The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on Aug. 16 unveiled a draft Clean Energy Plan outlining policy and action recommendations for the state to transition to carbon-free electricity by 2050, starting with a 60 to 70 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2030. An executive order issued last year by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper…
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.
The California Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 9 adopted reforms requiring eligible energy storage systems under the Self-Generation Incentive Program, or SGIP, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The changes call for a digitally accessible “GHG signal” that provides storage developers and customers with the information needed to charge during low- emission periods and discharge during…
The New York Public Service Commission on Aug. 8 opened a proceeding to examine options to align the state’s resource adequacy programs with renewable energy and emissions reduction goals, while ensuring safe and adequate service at just and reasonable rates. New York enacted legislation last month, which requires a carbon-neutral power system by 2040 and…
The Hawaiian Electric Company has submitted a plan with state regulators for its largest-ever renewable energy solicitation, seeking about 900 megawatts of new renewable generation capable of delivering nearly 2 million megawatt-hours each year, according to a July 17 filling. Pending regulatory approval, the utility plans to issue the final RFPs by August 9 and…
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s decision to deny states the opportunity to opt out of storage participation in wholesale markets, according to a July 16 press release. The organization, which represents state utility commissions,…
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 18 announced the selection of two projects totaling 1.7 gigawatts in New York’s first comprehensive offshore wind solicitation. Cuomo also signed legislation, which requires a carbon-neutral power system by 2040 and codifies the state’s targets of 6 gigawatts of solar by 2025, 3 gigawatts of energy storage by 2030,…
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.
U.S. utility-scale battery capacity is expected to nearly triple by the end of 2023 if planned additions of about 1,623 megawatts come online as scheduled, according to a July 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Grid-scale battery capacity more than quadrupled to almost 900 megawatts in March 2019 from 214 megawatts at the…
The New York Department of Public Service on July 1 released a unit-by-unit study of replacing or repowering peaking units, which are fossil‐fuel generators that typically operate during high demand periods. The analysis identified at least 275 megawatts, representing about 6 percent of the state’s peaking fleet, as potential candidates for substitution with 6-hour batteries…
The California state Assembly approved a measure requiring the Public Utilities Commission to earmark 10 percent of the 2020 funds from the Self Generation Incentive Program to install battery storage and distributed energy systems, in order to back up critical infrastructure in areas facing high wildfire risks. The allocation would amount to $16.6 million funded…
The Public Service Company of New Mexico, a unit of PNM Resources Inc., asked the Public Regulation Commission to approve its plan to retire 497 megawatts of the San Juan Generating Station coal-fired plant in 2022 after the current coal supply and operating agreements expire, according to a July 1 filing. The company evaluated four…