The New York Public Service Commission on July 16 approved the “Make-Ready Initiative” to expedite the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The initiative aims to deploy more than 50,000 charging stations by 2025, coinciding with the state’s goal of reaching 850,000 zero-emission vehicles by that year. The commission approved a budget of $701 million,…...
In a major victory for the energy storage industry, a federal court affirmed that battery installations connected to the distribution grid must have the opportunity to access wholesale power markets. The move comes as federal regulators are examining the growing interest in hybrid resources, with battery technology seen as an important tool in integrating other resources to the grid. The affirmation bodes well for expanding wholesale market access to distributed energy resources.
The U.S. Energy Department announced funding for cost-shared projects focused on developing the critical components required under its Coal FIRST initiative, according to a July 17 news release. The department selected seven projects to share the $37 million federal funding and released a new funding opportunity announcement for $81 million. The initiative aims to develop…...
The White House Council on Environmental Quality on July 16 updated regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act, the first comprehensive revision since 1978. The move seeks to facilitate timely reviews under the law, which requires federal agencies to consider the environmental impacts of major actions. The rule creates a time limit of one year…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 16 rejected a petition by the New England Ratepayers Association seeking federal jurisdiction over energy sales from rooftop solar and other distributed generation facilities on the customer side of the retail meter. The commission found that the association failed to identify a “specific controversy or harm” that should…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 16 revised regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA, which established requirements for utilities to purchase power from small independent electricity generators and cogeneration facilities. The final rule increases flexibility for states in establishing rates at which qualifying facilities sell their output and…...
U.S. electric generators experienced more delays in commercial operation dates in March and April partly due to the COVID-19 mitigation efforts, according to a July 15 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Restricted travel of specialized workers, along with supply chain disruptions and permitting challenges increased the risk of project delays. According to a…...
The New York Public Service Commission on July 16 adopted a successor to net metering for residential and small commercial customers, establishing monthly charges that will apply to customers who install solar on or after Jan. 1, 2022. The decision addresses cost shifts identified in a December 2019 whitepaper which recommends changes applicable to mass…
The California Independent System Operator Corp. on July 13 announced that the first phase of LS Power Group’s Gateway Energy Storage Project connected to its power grid, adding 62.5 megawatts of storage, the largest in the U.S. The entire project, expected to come online in August, will have a total capacity of 250 megawatts. The…...
The U.S. Energy Department on July 14 released a draft roadmap for its Energy Storage Grand Challenge initiative, a comprehensive program launched in January to expedite the development of next-generation storage technologies. By 2030, the program aims to establish and sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage utilization and exports, with a domestic manufacturing supply chain…...
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on July 14 signed an agreement with 14 other states and the District of Columbia to electrify the medium- and heavy-duty bus and truck market. The memorandum of understanding sets goals of 30 percent zero-emission new vehicle sales by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050. The signatories will work through the…...
