Democratic Senators Debbie Stabenow and Gary Peters, along with Republican Senators Lamar Alexander and Susan Collins have introduced the Driving America Forward Act (S.1094), which will expand the electric vehicle and hydrogen fuel cell tax credit. The bipartisan legislation seeks to raise the current cap of 200,000 vehicles per manufacturer by an additional 400,000, allowing more consumers to reap a $7,000…
Maine Senator Mark Lawrence, a Democrat, introduced legislation on April 13 to establish a program that would put the state on a path to source all of its energy from renewable resources by 2050. The bill would require state agencies to meet 100 percent of their electricity needs using renewables by 2030. (LD 1562) Under…
Maine House lawmaker Diane Denk, a Democrat, introduced legislation on April 11 that would establish a process to enable a municipality, which is served by two transmission and distribution utilities, to choose one of them to meet all its power needs. (LD 1542) To make the choice, the municipality would hold a referendum made by…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is providing financing through its electric loan program to upgrade rural electric systems, including smart grid technologies to enhance operations and monitor grid security across 13 states, according to an April 8 press release. The spending will help build or improve about 2,635 miles of power lines. These include almost…
PJM Interconnection LLC will proceed with its upcoming capacity auction scheduled to begin on Aug. 14 unless the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rules otherwise, according to an April 10 filing. The agency has not yet rendered a decision on the grid operator’s proposal filed last year to address the pricing-suppressing effects from the growing influx…
The Montana legislature on April 8 approved a bill that aims to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the state by allowing utilities to sell power to private entities operating charging stations in their service territories. The bill would also determine that these operators are not public utilities. (HB 456) Under the legislation, charges pertaining…
The U.S. Energy Department on April 11 announced up to about $100 million for research projects under its “Coal FIRST” initiative, which aims to develop modular coal-based power plants built with advanced methods to meet the requirements of the evolving electric grid. The agency will also invest up to $87 million in innovative coal technologies…