NV Energy Seeks to Add 350 Megawatts of Renewables, Storage in Nevada

NV Energy Seeks to Add 350 Megawatts of Renewables, Storage in Nevada

NV Energy Inc. issued a request for proposals for projects of at least 20 megawatts to add 350 megawatts or more renewable energy capacity in Nevada, according to the company’s Oct. 16 press release. The solicitation is open to solar, geothermal, wind, biomass and biogas technologies that comply with the state’s renewable portfolio standards. The…

New Jersey State Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Integrate Energy Storage Into Long-Term Utility Resource Plans

New Jersey State Lawmaker Proposes Bill to Integrate Energy Storage Into Long-Term Utility Resource Plans

New Jersey state Assembly member Harold Wirths, a Republican, introduced legislation on Oct. 15 that would require the board of public utilities to establish mechanisms for electric suppliers and utilities to procure energy storage as part of their distribution and transmission system planning process. The legislation would require the board adopt rules and regulations that…

NRG Files Appeal Against New York Utilities Said to Unfairly Slash Credits for Community Solar Power

New York to Jumpstart Energy Storage With $40 Million Funding For Solar-Paired Projects in Move Towards 1.5 Gigawatt Goal

Governor Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced the funding to advance progress towards the state’s ambitious target of deploying of 1,500-megawatts of energy storage by 2025 and also support the Clean Energy Standard, which requires half of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy by 2030. The NY-Sun program, a $1 billion initiative that strives…

Trump Nominates McNamee to FERC as Agency Examines Crucial Issues of Pipeline Policy, Resiliency

Trump Nominates McNamee to FERC as Agency Examines Crucial Issues of Pipeline Policy, Resiliency

President Donald Trump nominated Bernard L. McNamee to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the term ending June 30, 2020, to fill the vacancy resulting from Commissioner Robert Powelson’s resignation in August, according to an Oct. 9 release from the agency. McNamee currently serves as the Executive Director of the U.S. Energy Department’s Office of…

Duke Energy Plans Microgrid in North Carolina, Envisions $500 Million in Battery Projects in Long-Term Resource Plan

Duke Energy Plans Microgrid in North Carolina, Envisions $500 Million in Battery Projects in Long-Term Resource Plan

Duke Energy Progress LLC asked the North Carolina Utilities Commission to approve its Hot Springs microgrid project consisting of a 2-megawatt solar facility and a 4-megawatt lithium-based battery storage facility in Madison County, according to an Oct. 8 filing with the agency. The company said the project provides an innovative grid solution without the need…

U.S. Agriculture Department Announces $400 Million to Upgrade Rural Electric Infrastructure

U.S. Agriculture Department Announces $400 Million to Upgrade Rural Electric Infrastructure

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is investing $398.5 million to improve rural electric service in 13 states, according to a Sept. 19 press release. The spending includes about $43.7 million for smart grid technology to enhance the reliability and efficiency of electric power systems. The loan will also finance an 81 MW solar photovoltaic farm…

U.S. Imposes Tariffs on $200 Billion Worth of Chinese Goods Including Batteries, Citing Unfair Trade Practices

U.S. Imposes Tariffs on $200 Billion Worth of Chinese Goods Including Batteries, Citing Unfair Trade Practices

The Trump administration issued a 10 percent import tax which will apply to $200 billion worth of Chinese goods, including inverters used in renewable energy installations as well certain types of batteries. According to the U.S. Trade Representative’s Sept. 18 announcement, the tariffs go into effect on Sept. 24 and are set to jump to…

U.S. Energy Department to Invest $120 Million in Research Center to Advance Next Generation Battery Technology

U.S. Energy Department to Invest $120 Million in Research Center to Advance Next Generation Battery Technology

The U.S. Energy Department announced funding to renew the agency’s innovation hub dedicated to battery science over five years, according to a Sept. 18 press release. The Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, established in 2012, addressed major scientific challenges in electric storage including efforts to lay the foundation for doubly-charged magnesium batteries instead of…

Illinois Regulator Explores Policy Tools to Reap Benefits of Energy Storage

LS Power Wins Approval to Connect 250-Megawatt Battery Storage System to California Grid

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted a request by Gateway Energy Storage LLC, a unit of LS Power Development LLC, for an order directing San Diego Gas & Electric Co. to provide transmission and grid-connections to deliver the output of its battery storage system onto its service territory within the California grid. FERC said that…

New York's Energy Storage Goal to Pave Way for Thousands of Jobs, Drive Emissions Cuts: Report

New York’s Energy Storage Goal to Pave Way for Thousands of Jobs, Drive Emissions Cuts: Report

New York’s goal to add 1,500 megawatts of energy storage capacity by 2025 could create about 30,000 research, development and manufacturing jobs, while also cutting about 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases, according to a Sept. 12 report commissioned by state regulators. Expanded deployment of energy storage figures prominently in the state’s efforts to…

New York Regulator’s ‘Clean’ Energy Compensation Program Sets Sights Beyond Solar

The New York Public Service Commission announced Sept. 12 that it cleared the way for smaller energy storage batteries, tidal energy projects, biomass generators and food-waste digestion systems to receive compensation, removing what the agency said are arbitrary and unnecessary restrictions to the nascent technologies. The projects will receive bill credits that are roughly the…

Colorado Regulator Clears Xcel to Retire Coal Plants, Add Renewables, Energy Storage

Colorado Regulator Clears Xcel to Retire Coal Plants, Add Renewables, Energy Storage

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission approved Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy Inc., to retire two-coal fired units in the Comanche Station, a decade ahead of schedule, as part of the company’s 2016 electric resource plan, according to the agency’s Sept. 10 decision. The commission found that the retirement of the…