Duke Energy Carolinas LLC reached an agreement with environmental groups June 1 to cut the price tag of its Power/Forward Carolinas grid modernization plan to $2.5 billion, from $7.8 billion, and scale back the initiative to three years, from a decade. Duke’s updated plan includes voltage optimization, electric-vehicle charging infrastructure and at least 300 megawatts…
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, signed legislation on June 1 ordering the utility commission to establish a process by February 2019 for electric utilities to evaluate and invest in energy storage as the state looks to harness the emerging technology. The bill allows electric utilities to file applications for rate-based projects of up to…
The Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. announced plans on May 31 to invest as much as $17 billion through 2022 in energy grid modernization and clean energy programs in New Jersey. The company plans to spend $2.5 billion to extend its Energy Strong program aimed at improving reliability and resiliency by bolstering electric and gas…
The Michigan Senate on May 30 adopted a resolution calling on the Michigan Agency for Energy to engage in a discussion to explore the potential to integrate energy storage into the state’s electric market. The move comes as some states look to harness energy storage technologies to improve grid resilience following the devastating hurricane season…
About 40 percent of the 700 megawatts of large-scale battery storage capacity installed in the U.S. is found in the grid operated by PJM Interconnection LLC thanks to favorable market conditions, according to a May 21 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. PJM created a frequency regulation market in 2012 to provide better payments…
The U.S. Energy Department on May 1 announced funding opportunities for advanced electric vehicle projects focused on batteries and electrification including cyber security, materials for lighter weight vehicle structures and powertrains, as well as technology integration for overall system efficiency. The department also announced funding for a new program called “Duration Addition to electricity Storage,”…
The California Energy Storage Alliance said that San Diego Gas and Electric Company exceeded the 50 percent allowable limit of utility-owned storage procurement required under the state’s 2010 storage mandate, and is relying too much on that procurement to count towards the level of megawatts needed to meet its full obligations. The group asserted that…
