Texas state lawmakers are exploring solutions to address the issues faced during and after the mid-February winter storm event that caused widespread outages across the state. California, which faced a similar predicament due to an unprecedented heatwave in August 2020, albeit smaller in scale and severity, has advanced measures to ensure reliability this summer.
Ongoing state initiatives to transition to a low-carbon future and new actions from the federal level are impacting natural gas utilities’ long-term planning strategies. The challenge for utilities is to adapt to the changing policy landscape, evolving in ways that contribute to decarbonization.
Washington state lawmakers on April 8 passed legislation to establish a clean fuels standard aimed to reduce the carbon intensity of transportation fuel to 20 percent below 2017 levels by 2035. The program is expected to facilitate the shift to lower carbon fuels, including expanding the market for renewable natural gas as a transportation fuel…....
U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Jan. 27 that calls for a review of siting and permitting process on public lands and waters to increase renewable energy production with a goal of doubling offshore wind energy by 2030. The order also directs the U.S. Interior Department to pause new oil and gas…...
The shift in policy priorities of the incoming administration is expected to accelerate the transformation of the power sector towards clean energy and distributed grid, continuing its trajectory driven by market dynamics, technology, and customer preferences. The strong growth of renewable energy is expected to speed up, particularly with the extension of the federal tax…...
The California Public Utilities Commission on Dec. 21 issued a decision adopting strategies and metrics to further the integration of electric vehicles as grid resources. The decision, which adopts recommendations of the commission’s Vehicle Grid Integration Working Group, directs utilities to collaborate on interconnection and rate reforms and pilot programs, such as using EVs for…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Dec. 21 released a roadmap for its Energy Storage Grand Challenge initiative, a 10-year program launched in January to expedite the development of next-generation storage technologies. The roadmap marks the department’s first comprehensive strategy to address energy storage. The program aims to establish and sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage…...
The growing adoption of clean energy standards, energy efficiency, and customer-sited resources is driving the need for innovative ratemaking principles. Utilities are exploring rate structures that facilitate the integration of variable and distributed generation, and align customer behavior with grid needs. Smart meters are paving the way for time-based and dynamic rate options to balance the grid under the increased penetration of renewable and distributed energy resources, as well as electric vehicles.
DTE Electric Company on Dec. 3 requested the Michigan Public Service Commission to approve the second phase of its Electric Vehicle Charging Forward Program. The company seeks authorization to create a regulatory asset to cover the costs associated with the program activities. The incremental operation and maintenance costs of the program are estimated at about…...
With the growing adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), the need for flexible storage resources in the electric grid has drawn increased attention to how well the vehicles can integrate into the grid as temporary batteries. While California is making strides in furthering the utilization of EVs as a grid resource, a handful of states are contemplating the technology in connection with electrification of fleets, and medium- and heavy-duty vehicles.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency on Nov. 10 announced plans to allocate $170,000 in grants to facilitate the development of dual-port EV Level 2 Charging Stations in public settings to further bolster the presence of electric vehicles in the state. These grants can be accessed through an application system with extra incentives for proposals that…...
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Nov. 12 announced the availability of $11 million in funds to continue strengthening fast charging infrastructure throughout the state. The program will cover up to 80 percent of the cost to build public charging stations, with funding made available in two rounds. The initiative is funded by New York’s $127.7…...