The Bureau of Land Management on Sept. 4 released its final environmental assessment for the Yellow Pine Solar Project, which would be located on about 3,000 acres of public land in Nevada. The review address two related applications. The first one consists of a 500-megawatt solar energy generation station and ancillary facilities including battery storage…...
Proposals to accelerate the phase-out of coal-fired generation appear more prominently in long-term resource plans of U.S. electric utilities, reflecting the growing shift to renewable energy. The transition from coal continues to be driven by state clean energy mandates, emissions reduction goals, low natural gas prices, and increased availability of low-cost renewables and storage resources.
Duke Energy Carolinas LLC and Duke Energy Progress LLC on Sept. 1 unveiled their 15-year integrated resource plans for the Carolinas, presenting a range of scenarios with accelerated coal retirement options and substantial increases in solar, wind, and energy storage technologies. The proposal details six generation portfolios that would keep Duke Energy Corp. on a…...
Recently, state regulators have stepped up efforts to value distributed energy resources (DERs) more accurately while looking for ways to better reflect the costs they impose on the grid. Among recent actions, New York adopted a mechanism to move the market towards more cost-reflective rates, while California decided to include avoided transmission costs in the valuation, and Connecticut unveiled a study on quantifying the benefits of these resources.
Alternative ratemaking plans and innovative rate design proposals continue to emerge as utilities adapt to policy and technology changes driven by decarbonization efforts and distributed energy growth. With growing state mandates to increase renewable energy generation, regulators are devising performance metrics and incentives to encourage utility innovation in achieving policy goals.
U.S. operational large-scale battery storage increased to 869 megawatts of installed power capacity by the end of 2018, from just 59 megawatts in 2010, according to an Aug. 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency published a report regarding utility-scale battery-storage capacity usage from 2010 to 2018. The document provides a glance…...
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on Aug. 4 announced the launch of the Clean Peak Energy Standard, an incentive program designed to encourage the use of clean energy resources during times of peak electricity demand. The first-in-the-nation program requires retail electricity suppliers to increase their kilowatt-hour sales from clean energy during seasonal peak demand…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has revised the regulations for implementing a 1978 federal law, which requires electric utilities to purchase power from small power producers. The reforms, intended to reflect changes in the energy markets, mark the first major overhaul to utility power procurement rules under the law, which has spurred the growth of small renewable generators.
In a major victory for the energy storage industry, a federal court affirmed that battery installations connected to the distribution grid must have the opportunity to access wholesale power markets. The move comes as federal regulators are examining the growing interest in hybrid resources, with battery technology seen as an important tool in integrating other resources to the grid. The affirmation bodes well for expanding wholesale market access to distributed energy resources.
The California Independent System Operator Corp. on July 13 announced that the first phase of LS Power Group’s Gateway Energy Storage Project connected to its power grid, adding 62.5 megawatts of storage, the largest in the U.S. The entire project, expected to come online in August, will have a total capacity of 250 megawatts. The…...
The U.S. Energy Department on July 14 released a draft roadmap for its Energy Storage Grand Challenge initiative, a comprehensive program launched in January to expedite the development of next-generation storage technologies. By 2030, the program aims to establish and sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage utilization and exports, with a domestic manufacturing supply chain…...
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 10 upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s energy storage order, rejecting arguments that the agency exceeded its jurisdiction by barring states from prohibiting behind-the-meter storage participation in wholesale markets. The commission adopted the landmark Order No. 841 in February 2018, directing grid…...
