Alternative ratemaking plans and innovative rate design proposals continue to emerge as utilities adapt to policy and technology changes driven by decarbonization efforts and distributed energy growth. With growing state mandates to increase renewable energy generation, regulators are devising performance metrics and incentives to encourage utility innovation in achieving policy goals.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on August 11 released a draft report concerning the incentive levels required to support continued solar development while lowering costs to the state’s four million ratepayers. To attain incentive values that better align with the project types and maximize ratepayer savings, the report recommends transitioning away from the…...
Xcel Energy Inc. announced a plan to power 1.5 million electric vehicles in the eight states it serves by 2030, according to an Aug. 12 press release. The company expects 20 percent of the vehicles in its service territory to be replaced by electric vehicles, over the next decade, a 30-fold increase from current levels…....
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Aug. 13 issued final rules that remove the transmission and storage segment of the oil and gas industry from regulation and revokes emissions standards for that segment. The rules also rescind methane standards for the production and processing segments as controls for ozone-forming volatile organic compounds also reduce methane…...
The U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management on Aug. 14 issued a final environmental review for ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc.’s proposed Willow Master Development Plan, an oil and gas development project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska. The project is expected to produce up to 590 million total barrels of oil during its 30-year…...
The Bureau of Land Management on Aug. 14 issued a record of decision approving Borderlands Wind LLC’s 100-megawatt wind generating project, which consists of 34 turbines sited on 16,648 acres in New Mexico. The wind farm would be built near Quemado, New Mexico and the Arizona-New Mexico border. The project will include larger versions of…...
The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission on August 12 issued an order directing jurisdictional utilities to maintain their policy of offering extended payment arrangements for a minimum of six months to all customers through October 12. The order pertains to the first phase of the commission’s investigation into the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic on…...
From 2011 to 2019, the U.S. repurposed 121 coal-fired plants to burn other fuels, of which 103 switched to natural gas, according to an Aug. 5 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency attributed the trend to stricter emission standards, low gas prices, and more efficient natural gas turbine technology. Of the 316.8-gigawatts…...
U.S. operational large-scale battery storage increased to 869 megawatts of installed power capacity by the end of 2018, from just 59 megawatts in 2010, according to an Aug. 10 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The agency published a report regarding utility-scale battery-storage capacity usage from 2010 to 2018. The document provides a glance…...
The Florida Public Service Commission on Aug. 10 approved agreements on the storm protection plans filed by four of the state’s investor-owned utilities. A 2019 law directed utilities to file 10-year plans to reduce restoration costs and outage times associated with extreme weather events and enhance reliability. The agreements resolve issues in the plans filed…...
The offshore wind industry continues to progress in the U.S. with East Coast states proceeding with new solicitations to procure capacity to meet their ambitious goals. New York and New Jersey are seeking to add nearly five gigawatts alongside offshore port infrastructure. Massachusetts is considering a bundled solicitation for generation and transmission in its next round of procurement. The industry’s growth has prompted federal regulators to examine whether existing frameworks in regional transmission organizations can accommodate offshore wind integration.
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources on Aug. 4 announced the launch of the Clean Peak Energy Standard, an incentive program designed to encourage the use of clean energy resources during times of peak electricity demand. The first-in-the-nation program requires retail electricity suppliers to increase their kilowatt-hour sales from clean energy during seasonal peak demand…...