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.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission established a work plan to carry out the requirements of energy legislation passed in the 2019 session, according to an Aug. 27 news release. Legislators passed a sweeping energy policy agenda, including a bill requiring the state’s electricity supply to be carbon-neutral by 2030 and carbon-free by 2045. The…
The Maine Public Utilities Commission on Aug. 28 proposed rules governing the periodic procurement of distributed renewable resources in accordance with legislation enacted in June. The law directs the agency to conduct multiple solicitations to obtain 250 megawatts of distributed generation from shared resources and 125 megawatts from commercial and institutional accounts over the next…
California’s Climate Investments initiative has grown to include over 20 state agencies involved in the development and implementation of 60 programs focused on reducing climate pollution, according to an Aug. 26 press release from the Air Resource Board. The program funded $914 million in projects during the first six months of this year, compared to…
The expansion of the wind industry in the U.S. trailed only China in 2018, as soon-to-expire federal subsidies and state incentives helped propel turbine installations higher for a second straight year, a federal report showed. The nation added nearly 7,600 megawatts of wind power generating capacity in 2018, about 8 percent more than the previous…
Since distributed-level solar generation just started to proliferate across the U.S. a decade ago, as many as 21 states are now reexamining or revamping policies for compensating the power source, upsetting the status quo and deepening a divide among states for and against the incentives.
Customer-side solar has grown to provide over 4 gigawatts of electricity while grid-connected installations supply more than 1.5 gigawatts, from virtually no solar on the PJM grid a decade ago, according to an Aug. 22 report from the system operator. Solar generation represents a tiny fraction of the 180 gigawatts of capacity committed to serve…
The Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors on Aug. 22 approved the utility’s integrated resource plan, which calls for a continued reduction in its carbon footprint partly through the addition of up to 14 gigawatts of solar capacity by 2038. The resource plan, unveiled in June, updates TVA’s 2015 IRP in response to continuing changes…
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on Aug. 22 proposed a transition incentive program as part of its process to close the current Solar Renewable Energy Certificate, or SREC, program and design a successor mechanism. The proposal seeks to bridge the gap between the legacy and successor programs as the state phases out the…
The Maine Public Utilities Commission launched a proceeding to implement amendments to its net energy billing rule, following legislation enacted in June that broadened access to the program, including expanding the capacity of eligible facilities to 5 megawatts, up from the previous 660 kilowatts, according to an Aug. 21 notice. The law expands the customer…
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on Aug. 16 unveiled a draft Clean Energy Plan outlining policy and action recommendations for the state to transition to carbon-free electricity by 2050, starting with a 60 to 70 percent reduction from 2005 levels by 2030. An executive order issued last year by Democratic Governor Roy Cooper…
New York has adopted sweeping measures to propel the state’s clean energy agenda, including adopting the nation’s most ambitious climate targets, awarding the largest offshore wind contract, and refining compensation rules to boost distributed solar.