Entergy finds crack in Vermont nuke steam dryer

Geothermal Emergency Permitting accelerates BLM approvals on public lands via categorical exclusions for exploratory drilling and geophysical surveys, boosting domestic energy security, cutting timelines by up to a year, and streamlining low-impact reviews.

Key Points

A policy fast-tracking geothermal exploration on public lands, using BLM categorical exclusions to cut review delays.

✅ Categorical exclusions speed exploratory drilling approvals

✅ Cuts permitting timelines by up to one year

✅ Focused on public lands to enhance energy security

In a significant policy shift, the U.S. Department of the Interior has introduced emergency permitting procedures aimed at expediting the development of geothermal energy projects. This initiative, announced on May 30, 2025, is part of a broader strategy to enhance domestic energy production, seen in proposals to replace Obama's power plant overhaul and reduce reliance on foreign energy sources.

Background and Rationale

The decision to fast-track geothermal energy projects comes in the wake of President Donald Trump's declaration of a national energy emergency, which faces a legal challenge from Washington's attorney general, on January 20, 2025. This declaration cited high energy costs and an unreliable energy grid as threats to national security and economic prosperity. While the emergency order includes traditional energy resources such as oil, gas, coal, and uranium and nuclear energy resources, it notably excludes renewable sources like solar, wind, and hydrogen from its scope.

Geothermal energy, which harnesses heat from beneath the Earth's surface to generate electricity, is considered a reliable and low-emission energy source. However, its development has been hindered by lengthy permitting processes and environmental reviews, with recent NEPA rule changes influencing timelines. The new emergency permitting procedures aim to address these challenges by streamlining the approval process for geothermal projects.

Key Features of the Emergency Permitting Procedures

Under the new guidelines, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has adopted categorical exclusions to expedite the review and approval of geothermal energy exploration on public lands. These exclusions allow for faster permitting of low-impact activities, such as drilling exploratory wells and conducting geophysical surveys, without the need for extensive environmental assessments.

Additionally, the BLM has proposed a new categorical exclusion that would apply to operations related to the search for indirect evidence of geothermal resources. This proposal is currently open for public comment and, if finalized, would further accelerate the discovery of new geothermal resources on public lands.

Expected Impact on Geothermal Energy Development

The implementation of these emergency permitting procedures is expected to significantly reduce the time and cost associated with developing geothermal energy projects. According to the Department of the Interior, the new measures could cut permitting timelines by up to a year for certain types of geothermal exploration activities.

This acceleration in project development is particularly important given the untapped geothermal potential in regions like Nevada, which is home to some of the largest undeveloped geothermal resources in the country.

Industry and Environmental Reactions

The geothermal industry has largely welcomed the new permitting procedures, viewing them as a necessary step to unlock the full potential of geothermal energy. Industry advocates argue that reducing permitting delays will facilitate the deployment of geothermal projects, contributing to a more reliable and sustainable energy grid amid debates over electricity pricing changes that affect market signals.

However, the exclusion of solar and wind energy projects from the emergency permitting procedures has drawn criticism from some environmental groups. Critics argue that a comprehensive approach to energy development should include all renewable sources, not just geothermal, to effectively address climate change, as reflected in new EPA pollution limits for coal and gas power plants, and promote energy sustainability.

The U.S. government's move to implement emergency permitting procedures for geothermal energy development marks a significant step toward enhancing domestic energy production and reducing reliance on foreign energy sources. By streamlining the approval process for geothermal projects, the administration aims to accelerate the deployment of this reliable and low-emission energy source. While the exclusion of other renewable energy sources from the emergency procedures has sparked debate, especially after states like California halted an energy rebate program during a federal freeze, the focus on geothermal energy underscores its potential role in the nation's energy future.

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Puerto Rico Earthquakes continue as a seismic swarm with aftershocks, landslides near Pef1uelas, damage in Ponce and Guayanilla, grid outages from Costa Sur Plant, PREPA recovery, vulnerable buildings post-Hurricane Maria raising safety concerns.

Key Points

Recurring seismic events impacting Puerto Rico, causing damage, aftershocks, outages, and displacement.

✅ Seismic swarm with 6.4 and 5.9 magnitude quakes and ongoing aftershocks

✅ Costa Sur Plant offline; PREPA urges conservation amid grid repairs

✅ Older, code-deficient buildings and landslides raise safety risks

Some in Puerto Rico are beginning to fear the ground will never stop shaking. The island has been pummeled by hundreds of earthquakes in recent weeks, including the recent 5.9 magnitude temblor, where there were reports of landslides in the town of Peñuelas along the southern coast, rattling residents already on edge from the massive 6.4 magnitude quake, and raising wider concerns about climate risks to the grid in disaster-prone regions.

That was the largest to strike the island in more than a century causing hundreds of structures to crumble, forcing thousands from their homes and leaving millions without power, a scenario echoed by Texas power outages during winter storms too. One person was killed and several others injured.

Utility says 99% of customers have electricity

Puerto Rico's public utility, PREPA, tweeted some welcome news Monday: that nearly all of the homes and businesses it serves have had electric power restored. Still it is urging customers to conserve energy amid utility supply-chain shortages that can slow critical repairs.

Reporting from the port city of Ponce, NPR's Adrian Florido said the Costa Sur Plant, which produces more than 40% of Puerto Rico's electricity, was badly damaged in last week's quake. It remains offline indefinitely, even as grid operators elsewhere have faced California blackout warnings during extreme heat.

He also reports many residents are still reeling from the devastation caused by Hurricane Maria, a deadly Category 4 storm that battered the island in September 2017. The storm exposed the fact that buildings across the island were not up to code, similar to how aging systems have contributed to PG&E power line fires in California. The series of earthquakes are only amplifying fears that structures have been further weakened.

"People aren't coping terribly well," Florido said on NPR's Morning Edition Monday, noting that households elsewhere have endured pandemic power shutoffs and burdensome bills.

Many earthquake victims sleeping outdoors

Florido spoke to one displaced resident, Leticia Espada, who said more than 50 homes in her town of Guayanilla, about an hour drive east of the port city of Ponce, had collapsed.

After sleeping outside for days on her patio following Tuesday's quake, she eventually came to her town's baseball stadium where she's been sleeping on one of hundreds of government-issued cots.

She's like so many others sleeping in open-air shelters, many unwilling to go back to their homes until they've been deemed safe, while even far from disaster zones, brief events like a Northeast D.C. outage show how fragile service can be.

"Thousands of people across several towns sleeping in tents or under tarps, or out in the open, protected by nothing but the shade of a tree with no sense of when these quakes are going to stop," Florido reports.

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Ontario electricity pricing consultations will gather business input on OEB rate design, Industrial Conservation Initiative, dynamic pricing, global adjustment, and system costs through online feedback and sector-specific in-person sessions province-wide.

Key Points

Consultations gathering business input on rates, programs, and OEB policy to improve fairness and reduce system costs.

✅ Consults on ICI, GA, dynamic pricing structures

✅ Seeks views on OEB C&I rate design changes

✅ In-person sessions across key industrial sectors

The Ontario government has announced plans to hold consultations to seek input from businesses about industrial electricity pricing and programs. This will be done through Ontario's online consultations directory and though in-person sector-specific consultation sessions across the province. The in-person sessions will be held in all areas of Ontario, and will target "key industries," including automotive and the build-out of electric vehicle charging stations infrastructure, forestry, mining, agriculture, steel, manufacturing and chemicals.

On April 1, 2019, the Ontario government published a consultation notice for this process, confirming that it is looking for input on "electricity rate design, existing tax-based incentives, reducing system costs and regulatory and delivery costs," including related proposals such as the hydrogen rate reduction proposal under discussion. The consultation process includes a list of nine questions for respondents (and presumably participants in the in-person sessions) to address. These include questions about:

The benefits of the Industrial Conservation Initiative (described below), including how it could be changed to improve fairness and industrial competitiveness, and how it could complement programs like the Hydrogen Innovation Fund that support industrial innovation.

Dynamic pricing structures that allow for lower rates in return for responding to price signals versus a flat rate structure that potentially costs more, but is more stable and predictable, as Ontario's energy storage expansion accelerates.

Interest in an all-in commodity contract with an electricity retailer, even if it involves a risk premium.

Interested parties are invited to submit their comments before May 31, 2019.

The government's consultation announcement follows recent developments in the Ontario Energy Board's (OEB) review of electricity ratemaking for commercial and industrial customers, and intertie projects such as the Lake Erie Connector that could affect market dynamics.

In December 2018, the OEB published a paper from its Market Surveillance Panel (MSP) examining the Industrial Conservation Initiative (ICI), and potential alternative approaches. The ICI is a program that allows qualifying large industrial customers to base their global adjustment (GA) payments on their consumption during five peak demand hours in a year. Customers who find ways to reduce consumption at those times, perhaps through DERs and enabling energy storage options, will reduce their electricity costs. This shifts GA costs to other customers. The MSP found that the ICI does not fairly allocate costs to those who cause them and/or benefit from them, and recommends that a better approach should be developed.

In February 2019, the OEB released its Staff Report to the Board on Rate Design for Commercial and Industrial Electricity Customers, setting out recommendations for new rate designs for electricity commercial and industrial (C&I) rate classes as Ontario increasingly turns to battery storage to meet rising demand. As described in an earlier post, the Staff Report includes recommendations to: (i) establish a fixed distribution charge for commercial customers with demands under 10 kW; (ii) implement a demand charge (rather than the current volumetric charge) for C&I customers with demands between 10kW and 50kW; and (iii) introduce a "capacity reserve charge" for customers with load displacement generation to replace stand-by charges and provide for recognition of the benefits of this generation on the system. The OEB held a stakeholder information session in mid-March on this initiative, and interested parties are now filing submissions in response to the Staff Report.

Whether and how the OEB's processes will fit together with the government's consultation process remains to be seen.

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Hydro-Québec Carillon Refurbishment delivers a $750M hydropower modernization, replacing six turbines and upgrading civil works, water passageways, and grid equipment to extend run-of-river, renewable energy output for peak demand near Montréal.

Key Points

A $750M project replacing six units and upgrading civil, water and electrical systems to supply power for 50 years.

✅ Replaces six generating units with Andritz turbines.

✅ Upgrades civil works, water passageways, and electrical gear.

✅ Extends run-of-river output for 50 years; boosts peak supply.

Hydro-Québec will invest $750 million to refurbish its Carillon generating station with a major powerhouse upgrade that will mainly replace six generating units. The investment also covers the cost of civil engineering work, including making adjustments to water passageways, upgrading electrical equipment and replacing the station roof. Work will start in 2021, aligning with Hydro-Québec's capacity expansion plans for 2021, and continue until 2027.

Carillon generating station is a run-of-river power plant consisting of 14 generating units with a total installed capacity of 753 MW. Built in the early 1960s, it is a key part of Hydro-Québec's hydroelectric generating fleet, which includes the La Romaine complex as well. The station is close to the greater Montréal area and feeds power into the grid to support industrial demand growth during peak consumption periods.

The selected supplier, turbine manufacturer Andritz, has been asked to maximize the project's economic spinoffs in Québec, as Canada continues investing in new turbines across the country to modernize assets. Once the work is completed, the new generating units will be able to provide clean, renewable energy, supporting Hydro-Québec's strategy to reduce fossil fuel reliance for the next 50 years.

"Carillon generating station is a symbol of our hydroelectric development and plays a strategic role in our production fleet. However, most of the generating units' main components date back to the station's original construction from 1959 to 1962. Hydropower generating stations have long service lives - with this refurbishment, Carillon will be producing clean renewable energy for decades to come." said David Murray, Chief Innovation Officer and President, Hydro-Québec Production.

"In light of today's economic situation, this is an important announcement that clearly reaffirms Hydro-Québec's role in relaunching Québec's economy and strengthening interprovincial electricity partnerships that open new markets. Over 600,000 hours of work will be required for everything from the engineering work to component assembly, creating many new high-quality skilled jobs for Québec industries."

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Alberta Solar Energy Expansion confronts high installation costs, grid integration and storage needs, and environmental impact, while incentives, infrastructure upgrades, and renewable targets aim to balance reliability, land use, and emissions reductions provincewide.

Key Points

Alberta Solar Energy Expansion is growth in solar tempered by costs, grid limits, environmental impact, and incentives.

✅ High capex and financing challenge utility-scale projects

✅ Grid integration needs storage, transmission, and flexibility

✅ Site selection must mitigate land and wildlife impacts

Alberta's push towards expanding solar power is encountering significant financial and environmental hurdles. The province's ambitious plans to boost solar power generation have been met with both enthusiasm and skepticism as stakeholders grapple with the complexities of integrating large-scale solar projects into the existing energy framework.

The Alberta government has been actively promoting solar energy as part of its strategy to diversify the energy mix in a province that is a powerhouse for both green energy and fossil fuels today and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Recent developments have highlighted the potential of solar power to contribute to Alberta's clean energy goals. However, the path forward is fraught with challenges related to costs, environmental impact, and infrastructure needs.

One of the primary issues facing the solar energy sector in Alberta is the high cost of solar installations. Despite decreasing costs for solar technology in recent years, the upfront investment required for large-scale solar farms remains substantial, even as some facilities have been contracted at lower cost than natural gas in Alberta today. This financial barrier has led to concerns about the economic viability of solar projects and their ability to compete with other forms of energy, such as natural gas and oil, which have traditionally dominated Alberta's energy landscape.

Additionally, there are environmental concerns associated with the development of solar farms. While solar energy is considered a clean and renewable resource, the construction of large solar installations can have environmental implications. These include potential impacts on local wildlife habitats, land use changes, where approaches like agrivoltaics can co-locate farming and solar, and the ecological effects of large-scale land clearing. As solar projects expand, balancing the benefits of renewable energy with the need to protect natural ecosystems becomes increasingly important.

Another significant challenge is the integration of solar power into Alberta's existing energy grid. Solar energy production is variable and dependent on weather conditions, especially with Alberta's limited hydro capacity for flexibility, which can create difficulties in maintaining a stable and reliable energy supply. The need for infrastructure upgrades and energy storage solutions is crucial to address these challenges and ensure that solar power can be effectively utilized alongside other energy sources.

Despite these challenges, the Alberta government remains committed to advancing solar energy as a key component of its renewable energy strategy. Recent initiatives include financial incentives and support programs aimed at encouraging investment in solar projects and supporting a renewable energy surge that could power thousands of jobs across Alberta today. These measures are designed to help offset the high costs associated with solar installations and make the technology more accessible to businesses and homeowners alike.

Local communities and businesses are also playing a role in the growth of solar energy in Alberta. Many are exploring opportunities to invest in solar power as a means of reducing energy costs and supporting sustainability efforts and, increasingly, to sell renewable energy into the market as demand grows. These smaller-scale projects contribute to the overall expansion of solar energy and demonstrate the potential for widespread adoption across the province.

The Alberta government has also been working to address the environmental concerns associated with solar energy development. Efforts are underway to implement best practices for minimizing environmental impacts and ensuring that solar projects are developed in an environmentally responsible manner. This includes conducting environmental assessments and working with stakeholders to address potential issues before projects are approved and built.

In summary, while Alberta's solar energy initiatives hold promise for advancing the province's clean energy goals, they are also met with significant financial and environmental challenges. Addressing these issues will be crucial to the successful expansion of solar power in Alberta. The government's ongoing efforts to support solar projects through incentives and infrastructure improvements, coupled with responsible environmental practices, will play a key role in determining the future of solar energy in the province.

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Turkey Net Metering Suspension freezes regulator reviews, stalling rooftop solar permits and grid interconnections amid COVID-19, pausing licensing workflows, EPC pipelines, and electricity bill credits that drive commercial and household prosumer adoption.

Key Points

A pause on technical reviews freezing net metering applications and slowing rooftop solar deployment in Turkey.

✅ Monthly technical committee meetings suspended indefinitely

✅ Rooftop solar permits and grid interconnections on hold

✅ EPC firms urge remote evaluations for transparency

The decision by the Turkish Energy Market Regulatory Authority to halt part of the system of processing net metering applications risks bringing the only vibrant segment of the nation’s solar industry to a grinding halt, a risk amplified as global renewables face Covid-19 disruptions across markets.

The regulator has suspended monthly meetings of the committee which makes technical evaluations of net metering applications, citing concerns about the spread of Covid-19, which has already seen U.S. utility-scale solar face delays this year.

The availability of electricity bill credits for net-metering-approved households which inject surplus power into the grid, similar to how British households can sell power back to energy firms, has seen the rooftop projects the scheme is typically associated with remain the only source of new solar generation capacity in Turkey of late.

However the energy regulator’s decision to suspend technical evaluation committee meetings until further notice has seen the largely online licensing process for new solar systems practically cease; by contrast, Berlin is being urged to remove PV barriers to keep projects moving.

The Turkish solar industry has claimed the move is unnecessary, with solar engineering, procurement and construction services businesses pointing out the committee could meet to evaluate projects remotely. It has been argued such a move would streamline the application process and make it more transparent, regardless of the current public health crisis.

Net metering 

Turkey introduced net metering for rooftop installations last May and pv magazine has reported the specifics of the scheme, amid debates like New England's grid upgrade costs over who pays.

National grid operator Teias confirmed recently the country added 109 MW of new solar capacity in the first quarter, most of it net-metered rooftop systems, even as Australian distributors warn excess solar can strain local networks.

Net metering has been particularly attractive to commercial electricity users because the owners of small and medium-sized businesses pay more for power, as solar reshapes electricity prices in Northern Europe, than either households or large scale industrial consumers.

Until the recent technical committee decision by the regulator, the chief obstacle to net metering adoption had been the nation’s economic travails. The Turkish lira has lost 14% of its value since January and around 36% over the last two years. The central bank has been using its foreign reserves to support state lenders and the lira but the national currency slipped near an all-time low on Friday and foreign analysts predict the central bank reserves could run dry in July.

The level of exports shipped last month was down 41% on April last year and imports fell 28% by the same comparison, further depressing the willingness of companies to make capital investments such as rooftop solar.

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