Renewable generation in PJM has been increasing over the past few years and will play a larger role in the market’s resource mix going forward. Coal-fired capacity is retiring at a rapid pace, and the interconnection queue is heavily comprised of renewable capacity. There is approximately 133 GW of utility-scale solar, wind, and offshore wind projects with queue positions in various stages of development.
Ethan Howland reports in Utility Dive that power plant owners have started the process of potentially retiring 3,228 MW of coal-fired generation in the PJM Interconnection’s footprint this month, according to the grid operator’s generator deactivation list. Another 1,024 MW of coal shut down last year. Looking at the explanations for the planned retirements, our Julia Criscuolo, ESAI Power’s Manager of Renewables and Emissions, said about a third are driven by environmental regulations, a quarter by unfavorable economics and roughly 20% by “end of life” plant issues.
In today’s blog, we’re providing an excerpt from a recent preview to our next Emissions WatchTM that discusses two new Net Zero by 2050 emissions reduction mandates that were recently signed into law in New England. In Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker signed An Act Creating a Next Generation Roadmap for the Massachusetts Climate Policy. Rhode Island Governor Dan McKee signed a Landmark Act on Climate into law on April 10, 2021. Like the Massachusetts Act, it establishes specific emissions reduction mandates.
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ESAI Power is a market research and consulting firm that delivers focused analysis of the wholesale power markets in the Northeast region of the US: PJM, NYISO, and ISO-NE. Since 2001, ESAI has been providing market-focused research product content and custom consulting services for Northeast power market participants including investors (banks, private equity, & hedge funds) & developers, generation owners & operators, utilities & retail electricity suppliers, regulators & RTOs, traders, and end-users & buyers.