The New York State Energy Research and Development Agency on April 25 announced a funding opportunity for two categories of projects as part of the state’s $400 million investment to attain the ambitious goal of deploying 3 gigawatts of storage by 2030. The state is making available $150 million for bulk storage projects comprising installations…
Rep. Michael Doyle, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania, introduced legislation on April 4 that would expand the solar investment tax credit to include energy storage technology for utilities, businesses, and homes. The current tax code provides the credit for battery technologies paired with a solar installations. (H.R.2096) More than 100 House Democrats, led by Congresswoman Haley…...
Both chambers of the Maryland legislature passed two bills on March 29, which seek to expand community solar and incentivize energy storage pilot programs in the state. House Bill 650 was proposed by Democratic Delegate Marc Korman on February 6 and requires the Public Service Commission to establish an energy storage pilot program by June 1. The pilot projects…
PJM Interconnection LLC is joining forces with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory to study the integration of distributed energy resources, such as rooftop solar, into the operator’s grid, according to an April 2 press release. The Argonne laboratory will be supporting PJM’s Distributed Energy Resource Ride-Through Task Force in developing guidelines for so-called “ride through” and…
DTE Electric Company submitted its 2019 integrated resource plan to the Michigan Public Service Commission on March 29, outlining the company’s strategy for the next 20 years. The plan focuses on a transition from coal to renewables, boosting energy efficiency and accelerating carbon emission reductions. The utility’s plan calls for about $2 billion to be invested in renewable…
The Maryland legislature on March 28 approved a measure that would extend the state’s community solar pilot through 2024 and remove the limit on the maximum number of subscribers in the program. The legislation would also include annually increasing capacity levels for each program category, modifying the current requirement that allows restrictions to enable regulators…...
The U.S. territory has passed the “Ley de Política Pública Energética de Puerto Rico” or Public Energy Policy Law of Puerto Rico on March 25, which among other energy reforms will set a 100 percent renewable portfolio standard by 2050. The measure, introduced by Senator Larry Seilhamer Rodríguez, a member of the New Progressive Party, and Senator Eduardo Bhatia…
Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill known as the Path to 100, which would boost the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 40 percent by 2030, up from the current 25 percent by 2025, as well as improve opportunities for utility-scale renewable projects to get approval and begin construction, putting the state on a path to 100 percent clean…
U.S. states are plowing ahead in setting market compensation rules for battery technology, laying the foundation for future growth of the fast-maturing technology in retail and wholesale markets. While progressive states California, New York and Massachusetts are charging ahead in how to value the resource, others are still grappling with how to regulate a system that fails to fit squarely in any one box and that raises a range of jurisdictional and ownership questions.
The California Energy Commission has approved a battery energy storage system to support the operation of the Marsh Landing natural gas plant in the event of a blackout, according to a March 12 order. The batteries will be used to start the gas turbines and to restart the power plant in the event of a blackout, also known as…
The New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) has published its Energy Storage Market Acceleration Incentives Implementation Plan on March 11. It describes how the state will allocate $310 million in funding to boost adoption of the technology and help achieve approximately a third of New York’s ambitious goal of 3 gigawatts by 2030. This $310 million market…
Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp, proposed three innovative utility programs to explore vehicle-to-grid power flow management, study the value of behind-the-meter grid optimized solar-plus-battery installations, and improve outage response by deploying line sensor technology on distribution circuits, according to a March 8 filing with the Utah Public Service Commission. The initiatives form the…...