A growing number of states are redesigning policies and incentives for distributed generation as customer-sited installations spread amid falling costs. Regulators have initiated a number of actions this year, ranging from examining the value of distributed energy resources (DER) to overhauling interconnection rules, and equipping utilities with the planning structure required to accommodate new resources.
Carbon reduction is becoming ingrained in the planning strategies of utilities across the Northwest in response to state-level decarbonization policies and market changes. As coal plants are no longer cost-competitive, utilities are taking advantage of new technologies and favorable economics of natural gas and renewables.
California’s energy landscape is evolving rapidly driven by its ambitious clean energy and carbon reduction goals. Recent actions range from enhancing renewable integration to reforming carbon market rules, strengthening auto-emission standards, and revising energy efficiency policies.
New York has adopted sweeping measures to propel the state’s clean energy agenda, including adopting the nation’s most ambitious climate targets, awarding the largest offshore wind contract, and refining compensation rules to boost distributed solar.
Ameren, FirstEnergy, and Pepco are advancing sweeping plans to modernize the power grid. The programs, exceeding $7.5 billions in investments, mark the latest efforts by utilities to overhaul an aging, antiquated transmission and distribution system to make it more resilient, accommodate the growing penetration of renewable and distributed energy, and enhance customer-interaction.
Battery storage has long held the promise of eventually replacing the costliest, most-polluting fossil-fuel fired generators that are used to meet surging electricity demand on the grid. That day may now be upon us as costs of batteries plummet and as state regulators from Massachusetts to Arizona weigh new incentives for the technology.
Utilities are stepping up efforts to boost retail power and gas rates to offset tepid growth in electric demand and weak prices in the wholesale markets. Utilities are also overhauling how charges are set by launching non-traditional rate programs, including revenue decoupling and performance-based rates. Keep on top of the latest utility rate programs by…...
Utilities across North America are investing billions of dollars to decarbonize their power fleets to comply with unprecedented greenhouse gas emission cuts and bold renewable energy targets. The pivot to cleaner and greener power sources is reflected in the integrated resource plans and RFPs that utilities file with state commissions. Keep on top of the…...
A growing number of states are exploring grid modernization to keep pace with fast-evolving technological advances and growing distributed generation. The smart grid concept ties together multiple initiatives ranging from solar-battery microgrids to vehicle-to-grid power flow management, and grid hardening to support reliability and resiliency. It may also include advanced meters, which are a pivotal…...
Declining costs, evolving technology, and changing grid needs are accelerating the pace of deployment of battery storage projects. Regulators seek to spur investments to leverage the multiple benefits of batteries, including the ability to add large amounts of intermittent renewable generation to the system, and to defer or eliminate the need to build new transmission…...
Battery storage is no longer just paving the way for greater integration of renewables onto the grid. The technology is now ushering in larger utility-scale solar and wind projects with diverse configurations. Utility proposals to develop massive storage projects in tandem with renewables are becoming more common as intermittent wind and solar continue to produce a growing share of power generation. Aggressive state and utility decarbonization goals are also driving the need for cost-effective batteries.
An unprecedented number of states are upending how retail power rates are set as utility revenues get squeezed by the surge in distributed generation, like rooftop solar panels, and as providers face bold environmental mandates to address climate change. Nineteen states and the District of Columbia are exploring or have adopted performance-based rate programs through…...
