Posted inEnergy & Environment

Nuclear wins big in clean energy competition – and not just Millstone

The final clean energy competition of the Malloy administration on Friday handed the Millstone Nuclear Power Station the lifeline it has sought for nearly two years claiming the plant was at risk of closing otherwise. In a blow to the environmental advocacy community, renewable power projects were awarded fewer than 20 percent of the total power production up for bid.

Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money

CT’s clean energy edge: Going, going . . . or coming back?

Connecticut, once a national leader in clean and renewable energy and energy efficiency, has slipped behind many other states, including its neighbors. Most of the finger-pointing is at the state’s budget problems and questionable choices by the legislature. But the state may have started to lose its energy edge before then. The question is, can it get it back?

Posted inEnergy & Environment

State says more data necessary to assess Millstone’s viability

A long-awaited assessment of the energy market released Monday by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority does not resolve questions about the economic viability of the region’s biggest provider of carbon-free electricity, the Millstone nuclear station at Waterford. State officials say they need more information from its owner, Dominion Energy.

Posted inEnergy & Environment

CT’s preliminary conclusion: Millstone profitable through 2035

State energy officials concluded in a preliminary report released Thursday that the Millstone nuclear power station in Waterford will be profitable through 2035, undercutting its owner’s assertion that Connecticut must change how its electricity is sold or face the early retirement of New England’s largest source of carbon-free power. But they reached no conclusions on whether the profits represent a sufficient return on investment for the owner, Dominion Energy.

Posted inEnergy & Environment

With no plan for replacing Millstone, what are CT’s options?

Regardless of what the Connecticut legislature decides on Millstone, it won’t change some basic realities: One day the nuclear plant will close, and Connecticut doesn’t have a plan for that. The question of how to replace Millstone elicits all kinds of ideas. But parameters matter: Are we talking short-term, long-term, cleanly, at what cost to ratepayers?

Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money

On CT’s budget, it turns out there may be a nuclear option

Call it a sign of desperation or a mark of creativity. One of the unconventional revenue-raising schemes considered by legislators in pursuit of an overdue budget would have Connecticut extract millions of dollars from Dominion Energy in return for legislation boosting the profitability of electricity generated by the company’s Millstone nuclear power plant.