The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission approved a new performance-based regulation, or PBR, framework to govern Hawaiian Electric Company by better aligning the company’s interests with that of customers’ and the state’s clean energy goals. Hawaii is mandated by a 2018 law to implement PBR, establishing a financial link between utility revenues and performance in achieving…...
Renewable energy received a boost with the enactment of the federal spending bill and COVID-19 relief package on Dec. 27, which includes tax extenders and about $35 billion in spending authorizations to support energy research and development programs. The legislation includes a two-year extension of the Investment Tax Credit for solar generation, a one-year extension…...
The U.S. Energy Department on Dec. 21 released a roadmap for its Energy Storage Grand Challenge initiative, a 10-year program launched in January to expedite the development of next-generation storage technologies. The roadmap marks the department’s first comprehensive strategy to address energy storage. The program aims to establish and sustain U.S. leadership in energy storage…...
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which established the nation's first mandatory emissions-trading program, received a further boost as Virginia finalized regulations to become its eleventh member and Pennsylvania, the third largest coal-producing state, adopted draft regulations to join the program, following New Jersey’s re-entry after a decade.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission issued an order grandfathering Idaho Power Company’s existing commercial, industrial, and irrigation customers with on-site generation under the present terms for a period of 25 years, according to a Dec. 4 press release. Customers that file interconnection applications after Dec. 1 will be subject to future changes that the commission…...
Amid commitments to procure more than 29 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind capacity by 2035, U.S. states are exploring measures for transmission planning, interconnection reforms, supply chain development, and components production.
The pressing trend towards revisiting retail rate net metering for rooftop solar continues, in a bid to ensure proper compensation for solar customers and avoid cost shifting to non-solar customers. Net energy metering, which credits customer generators for grid-exported power, has been a key component of the policy framework to spur investment in customer-sited renewable energy facilities, including solar and energy storage systems.
The twenty-fifth quarterly carbon auction held by California and Quebec sold all of the nearly 56.4 million carbon permits offered for current emissions at a price of $16.93 per allowance, above the floor price of $ 16.68, according to the results released on Nov. 24 by the California Air Resources Board. The auction also sold…...
The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission on Nov. 21 granted CenterPoint Energy’s request to offer renewable natural gas, or RNG, interconnection service. The approval establishes a process for producers to inject RNG into the company’s system and creates terms and conditions for the service, including proposed interconnection rates. CenterPoint said that the proposal responds to demand…
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s energy agenda prioritizes clean energy and climate action, with a far-reaching strategy, which includes rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, committing to achieve a carbon-free power sector by 2035, and banning new oil and gas permitting on public lands and waters.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on Nov. 5 approved long-term contracts executed by the state’s electric distribution companies to purchase offshore wind power from Mayflower Wind Energy LLC’s 804-megawatt project, which was selected in the state’s second round of offshore wind solicitation last year. The project is expected to provide about 0.1 to 1.8…...
The Florida Public Service Commission on Nov. 3 authorized Tampa Electric Company to recover costs for a 60.1-megawatt project under the fourth phase of the company’s solar construction plan. The completion of the project will bring the company’s solar generation capacity to 600 megawatts, firmly asserting it as a major solar developer. Tampa Electric opted…...