Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Dec. 17 outlined his 2019 policy agenda, including an initiative to make the state’s electricity 100 percent carbon neutral by 2040. The announcement follows the state’s adoption of an ambitious energy storage target of 3 gigawatts by 2030. Cuomo expects the new goal to put the state on the path…
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission adopted rules to incorporate energy storage procurement into utilities’ long-term planning processes, taking an important step towards harnessing the emerging technology, according to a Dec. 12 decision. The move follows legislation enacted in June 2018 directing the commission to establish a process by February 2019 for electric utilities to evaluate…...
Solar Connecticut Inc. filed an interim solar residential tariff with the Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority following legislation enacted in May 2018 requiring the agency to establish procurement plans and tariffs for projects selected under the plans for each electric distribution company. The law grandfathered existing net metering customers through 2039 and ended the program…
The New York Public Service Commission on Dec. 14 approved phase III of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s plan to implement the Clean Energy Standard or CES, adopted in August 2016, to achieve the state’s goal of obtaining half its electricity from renewable resources by 2030. The program includes a renewable…...
Ameren Missouri, a subsidiary of Ameren Corp., announced an agreement to buy a 157-MW wind generation facility to be built in northern Missouri, according to the company’s Oct. 22 press release. The proposed Brickyard Hill wind project, to be developed by EDF Renewable Energy Inc., is expected to come online in 2020. The acquisition is subject…
The Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc. on Dec. 3 proposed revisions to facilitate deeper integration of energy storage resources across its region. The grid operator proposed a new electric storage resource category providing unique modeling, offer parameters, operating limitations, and settlement provisions that recognize the characteristics of energy storage resources. MISO said that the filing…
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources released the state’s first energy plan on Dec. 12 that recommends a policy strategy that continues to bolster renewable energy, prioritizes energy efficiency and peak demand reductions, and support grid modernization and advanced technologies to meet the state’s energy and emission goals. The plan, required by a 2016 executive…
The New York Public Service Commission alleged that National Grid plc’s violation of the agency’s gas safety regulations resulted in an explosion that damaged several homes in Little Falls, Herkimer County, and caused injuries, according to a Dec. 13 press release. The department staff’s investigation found that a buried gas service line pulled away from the…
The California Public Utilities Commission launched a proceeding to explore how de-energization has affected the state and examine ways to refine the practice to ensure safety and minimize unintended consequences, according to a Dec. 13 press release. The agency aims to study the conditions in which proactive and planned de-energization takes place and also examine whether…
The New York Public Service Commission on Dec. 13 set an energy storage target of 3,000 megawatts by 2030 pursuant to legislation enacted last year, with an interim goal of 1,500 megawatt by 2025. The new storage target is the most ambitious nationwide compared to California’s goal of 1,300 megawatts by 2020 and New Jersey’s recently adopted target of…
The South Carolina Public Service Commission on Dec. 14 voted unanimously to approve Dominion Energy Inc.’s proposed purchase of SCANA Corporation, settling a 17-month legal battle that began in July last year when SCANA subsidiary South Carolina Electric & Gas Company and state-owned Santee Cooper decided to abandon a $9 billion project to build two…
The United Nations twenty-fourth annual climate conference concluded on Dec. 15, following a week of intense discussions culminating in the adoption of rules for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, which aims to prevent the worst impacts of climate change by keeping global temperature rise below 2 degrees Celsius. The deal establishes uniform standards that will be used by…
