVP start-up should support higher output this year,” the report added. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest short term energy outlook (STEO), which was released last month, U.S. dry natural gas production will average 103.3 Bcfpd in the first quarter of 2025, 104.0 Bcfpd in the second quarter, 103.6 Bcfpd in the third quarter, 103.9 Bcfpd in the fourth

Electric load growth associated with artificial intelligence and data center expansion will drive U.S. utility risk and opportunity in the coming years, with a few power companies in particular poised to profit in 2025, according to a Tuesday research note from Bank of America Global Research. “Data centers and other large industrial loads should play an important role in 2025, continuing the trend from 2024,” BofA analysts said. “A differentiation in valuation should occur between those companies that can increase earnings growth related to large load related capital investments versus those who do not.” U.S. electricity demand could rise 128 GW over the next five years, driven by data centers and manufacturing growth, according to a December report from Grid Strategies. And Bain & Co., in an October analysis, warned U.S. utilities are facing “potentially overwhelming demand” from the trend. BOA’s research note highlighted near-term opportunities for Pacific Gas & Electric, NorthWestern Energy Group and Constellation Energy Group. For PG&E, “data center opportunities are real in 2025, with a release of the current cluster study for 4.4GWs of large load early in the new year,” BOA said. “We believe the northern [California] model of building normal back up generation to serve the grid at non-peak times is unique, given limited peak resource usage within [the utility’s] service territory.” “Customer bills remain a priority and we see the California regulatory environment as constructive,” analysts added. PG&E is expected to make a cost of capital filing in March and submit its next general rate case in May, according to BOA. NorthWestern Energy Group, in December, announced a letter of intent to provide energy services to a developer planning new data centers in Montana, BOA noted. “The new load from the data centers is expected to be a minimum of 50 MWs in 2027, with growth to 250