The California Air Resources Board on Sept. 22 approved the 2022 State Implementation Plan, or SIP, strategy for reaching the federal health based standard for ozone emissions within the next 15 years. The net cost of the strategy is projected to be $96.2 billion, which involves $33.8 billion in board actions and $62.3 billion in…...
The 2021 supplier diversity spend reported by Illinois’ six investor-owned utilities showed that of the $5.1 billion spent among the utility companies, 2.2 billion – 44 percent – was diverse spend. The largest investor owned electric, natural gas, water, and sewer companies in Illinois on Sept. 16, presented progress reports at the Annual Utility Supplier…...
The U.S. nuclear energy sector is now on the verge of a revival after years of premature plant closures and dim forecasts. Investments and tax incentives included in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), enacted in August, add new momentum to the nuclear power industry.
Utility resource plans continue to manifest the changing power generation mix as more states pursue zero-carbon goals. The shift drives the need for innovative policy initiatives that optimize renewable energy sources and enhance grid reliability.
Across the U.S., policy makers, regulators, and utilities are increasingly viewing energy storage as imperative to enable a transition to greater use of renewable energy, electrify buildings and transportation, and enhance grid reliability.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 18 accepted a cost impact study, assessing how the state’s transition to renewable energy will affect utility rates under the Energy Master Plan, or EMP. The study found that most ratepayers would be able to reduce their energy bills by electrifying buildings and transportation and lowering…...
Grid modernization efforts are increasingly focused on resilience and reliability to protect the system against extreme weather and cyberattacks. Lawmakers and regulators are pursuing reforms to ensure that policies keep pace with the rapidly changing resource mix to facilitate the transformation to a future grid capable of integrating the increasing number of intermittent resources and electric vehicles.
The Virginia State Corporation Commission on Aug. 5 approved Dominion Energy Inc.’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial project, a 2,587-megawatt wind facility 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. The project , the state’s first utility-scale offshore wind facility, will help the utility meet its requirements under the renewable portfolio standards. Regulators also granted…...
The Illinois Commerce Commission on July 18 approved $1.1 billion to authorize Illinois Power Agency (IPA) to procure new renewable generation in Illinois over a two-year period under the 2022 Long Term Renewable Resource Procurement Plan, or LTRRPP. The program will provide a minimum of 25 percent of total incentive to projects located in environmental…...
A massive investment in transmission infrastructure is necessary to move renewable energy over long distances from where it is produced to where it is needed. These transmission lines, which are so necessary to combat climate change present an inherent wildfire risk exacerbated by drought conditions in the western United States and Canada.