New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio on Feb. 27 announced the passage of a new energy code that establishes additional energy efficiency requirements that are specific to the city and its unique urban environment. The code is part of the city’s Green New Deal, a bold plan announced last April to combat climate change…....
Arizona Governor Doug Ducey, a Republican, signed legislation on Feb. 21 that bars a municipality or county from imposing requirements that restrict a utility provider’s authority to operate and serve customers. Under the law, municipalities may not deny building permits based on the utility provider that will serve the project. The measure comes at a…...
Senators Lisa Murkowski, a Republican representing Alaska, and Joe Manchin, a Democrat representing West Virginia, unveiled a bipartisan legislative package on Feb. 27 that compiles more than 50 energy-related measures reported by the Energy and Natural Resources Committee last year. The comprehensive bill supports innovative energy technologies covering a range of topics including energy efficiency,…
Utility-scale wind generators accounted for 70 percent of the 3.1 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity in Michigan last year, according to a Feb. 18 report by the state’s Public Service Commission. Across the state, new wind and solar projects are expected to add more than one gigawatt of new, utility-scale electricity generation in 2020 and…
Virginia lawmakers passed the Clean Economy Act on Feb. 11 that sets the state on the path to carbon-free power by 2050, establishes a mandatory renewable portfolio standard, adopts an energy storage deployment target, and strengthens energy efficiency requirements. Among the major provisions, the legislation replaces the existing voluntary renewable energy portfolio system program with…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Jan. 22 proposed a framework to administer energy efficiency and peak demand reduction programs following a 2018 law that established annual energy use reductions of at least 2 percent for electric utilities and 0.75 percent for gas utilities. The Clean Energy Act of 2018 directed the board…
The U.S. Energy Department revised its current rulemaking method for considering new or modified energy efficiency standards for consumer appliances and some industrial equipment, according to a Jan. 15 news release. The rule, which updates a procedure that was developed in 1996, defines a significant energy savings threshold that must be met before the agency…
A coalition of 16 attorneys general and the City of New York on Nov. 4 filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Energy Department’s final rule that reversed the 2017 expansion of energy efficiency standards for certain light bulbs. The group, led by California and New York, argues that the reversal enacts a less stringent standard…
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority released the the NYStretch Energy Code 2020 toolkit, which aims to aid municipalities interested in voluntarily adopting higher efficiency standards for new and renovated building construction projects, according to an October 10 press release. The toolkit includes one-page fact sheets describing NYStretch and its benefits, a step-by-step adoption guide…
Democratic Governor Ralph Northam signed an executive order on Sept. 17, setting a goal for the state to produce 30 percent of its power from renewable energy resources by 2030 and transition to zero-carbon electricity by 2050. Legislation enacted last year set a goal of achieving 5.5 gigawatts of wind and solar by 2028. The…
California’s energy landscape is evolving rapidly driven by its ambitious clean energy and carbon reduction goals. Recent actions range from enhancing renewable integration to reforming carbon market rules, strengthening auto-emission standards, and revising energy efficiency policies.
Democratic Governor Janet Mills signed legislation on June 14 establishing the position of a “nonwires alternative coordinator” to investigate and identify alternatives to proposed transmission projects, and evaluate the costs and benefits of nonwire alternatives compared to utility capital investments in the transmission and distribution system. Nonwire alternatives refer to infrastructure, technology, or application that…
