Ambitious federal goals and initiatives, coupled with state commitments, are driving the transition to a low-carbon future across the U.S. Investments and tax incentives included in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) have added new momentum to the renewable and clean energy industries including offshore wind, nuclear power, and distributed solar.…. Read the full report…...
Net metering policies, which have been instrumental in driving the growth of distributed solar across the U.S., are poised for further evolution as states explore a holistic approach to establish compensation mechanisms. In California, a long-time leader in solar adoption, regulators have approved a significant overhaul of the net metering program, a decision that will likely have broad implications for the industry nationwide.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff on Dec. 16 issued its seventeenth annual report on demand response and advanced metering. From 2020 to 2021, demand resource totals in the wholesale markets rose by about 1,833 megawatts representing a 6 percent annual increase. The estimated advanced meter penetration rates nationwide for each of the residential,…...
The growth in utility-scale power generation from renewable energy sources, the rapidly-growing electricity production sources, increased from 21 percent in 2021 to 24 percent in 2022 during the first half of 2022, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Among these, hydropower, wind, and solar are the major energy sources contributing to renewable electricity 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…
Coal accounted for the largest share of electricity generation in 15 U.S. states during 2021, according to a report published on Dec. 7 by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The number of states using coal as compared to other energy sources has declined from 32 in 2001, with the U.S. shifting away from coal generation…
Michigan’s distributed energy program experienced a 37 percent surge in participation in 2021 with 14,262 customers and 14,446 installations, according to the Michigan Public Service Commission’s annual Distributed Generation report. In this program, the customers generate their own electricity to reduce their electricity bill and reduce their dependence on the utility companies. Generation capacity from…...
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.