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Nuke subsidy clouds PJM auction result; Cheniere to expand Texas LNG facility

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Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

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Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

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US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

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Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


Nuke subsidy clouds PJM auction result; Cheniere to expand Texas LNG facility

Top News

PJM pending auction results clouded by state nuclear subsidy debate

State-approved subsidies for nuclear plants and the planned retirement of three such facilities could bear heavily on the results of PJM Interconnection's most recent annual auction for future generating resources.

Cheniere reaches final investment decision on 3rd train at Corpus Christi LNG

U.S. LNG export pioneer Cheniere Energy Inc. is moving forward with a third liquefaction train at its Corpus Christi LNG export terminal under construction in Texas, the first final investment decision for a new LNG export project since 2015.

Warrior Met Coal has opportunities to expand if market is supportive, exec says

Warrior Met Coal Inc. has room to expand its operations and is putting capital into developing its metallurgical coal mines in Alabama, a company executive said.

Power

* Southern Co. subsidiary Southern Power Co. agreed to sell a 33% minority interest in a 1,700-MW solar portfolio to Global Atlantic Financial Group Ltd. for $1.18 billion, the company announced May 23.

* Manufacturers of lithium-ion batteries face a bumpy ride as they race to expand their factories tenfold over the next decade to meet surging global demand for electric vehicles and energy storage systems, an industry analyst said.

* New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy plans to sign into law bills that would offer subsidies to financially struggling nuclear plants of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and Exelon Corp., Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

* Vistra Energy Corp. has hired Arnold Quinn, an outgoing top-ranking agency director and senior economist at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, to help lead the company's regulatory affairs group in Washington, D.C.

* Massachusetts is set to announce today which of the three proposed offshore wind projects, namely Vineyard, Bay State and Revolution, will proceed, according to The Associated Press.

* The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy issued a request for proposals to support offshore wind development in the state.

* The Illinois Attorney General's Office has come out in opposition to a proposal by the Illinois Commerce Commission to create financial incentives for utilities to invest in smart meter cloud computing, according to Midwest Energy News.

* The Minnesota House killed a bill that would have changed the approval process for Xcel Energy Inc.'s nuclear power investments, according to the Minneapolis' Star Tribune.

* Shell Ventures led investors in providing funds to German solar battery marker sonnen to expand at home and abroad, Reuters reported.

Natural gas/Oil

* The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has presented itself as open-minded as it considers updates to its almost-20-year-old process for reviewing natural gas pipeline applications, but a recent order from the commission showed that FERC members have already chosen sides on a major issue.

* Five Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill to repeal a provision that mandated oil and gas leasing, development and production in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

* With bottlenecks appearing earlier than expected, insufficient takeaway capacity in high-production shale plays headlined the concerns that overshadowed oil and gas pipeline companies' improved financial results for the first quarter.

* British Columbia filed a lawsuit challenging Alberta's fuel restriction law, according to The Canadian Press.

* Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has vetoed a bill that would have terminated the ongoing regulatory process to approve Enbridge Inc.'s proposed Line 3 oil pipeline, the Star Tribune reported.

Coal

* Westmoreland Coal Co. secured a new financing commitment in the form of a $110 million delayed draw term loan from an ad hoc group of its existing secured creditors holding roughly 79% of its term loan and senior secured notes.

* Clean Coal Technologies Inc. received the necessary permits from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality to start assembly of its test facility at Fort Union.

* China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered utilities to keep inventories at lower levels and told miners to slash prices in a bid to ease burgeoning coal prices, Reuters reported May 22.

Commodities

* Following a 9.8-cent increase in the prior session to finish at $2.908/MMBtu, NYMEX June natural gas futures pulled back overnight ahead of the Wednesday, May 23, open, in a round of selling amid overbought conditions, as fundamentals remain overridingly bullish.

* Day-ahead power prices could vary Wednesday, May 23, in line with choppy demand projections for Thursday.

* Total U.S. nuclear plant availability nudged higher early May 22 to 92.69%, up from 92.60% on May 21 and still holding above the 83.89% reported on the same day a year ago.

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New from RRA

* The North Dakota Public Service Commission staff filed testimony in Otter Tail Power Co.'s pending electric rate case recommending that the PSC authorize Otter Tail a $893,432 (0.61%) rate increase.

Quoted

"If you are a company that's going to have to radically change to meet the Paris Agreement [on climate change], then investors ought to know about it," said Mindy Lubber, CEO and president of Ceres, arguing for shareholder resolutions around environmental, social and governance issues.

The day ahead

* Early morning futures indicators pointed to a higher opening for the U.S. equity markets. To view more SNL equity market indexes, click here. To view more SNL Energy commodities prices, click here.

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