PacifiCorp announced on Dec. 8 that the company expects to participate in the California Independent System Operator Corp.’s (CAISO) Extended Day Ahead Market, or EDAM. This will allow the company to provide its customers with reliable, inexpensive and clean electricity when required. In addition to joining the EDAM, the company is also planning to join…
Demand response (DR) continues to garner attention as a key reliability tool amid the ongoing transition to renewable energy, increased electrification, and extreme weather. Traditionally intended to shed load and prevent blackouts during peak demand periods, DR is increasingly valued for its ability to address imbalances caused by the variability in wind and solar generation.
The Biden administration on Dec. 7 announced the first federal building performance standard and set a goal to reduce energy usage and electrify equipment and appliances in 30 percent of the buildings owned by the federal government by 2030. In addition, the U.S. Energy Department announced a proposed rulemaking to electrify new federal buildings as…
The Electricity Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Dec. 6 announced a voluntary curtailment program, which permits large flexible consumers to reduce their electricity usage during periods of elevated demand. The large curtailment program for Large Flexible Loads, or LFL, aims to give bitcoin miners and data centers incentives to reduce usage, since they have…
The U.S. Energy Department on Nov. 22 announced a new funding opportunity worth $550 million through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant, or EECBG, program that will reinforce community-based clean energy projects across the country to support local government and the deployment of clean energy technologies. The funding sponsored by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment…...
Ambitious federal goals and initiatives to boost offshore wind power generation, coupled with state commitments, are opening new frontiers for the industry. Recent developments reflect the growing emphasis on transmission infrastructure upgrades and regional planning required to make these goals a reality.
The U.S. Energy Department on Nov. 18 announced $13 billion in new funding opportunities for the growth and modernization of the U.S. power grid. The Grid Resilience Innovative Partnership, or GRIP, program and the Transmission Facilitation Program, funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, collectively represent the largest federal direct investment in infrastructure…...
The California Air Resources Board on Nov.16 unveiled the policies and actions the state proposes to implement, in order to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and become carbon neutral by 2045 or earlier. The revised proposal follows Governor Newsom’s plea for more impactful climate actions and is innovative in both scale and scope. The…...
The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed a successor to its net energy metering program, which credits customer generators for grid-exported electricity. The successor would be an improved version of net billing, with a retail export compensation rate aligned with the value that generation systems provide to the grid and retail import rates that promote…...
Ambitious clean energy and reliability goals continue to drive grid modernization efforts ranging from proposed rules to encourage utility investments in cybersecurity to a $10.5 billion initiative to enhance grid resilience.