The Department of the Interior on Aug. 8 announced that the California-based 457-megawatt Palen photovoltaic solar project has reached its full capacity operation. In 2018, the Bureau of Land Management approved EDF Renewable Energy Inc.’s submission to construct the solar photovoltaic project and a 230-kilovolt generation interconnection transmission line. In December 2020, the first phase…...
In 2020, seven U.S. states experienced the largest declines in their annual energy production in the last six decades, according to an Aug. 8 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. This is due to the decrease in economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Among all the states in the U.S., Wyoming experienced a…...
The U.S. Senate on Aug. 7 approved the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which includes $369 billion for energy security and climate change programs over the next ten years. Among the key climate and clean energy provisions, the bill would expand the investment tax credit for clean energy manufacturers, establish the first hydrogen production tax…...
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 California Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 5 approved a plug-in electric vehicle submetering protocol for Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, PacifiCorp and two smaller utilities. The commission demands the stated utilities implement the submetering protocol for all customers with plug in electric vehicles and customer owned submeters…....
The California Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 4 took major steps and formalized procedures to consider the affordability of utility services in its upcoming activities to address the cost of utility services in the state. The action requires utilities to offer consumers the tools to evaluate the total affordability of planned rate surges throughout industries…...
The U.S. power grid, in the first six months of 2022, added 15 gigawatts (GW) of utility-scale generating capacity, according to an Aug. 3 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Wind generation had the largest share with 34 percent, gas had the second largest share, and solar and battery storage made up the rest.…
The U.S. Energy Department on Aug. 3 issued a notice of its decision to build a Versatile Test Reactor, VTR, at the Idaho National Laboratory. The initiative would facilitate the modernization of U.S. nuclear energy research and development infrastructure and accelerate technology development for current and next-generation reactors. The sodium-cooled reactor would be the first…...
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved new Intermountain Gas Company rate schedules by an interim Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment, or PGA, according to an Aug. 3 press release. Residential natural gas service rates increased by about 24.1 percent and commercial rates increased by about 27 percent. The rate change will increase Intermountain’s revenues by $67…...
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator board approved a $2.23 billion investment for new transmission lines which are completely or partially in Minnesota, according to an Aug. 2 press release from the Minnesota Commerce Department. The investments are expected to advance and expand the electric grid to ensure reliability during the state’s transition to clean energy…....