The Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. expects more than 82,400 megawatts of resource capacity to be available to meet the projected peak demand of 76,696 megawatts for the upcoming summer season from June through September, according to a March 5 announcement. The preliminary summer assessment anticipates record electric use this summer, with grid operations…
Democratic Governor Michelle Grisham signed a suite of bills on March 3 including legislation that reinstates the solar tax incentive that expired in 2016, helping the state move toward its goal achieving 50 percent renewable energy 2030. A second bill provides that transmission line projects qualify for industrial revenue bonds available through cities and municipalities,…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission authorized rate increases totaling $417.5 million in five electric and natural gas rate cases last year, $245.5 million less than what the utilities requested, according to the agency’s annual report issued on March 2. The increases were driven largely by investments needed to replace aging infrastructure to improve safety and…
The Florida Power & Light Company received approval to launch the nation’s largest community solar program called SolarTogether, according to a March 3 news release. Under the program, the utility will install 1,490 megawatts of solar at 20 new facilities across its service territory by mid-2021. The initiative is projected to yield long-term savings of…
Utility-scale solar is growing at a remarkable pace driven by declining costs, state clean energy commitments, retirement of fossil-fueled generation, and utility decarbonization goals. The industry is poised to add about 13.5 gigawatts of new projects this year, outpacing the previous annual record of 8 GW set in 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Feb. 21 proposed a budget amendment to speed up the permitting and construction of large-scale renewable energy projects. The legislation would create a new Office of Renewable Energy Permitting that will create a siting process specifically designed for renewable energy projects. The changes are intended to help New York advance…
Senators Lisa Murkowski, a Republican representing Alaska, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat representing West Virginia, unveiled a bipartisan legislative package on Feb. 27 that compiles more than 50 energy-related measures reported by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year. The comprehensive bill supports innovative energy technologies covering a range of topics including energy efficiency,…
The Maine Public Utilities Commission issued a request for proposals from solar and other renewable energy developers for small-scale projects, pursuant to a 2019 law that established a distributed generation procurement program, according to a Feb. 28 news release. The law directs the agency to conduct multiple solicitations to obtain 250 megawatts of distributed generation…
The California Energy Commission on Feb. 20 approved Sacramento Municipal Utility’s proposal for a community solar program under the state’s new building standards, which took effect on Jan. 1. While the 2019 Energy Code requires a solar photovoltaic system on new homes, the commission noted that community solar was built into the code to provide…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on Feb. 20 sent DTE Electric Company back to the drawing board on its long-term resource plan, citing fundamental flaws including lack of competitive bidding for supply-side resource additions. The agency recommended that DTE issue a request for proposals for new generation, and raise the proposed energy efficiency targets. Considering…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 20 issued a series of orders to narrow the resources exempt from the New York grid operator’s buyer-side market power mitigation rules. The agency dismissed a complaint from the Public Service Commission and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority seeking an exemption for electric storage…
The U.S. Energy Department plans to invest in a five-year research program focused on producing fuels from sunlight, according to a Feb. 19 news release. The agency will establish one large or two smaller energy innovation hubs, which are “integrated multidisciplinary, multi-institutional research teams” to accelerate the fundamental scientific breakthroughs needed to enable solar fuel…
