Blog

evcValuation actively researches and contributes to the professional valuation industry, covering a variety of topics to help current and future clients understand the value we provide

If you are in the process of considering evcValuation as a professional valuation services provider, please send us an online inquiry or call 262.788.9331 to learn more about what makes us a premier choice for your independent opinion of value.

We invite you to read our blog as we post monthly updates and share valuable research, case studies and other support information to keep you informed about our professional valuation services. Our blog articles are organized in multiple categories to help you navigate to a topic and the articles that cover it.

ISO-NE Announces 18th Annual Capacity Auction Results

ISO New England Inc. (“ISO-NE”) announced the results of the 18th Forward Capacity Auction on February 9, 2024. The auction included 31,556 megawatts (“MW”) of commitments, including 1,085 MW of new renewable capacity and 5,540 MW of new and existing renewable capacity. The preliminary closing price for the 2027/2028 commitment period was $3.58 per kilowatt-month.…

Read more

FERC approves delay to 2025 ISO-NE capacity auction

Originally scheduled for February 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has agreed to a one-year delay to the 19th ISO New England (ISO-NE) capacity auction. The delay came at the request of ISO-NE and the New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) as they seek additional time to develop and implement changes to their capacity accreditation…

Read more

60th RGGI auction clears

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) announced the results of the 60th auction for carbon dioxide allowances on June 9, 2023. The auction included the sale of more than 22 million allowances at a clearing price of $12.73 per allowance. The clearing price represented an increase of 1.8% compared to the 59th auction held in…

Read more

PJM seeks to delay power capacity auctions

The PJM Interconnection board of managers is seeking a delay of upcoming capacity auctions, including June’s auction for the 2025/26 delivery year, so that proposed design rule changes may be implemented. “In arriving at this decision, the Board recognized that, despite the implications of auction delay, reforms are necessary to the capacity market design in…

Read more

First Small Modular Reactor Design Certified

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission certified the first small scale reactor design in the U.S. on January 20th. Created by NuScale, the design incorporates a module system that utilizes less water and is one-third the size of a traditional large-scale reactor. Each module is capable of producing 50 MW of electricity. The first module is…

Read more

LS Power to acquire 334 MW hydro portfolio

LS Power has announced its plan to acquire 42 hydro facilities from Hull Street Energy. The run-of-river hydro facilities are located in 11 states and 334 MW in generating capacity. Hull Street Energy began acquiring and improving the hydroelectric plant portfolio in 2017. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of Q1 2023.…

Read more

New Legislation Set to Impact Renewables

The US Senate voted to approve the Inflation Reduction Act on August 7th. The legislation includes more than $370 billion earmarked for clean energy investment, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The bill is now headed to the US House of Representatives for a vote. Currently, the legislation proposes that federal tax…

Read more

U.S. Electricity Generation Mix Changes

The electricity generation mix in the U.S. continued to change in 2021. In addition to the growth in renewable energy, one major surprise was observed. The percentage of coal-fired generation increased for the first time since 2007. The generation mix changes were largely driven by economics. According to the EIA, electric generators realized an average…

Read more

Renewable energy transition study released by PJM

PJM Interconnection released the initial results of its energy transition study. The study identifies the impact renewable energy has on market design, transmission planning, and grid reliability. The multiyear study is one of multiple being undertaken by PJM. Five focus areas were identified using the PJM strategic pillars of decarbonization efforts, future grid planning, and…

Read more

US renewable generation sets record

In 2020, renewable power generation became the second largest source of electricity in the United States. According to the Energy Information Administration, renewable energy sources represented 21% of the electricity generated in the United States. This is the first time that renewable energy accounted for more generation than both coal (19%) and nuclear (20%). Electricity…

Read more

US natural gas power generation declines

Natural gas-fired power generation in the United States declined through the first four months of 2021. According to the EIA, an average of 3,394 gigawatthours of electricity were generated daily by natural gas-fired power plants. This represents a 7% decline compared to the same period in 2020 and the first decline since 2017.   Despite…

Read more

Stressed US energy infrastructure

The nation’s energy infrastructure succumbed to enormous stress as extreme winter weather gripped the US in mid-February. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, power disruptions impacted energy customers in Texas, Louisiana, Oregon, and Virginia. Texas was hit particularly hard as millions of people were left without power for days.   Electric generation assets were severely…

Read more

ISO-NE capacity auction ends with prices up from record low

As expected, ISO New England’s (“ISO-NE”) recent Forward Capacity Auction (“FCA”) 15 resulted in higher capacity clearing prices than FCA 14. The auction, consisting of five rounds of bidding, concluded on February 8th with preliminary clearing prices ranging from $2.48/kW-month to $3.98/kW-month, depending on zone. These prices represent a significant increase from FCA 14, when…

Read more

US sets new wind generation record

The US set a new record for daily wind electricity generation on December 23, 2020. According to the EIA, a total of 1.76 million MWh were generated from wind in the lower 48 states. The new record represented approximately 17% of the total daily US electricity generation. This new milestone eclipsed the pre-2020 record of…

Read more

2020 Saw Lowest Natural Gas Prices in Decades

Mild winter weather and the global COVID-19 pandemic drove natural gas prices in 2020 to the lowest annual average prices in several decades, averaging $2.05 per MMBtu at the national benchmark Henry Hub in Louisiana, according to EIA data. Natural gas demand for heating was low due to the mild weather, and economic shutdowns triggered…

Read more

Battery storage shows tremendous growth

Installed large-scale battery storage systems in the United States reached an all-time high as of the end of 2018. According to the EIA, a total of 125 installed battery storage systems having a combined capacity of 869 MW were operational in the US as of 2018. These figures are a significant increase compared to 2010…

Read more

Wind capacity additions set a new record

The United States set a new record with the addition of 2,617 MW of wind capacity during Q1 2020. According to S&P Global Market Intelligence, installed wind capacity in the United States now exceeds 107,000 MW. This represents a sizable increase compared to the 61,500 MW of installed wind capacity as of Q1 2014. New…

Read more

Renewable energy tax credit window extended

The U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service extended the renewable energy tax credit window on Wednesday May 27th. As a result, renewable energy facilities will have more time to qualify for production tax credits (PTCs) and investment tax credits (ITCs). The plan extends the Continuity Safe Harbor for projects that began construction in…

Read more

US rig count lowest on record

The number of active oil and natural gas drilling rigs in the United States reached an all-time low on May 15th, when there were 258 oil rigs 79 gas rigs, according to Baker Hughes data.  Baker Hughes has been tracking rig counts since 1987. Oil rigs saw the steepest decline, due to a sharp decrease…

Read more

Solar supporters push tax credit extension

Forecasts by the Solar Energy Industries Association (“SEIA”) and Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables show that the US would add an additional 82 GW of solar capacity by 2030, if Congress maintains the solar Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”), on top of the 227 GW already expected. 113,000 additional jobs and $87 billion in additional investment…

Read more

Corporate demand for renewable energy on the rise

According to new research from Wood Mackenzie and the American Wind Energy Association (“AWEA”), renewable energy demand by Fortune 1000 companies could reach 85 GW by 2030. Many top companies like Facebook and Google had already contracted for more than 6 GW of wind and solar power purchase agreements (“PPAs”) in 2018 as the cost…

Read more

EIA releases latest International Energy Outlook, says renewables will replace oil as top world energy source by late 2040s

In its latest International Energy Outlook (“IEO”), the US Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) says renewable energy will displace oil as the world’s top energy source by the late 2040s. However, oil demand will continue to rise until 2050 as EIA Administrator Linda Capuano said renewables are not growing fast enough to meet demand. The EIA…

Read more
Wind

Wind Farm Valuation: From Novelty to Mainstream

As renewable energy generation capacity continues to increase in the U.S. — due in part to state and federal incentives and tax credits—many of these benefits are coming to an end What was once a novel technology seeking to rid the world of fossil fuel energy generation, is now transitioning into a mainstream (and viable)…

Read more

Introduction to Cost-to-Capacity Method

Replacement cost new estimates are an essential component in the cost approach for the appraisal of industrial facilities and evcValuation has extensive knowledge in applying various replacement cost new methodologies, which helps deliver a credible and useful appraisal report At evcValuation, one of our core benefits to clients is our breadth of knowledge, experience and…

Read more

Engineering & Valuation: The Key to Supportable Valuation Analyses of Complex Property

evcValuation’s engineering plays a crucial role in the company’s ability to provide opinions of value in complex industrial assets—including power plants and related facilities Engineering is a wondrous field of expertise where a professional is involved in the design and development of machinery, technology and tools that garner the power of physics, chemistry and the…

Read more

The importance of a Multifaceted Appraisal Approach Used in Insurance Appraisal

evcValuation is known for its multifaceted approach in insurance appraisals, which provides an expanded level of confidence with the quality and supportability of its reports The complexity of industrial and commercial valuation projects is often overwhelming for many appraisal companies. evcValuation has been delivering exceptional results to our clients thanks to our discipline and methodology,…

Read more

Pumped storage potential could be 22 million GWh on 530,000 sites worldwide, Australian Researchers say

A report by a professor at The Australian National University (“ANU”) has identified approximately 530,000 locations worldwide that would be suitable for pumped hydro energy storage. These sites have a storage potential of approximately 22 million GWh. Research for the ANU report utilized geographic information system (GIS) analysis to find the sites, which are closed-loop…

Read more

How Much Would You Pay for a Coal Plant?

  Acme Equities LLC is looking to buy San Juan Generating station in New Mexico for $1. The current owners plan to shut the facility down because current environmental regulations require installation of significant and expensive backend pollution control equipment. However, pollution control is not the only issue standing in the way of coal generation.…

Read more

Offshore Wind Struggles to Gain Ground in the US

  The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities has rejected EDF Renewables’ application for a new offshore wind farm near Atlantic City, questioning its high cost and economic benefits. EDF Renewables submitted the application, which called for MHI Vestas Offshore to supply three V164 8.3 MW turbines for the Nautilus Offshore Wind Project, in September.…

Read more

DOE To Fund New Coal-Fired Generation Research

The Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy is funding research and development into small, modular coal-fired power plants in 2019 in an effort to revive the coal-fired power generation sector and diversify the power generation industry. The potential for higher natural gas prices in the future and an over-reliance on natural-gas fired electricity generation…

Read more

Scaling Laws: Uses and Misuses in Industrial Plant and Equipment Replacement Cost Estimates

By Clayton T. Baumann, PE, CCP, ASA | evcValuation and Alexander Lopatnikov, ASA, RICS | American Appraisal Click HERE to download a PDF version of this article Abstract Scaling laws are ubiquitous in the study of nature, biology, computer networks, economics and other social sciences,[1] and various engineering applications. They establish a relationship, often in…

Read more

Natural Gas-Fired Electricity Generation Surging This Summer

The EIA’s Short-Term Energy Outlook released in July has natural gas-fired generation supplying approximately 37% of total electricity in the U.S. this summer, with coal-fired generation falling to approximately 30% of total supply.  Low natural gas prices along with over 5 gigawatts of additional natural gas-fired capacity that has come online this year are the…

Read more

Rise of Renewable Energy Generation Expected to Continue

Between declining costs of renewable energy technology and continually increasing stigma associated with fossil fuel electricity generation, the forward outlook for renewable generation is very positive.  Additionally, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act signed into law by President Trump at the end of 2017 maintained the tax credits associated with renewable energy generation, furthering the…

Read more

Emergence of Reciprocating Gas Engines

Recent developments in the power generation industry have seen gas reciprocating engines being installed in increasing numbers on new projects as opposed to gas turbines. Improvements in technology have resulted in reciprocating engines that can rival the capacity of gas turbines and the ability to be brought to full capacity in as little as five…

Read more

Wind Power Continues its Expansion

  Wind Power Expansion In another step forward for wind energy, on March 25, 2016 the Department of Energy (“DOE”) approved Clean Line Energy’s Plains & Eastern Line transmission project, which connects wind power generation facilities in Western Oklahoma to the customers of the Southeastern United States.  Construction is estimated to begin in 2017, and…

Read more

The Cost-to-Capacity Method and Scale Factors

Introduction The cost-to-capacity method can be a very useful tool when developing elements of the cost approach in many valuations. It is a order-of-magnitude cost estimation tool that uses historical costs and capacity in order to develop current cost estimates for an entire facility or a particular piece of machinery or equipment [1]. The fundamental…

Read more

The advice provided in this blog is not considered to be professional advice. It is for the sole purpose of providing general information.