Virginia Power Outage: Grid Outage Explained
Heavy winter storms left 390,000 Virginians without power this week. Dominion Power has since restored services to more than 250,000 customers. Extreme winter storms caused power outages and interruptions due to damaged infrastructure and equipment. For the power industry, these events impact wholesale power pricing, electricity demand and grid operations, in addition to the end […]
An Intro to Locational Marginal Pricing
Locational marginal pricing (LMP) serves as a valuable mechanism for pricing electricity in managed wholesale markets. It defines the price for electricity in real time at specific points referred to as nodes within a transmission system. These prices represent clear benchmark signals for buyers and sellers in electricity markets. They provide vital insights into decisions […]
Accurate Load Forecasting on a Rainy Day in L.A.
When you think about Los Angeles weather, you likely think of warm and sunny. In fact, L.A. is so sunny, it ranks No. 1 in total installed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the U.S., with more than 483.8 megawatts (MW) of capacity. But what happens when it is cold and rainy? Southern California recently experienced […]
Will the Omicron Variant Lead to the Collapse of Oil Prices?
With the Omicron variant continuing to spread around the world, will a drop in oil prices follow? Maybe, but probably short term. Equity markets tanked last Friday, Nov. 26, on fears that the Omicron variant would sharply impact worldwide economic output. The nearly 1,000-point loss in the Dow wiped nearly $90 billion of value in […]
Supermajors Pile Into Low-Carbon GOM Acreage
Offshore Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is becoming the destination of choice for international oil companies seeking new, low-carbon acreage to explore and develop. Lease Sale 257 on Nov. 17 garnered $192 million in winning bids, about double the average of the previous seven auctions, across 170 deep- and 140 shallow-water blocks. The sale went ahead […]
Attacking Methane Emissions Beyond Oil and Gas
A recent Associated Press article titled “Biden’s climate plan aims to reduce methane emissions” states, “The centerpiece of U.S. actions is a long-awaited rule from the Environmental Protection Agency to tighten methane regulations for the oil and gas sector.” It also says, “The oil and natural gas industry is the nation’s largest industrial source of […]
Attractive E&P Yields Are Becoming Difficult for Investors To Ignore
Finding high-yield investments has become more difficult in recent years. One reason why E&P stocks have outperformed all sectors year-to-date (XOP up 88% versus S&P up 23%) is because of attractive free cash flow (FCF) yields, even after the sector has rallied. Nearly all E&P stocks continue to offer double-digit FCF yields — based on […]
COP26 and the Long Road to Decarbonization
We were curious to see what would happen during this week’s 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26. After all, commitments to net zero emissions need to be coupled with realistic pathways for their delivery, and so far, they have not been. Previous pledges on climate action have gone unfulfilled and governments have struggled […]
What Drives Exploration Acreage Bid Valuations at Lease Sales?
Accurately understanding bid prices at lease sales is an arduous task for exploration teams. Several variables contribute to a block’s risk and cost, such as the presence of de-risked play concepts, an operator’s confidence in prospect interpretation, proximity to infrastructure, macro environment and political landscape, among others. While some of those factors are subjective and […]
PROJECT TRACKING REVIEW: TOP 10 US ENERGY STORAGE DEVELOPERS
As renewable power generation accelerates and concerns around the capacity and resiliency of energy grids grow, companies are increasingly exploiting and developing energy storage systems. But grid-connected energy storage systems are not a novel concept and have existed for years. Why is energy storage important? In its simplest form, energy storage is best thought of […]