Energy Efficiency
NY Governor Cuomo has announced nine awards to recognize leadership and excellence in building energy performance under the 2012 BuildSmart NY Initiative. On September 15, 2014, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the first BuildSmart NY Awards for outstanding energy efficiency solutions in public buildings to bring down operating expenses, save taxpayer money, and…...
The 25th RGGI carbon auction, which marks RGGI’s sixth full year, sold allowances at $4.88 each, generating approximately $87.83M. On September 5, 2014, the nine member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) released results of their 25th carbon auction (Auction 25) held on September 3. Auction 25 offered 17,998,687 allowances at a reserve…...
The New York Department of Public Service (DPS) staff has issued a Straw Proposal on achieving the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Track One goals. The straw proposal reaffirms the initial April 24 proceeding which identified utilities’ role in managing a distributed system platform (DSP) and growing the state’s existing Distributed Energy Resource (DER) assets. Despite…...
Hawaiian Electric Companies have proposed comprehensive electric energy plans with a goal to achieve more than 65 percent renewable energy by 2030. On August 26, 2014, the Hawaiian Electric Companies – Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric, and Hawaii Electric Light Company – proposed electric energy plans in response to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC)…...
Rhode Island’s climate law prioritizes climate adaptation, emissions reduction, and institutional design to address climate change. The Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 (H 7904) is the state’s first climate bill and aims to make the state economy and society resilient to the effects of a changing climate. Signed into law on July 2, and ceremonially signed on August 1,…...
The latest round of low-cost power allocations under ReCharge NY is expected to leverage an estimated $270M in capital investments. On August 4, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York Power Authority has approved the ninth round of ReCharge NY power allocations, providing a total of 11.8 MW of low-cost power for…...
Massachusetts has enacted legislation, qualifying renewable heating and cooling technologies for Alternative Energy Credits under the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. On August 1, 2014, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted S 2214 – An Act Relative to Credit for Thermal Energy Generated with Renewable Fuels – mandating utilities to procure renewable thermal energy credits to meet their…...
Renewable Heat NY will facilitate a sustainable, high-efficiency, and low-emissions wood heating sector across New York. On July 29, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched Renewable Heat NY, a $27M initiative aimed to build market for high-efficiency, low-emissions wood-fired heating systems across state. The initiative will offer incentives to replace highly polluting outdoor and indoor…...
FERC Order 764 requires transmission providers to offer intra-hour scheduling of output and variable generation facilities to supply meteorological and operational forecasting data. Through the Order, renewable power producers will be better positioned to provide to the grid cost competitive electricity relative to traditional generation. In addition, transmission providers will be better able to predict…...
NY Governor Cuomo has announced seven new smart grid projects to improve power delivery, lower ratepayer costs, and enhance grid resiliency to address potential weather events. On July 23, 2014, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $3.3M for seven research projects aimed to add resiliency and efficiency to the state electric grid. The funding…...
On July 10, 2014, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) conducted a technical conference to give the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative’s Track 1 Working Groups an opportunity to report their findings. Unveiled in April, REV calls for a fundamental reconsideration of power sector regulatory paradigms and markets emphasizing the role of…...
Increased drought frequency and severity could place strain on water-reliant power generators. Power generation, system cooling methods, and resource extraction technology will need to become less water-reliant if water availability continues its downward trend. Several federal programs – such as the DOE Water Energy Tech Team – are working to address the balance of water…...