EnergyOnline
Services

RSS FEED

EnergyOnline.com rss

News

OG&E and Google Announce Contract for Three Data Centers in Oklahoma

LCG, April 30, 2026--OG&E, the operating subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp., announced today that it will power three new data centers that Google announced in Muskogee and Stillwater, Oklahoma last year. As part of the agreement, Google will also make power generation capacity available from two solar facilities in Stephens and Muskogee Counties that are currently under construction. The data centers and associated Electric Service Agreements are expected to provide economic growth for local communities and the state, contribute to grid stability, and benefit OG&E's current customers.

Read more

Graphic Packaging and NextEra Energy Resources Sign 250-MW Virtual Power Purchase Agreement

LCG, April 29, 2026--Graphic Packaging Holding Company today announced a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with NextEra Energy Resources, LLC. With the VPPA agreement, NextEra Energy Resources plans to build the Selenite Springs Energy Center, a 250-MW solar energy facility in West Texas, and Graphic Packaging will be the sole buyer of the facility's renewable energy attribute certificates. Graphic Packaging, a global provider of sustainable consumer packaging, expects the agreement to cover approximately 43 percent of its 2025 electricity usage in the U.S. and Canada. The agreement will advance Graphic Packaging's commitment to source renewable electricity and reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Read more

Industry News

EIA Presents Analysis of California's Solar and Wind Power Curtailment Challenges

LCG, May 29, 2025--The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released an analysis yesterday showing that the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), the grid operator for most of the state, is increasing its curtailment of the rapidly growing solar- and wind-powered generation facilities in order to balance electricity supply and demand, which is necessary to maintain a stable electric system.

Intermittent solar- and wind-powered generation capacity has increased dramatically in California, which in turn has increased the challenge of balancing supply and demand. In 2014, a combined 9.7 GW of wind and solar photovoltaic capacity was installed. At the end of 2024, the installed capacity in California had nearly tripled to 28.2 GW.

In 2024, CAISO curtailed 3.4 million MWh of utility-scale wind and solar output, which is a 29 percent increase from the prior year curtailments. Solar accounted for 93 percent of all the energy curtailed in CAISO in 2024.

According to the EIA analysis, the curtailments of wind and solar output is primarily driven by oversupply, i.e., when generation output exceeds customer electricity demand. The solar curtailments occurred mostly in the spring, when solar output was relatively high and electricity demand was relatively low, given moderate spring temperatures and less demand for space heating or air conditioning.

The EIA's analysis states that solar energy supplies almost half of CAISO's electricity demand between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. However, demand increases in the later evening hours when people come home from work and turn up air conditioners or electric heaters and turn on lights, ovens, computers, and televisions. This increase in demand and need for non-solar power supplies is especially apparent on hot summer evenings after the sun has set and no longer produces solar power overnight.

According to EIA, CAISO is trying to reduce curtailments in several ways: (i) trading with neighboring balancing authorities to try to sell excess solar and wind power, (ii) incorporating battery storage into ancillary services, energy, and capacity markets, and (iii) including curtailment reduction in transmission planning. In addition, this year companies are planning to use excess renewable energy to make hydrogen, some of which will be stored and mixed with natural gas for summer generation at the Intermountain Power Project's new facility that is scheduled to come online in July.

Copyright © 2026 LCG Consulting. All rights reserved. Terms and Copyright
UPLAN-NPM
The Locational Marginal Price Model (LMP) Network Power Model
Uniform Storage Model
A Battery Simulation Model
UPLAN-ACE
Day Ahead and Real Time Market Simulation
UPLAN-G
The Gas Procurement and Competitive Analysis System
PLATO
Database of Plants, Loads, Assets, Transmission...
CAISO CRR Auctions
Monthly Price and Congestion Forecasting Service