The U.S. President Joe Biden issued an executive order on Dec. 8 directing the federal government to use its procurement power to achieve ambitious emissions reduction and clean energy goals. This action is expected to facilitate the development of at least 10 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity by 2030 and fast-track the nation’s capacity to supply…...
The Kansas Corporation Commission Dec. 6 approved an agreement, allowing Evergy to offer rebates for customers installing electric vehicle chargers. The settlement, negotiated between the commission staff, Citizens Utility Ratepayer Board, and Evergy, provides new rate options to facilitate the transition to electric vehicles. Evergy’s program offers rebates of up to $500 to help homeowners…...
Interest in offshore wind energy has reached new levels driven by supportive federal action, ambitious state procurement targets, and evolving technology. Recent developments include federal approval of the second commercial-scale project, and plans to hold up to seven new lease sales by 2025 in the East Coast, as well as the West and Gulf Coasts. Despite the progress, the industry faces opposition with recent lawsuits challenging the approval of the nation’s first major offshore project, the 800-megawatt (MW) Vineyard Wind I venture, over its potential impact to the fishing industry and endangered species.
Western U.S. states are evaluating options to join or form a regional transmission organization (RTO) as regional coordination would strengthen electric system resilience and reliability, enhance clean energy adoption, and address transmission challenges.
U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law on Nov.15, unlocking $62 billion for U.S. Energy Department initiatives, including revitalizing domestic manufacturing, expanding access to energy efficiency and clean energy, modernizing the power grid, and advancing next-generation technologies. Among the major provisions, the legislation allocates $6 billion for a Civilian…...
The Texas Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 21 adopted a rule addressing weather emergency preparedness of power generators and utilities, the first of a two-part process in the development of reliability standards in the wake of the mid-February winter storm event. The rule requires affected companies to implement winter weather readiness recommendations identified in a…...
The California Public Utilities Commission has authorized a 7.63 percent increase to Southern California Edison’s revenue requirement for 2021, down from the utility’s initial request of a 19.03 percent hike. The decision authorizes a $6.899 billion revenue requirement for operations and capital investment in 2021, about $730 million less than what the utility requested. This…...
The mid-February Winter Storm Uri, which caused widespread power outages across the south-central U.S., has sharply brought cold weather reliability standards to the forefront of regulatory and market attention. Texas, which experienced the worst power outages resulting from the storm, has passed legislation and initiated investigations to address the impacts of the grid event. The…...
The U.S. offshore wind industry is making strides with significant milestones including approval of the first large-scale project in federal waters, federal efforts to advance permitting processes, and actions towards potential development in the Pacific.
The Bonneville Power Administration on July 29 released a draft decision to join the Western Energy Imbalance Market, or EIM, operated by the California Independent System Operator Corp., in March 2022 after a three-year evaluation of the market opportunity. The federal power marketing administration, which sells electricity from 31 federal dams and one nuclear plant…...
