States Make Strides in Setting Pay Outs for Battery Storage, Opening Door to Growth

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – States Make Strides in Setting Pay Outs for Battery Storage, Opening Door to Growth

Energy Storage, Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Grid Modernization, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed

U.S. states are plowing ahead in setting market compensation rules for battery technology, laying the foundation for future growth of the fast-maturing technology in retail and wholesale markets. While progressive states California, New York and Massachusetts are charging ahead in how to value the resource, others are still grappling with how to regulate a system that fails to fit squarely in any one box and that raises a range of jurisdictional and ownership questions.

U.S. States Intensify Scrutiny of Advanced Meter Program Costs, Putting Deployments at Risk

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – U.S. States Intensify Scrutiny of Advanced Meter Program Costs, Putting Deployments at Risk

Energy Efficiency, EnerKnol Impact-Misc Categories, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Grid Modernization, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Smart Grid

The spread of advanced meters across the U.S. has come a long way, with over half of the nation's 152 million electricity consumers now hooked up to the devices. But further deployment of the technology, seen critical for a more responsive and reliable grid, is at risk amid heightened scrutiny from regulators, who are increasingly bowing to concerns over the costs to consumers.

The Nation's Wind Power Capital Is Getting Flooded With Solar

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – The Nation’s Wind Power Capital Is Getting Flooded With Solar

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Renewables, Solar, Solar Power

Obstacles that have long thwarted the rapid growth of solar that sunny Texas has always promised -- the deregulated market and a dearth of renewable incentives -- are posing less of a hindrance in the face of cheap power purchase contracts. Texas, which leads the nation in wind-powered generation, accounting for more than a quarter of the U.S. total, is rapidly emerging as a solar power house. Falling costs, retirements of fossil-fueled generation, and demand growth have been instrumental in driving solar growth in the region.

New England Grid's Reliability Risks to Crop Up Year-Round With Shift to Gas, Renewables

New England Grid’s Reliability Risks to Crop Up Year-Round With Shift to Gas, Renewables

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Insights, EnerKnol Research Reports, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Wholesale Markets, Wholesale Power

New England’s grid is undergoing a rapid change as nuclear, oil, and coal-fired power plants that operate with stored fuel are retiring in larger numbers, and are being replaced by natural-gas-fired plants and renewable generation. Natural gas accounted for 49 percent of the region’s power generation last year, up from just 15 percent in 2000…....

State Regulators Exercise Greater Scrutiny on Utility Planning Efforts

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – State Regulators Exercise Greater Scrutiny on Utility Planning Efforts

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Integrated Resource Plans, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Smart Grid

Policy changes are occurring faster than ever before, confounding efforts by utilities to plan for the future, causing a paralysis in decision making. The task of identifying all possible scenarios over a longer horizon is becoming more demanding as state renewable energy standards are changing more frequently. Utilities are grappling with the influx of distributed energy resources and new renewable generation under various state programs, coupled with the need to maintain fossil generation to manage the intermittency of these sources.

Con Ed's Gas Supply Crunch Highlights Perils of Infrastructure Blockade

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Con Ed’s Gas Supply Crunch Highlights Perils of Infrastructure Blockade

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Fossil Fuels, Natural Gas, Natural Gas, PRODUCTS, REC Feed

New York regulators have authorized a unit of Consolidated Edison Inc. to immediately implement a portfolio of demand-side solutions, in a bid to ease natural gas demand in the utility’s supply-constrained areas. The regulators said that the need to address surging gas consumption has taken special urgency following the utility’s announcement in January that it will stop enrolling new gas customers in the Westchester County region from March 15, in order to maintain reliability for existing customers and offer service to critical facilities.

States Put Carbon Emissions Pricing Back on the Table in Bid for Harder Push on Climate

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – States Put Carbon Emissions Pricing Back on the Table in Bid for Harder Push on Climate

Carbon Markets, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Environmental Markets, PRODUCTS, REC Feed

Measures for carbon emission pricing and studies have so far this year surfaced in at least nine states, spanning from politically moderate Montana to progressive New York. Hawaii has a proposal to investigate how to implement a carbon tax while limiting its impact on lower income residents. In Oregon, legislation has been introduced for a cap-and-trade system to implement economy-wide carbon pricing. California is considering a bill that seeks a mechanism for assessing a carbon tax on retail products. Connecticut is considering a proposal for a regional collaborative on assessing such a fee.

New York's 'Green New Deal' Aims to Quadruple Offshore Wind, Double Solar in Bid for Carbon Neutrality

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – New York’s ‘Green New Deal’ Aims to Quadruple Offshore Wind, Double Solar in Bid for Carbon Neutrality

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Renewables, Solar, Wind, Wind Power

New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 17 unveiled the most aggressive plan of any state to eliminate global warming emissions and achieve 100 percent carbon-free power in just a couple of decades. Cuomo's legislative package, dubbed the "Green New Deal," is designed to put the state on a path to wipe out its carbon footprint by 2040 by slashing the heat-trapping emissions not just in the power fleet, but across the entire economy including the transportation and agriculture sectors and through building efficiency.

Wind Sparks Race for Leadership Among Eastern U.S. States

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Promise of Offshore Wind Sparks Race for Leadership Among Eastern U.S. States

EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, PRODUCTS, REC Feed, Renewables, Wind Power

Eastern U.S. states are jockeying to claim the mantle of leadership of the nation's still-budding offshore wind industry, eyeing major infrastructure upgrades and workforce training to meet procurement targets and capture the billions-of-dollars in investments promised by the clean, abundant and largely untapped coastal wind resources.

Grid Operators Set to Expand Opportunities for Energy Storage in Wholesale Markets

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Grid Operators Set to Expand Opportunities for Energy Storage in Wholesale Markets

Energy Storage, EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Policy Landscape, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, Wholesale Markets

Regional grid operators have filed proposals to comply with the first federal directive for broader participation of the technology in regional wholesale power markets. The California system operator is already compliant with majority of the requirements, with a market design that FERC has cited as an example for integrating storage resources. New York grid operator’s proposal poses limitations, such as lack of dual participation in wholesale and retail markets, amidst the state’s efforts to advance an ambitious 3-gigawatt goal for storage.

Four Must-Watch Power Sector Trends for 2019

Four Must-Watch Power Sector Trends for 2019

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Insights, EnerKnol Research Reports, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, Smart Grid, Solar

The power sector evolution continues unabated, marked by rapid growth of wind and solar, and a growing shift toward distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar, battery storage, and electric vehicles. Interest in batteries is accelerating as states seek to capitalize the multiple benefits the technology provides to the grid, while the smart grid evolution…...

Virginia's Renewable Capacity to Triple in Latest Shift from Fossil Fuels

EnerKnol’s Visual Primer – Virginia’s Renewable Capacity to Triple in Latest Shift from Fossil Fuels

EnerKnol Impacts, EnerKnol Research Reports, EnerKnol Visual Primer, Power & Utilities, PRODUCTS, Renewables, Smart Grid, Solar, Solar Power

Virginia is striding towards a clean energy future by paving the way for faster and larger deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency. The Grid Transformation and Security Act of 2018 declares that 5,000 megawatts of solar and wind energy are in the public interest, making it easier for these projects get regulatory approval. The state’s 10-year energy plan emphasizes grid modernization and innovative technologies, setting goals for renewable energy generation, energy efficiency, and electric vehicles.