A series of setbacks for high-profile oil and gas pipeline projects in the U.S. reveal the difficult climate for midstream projects in the face of growing legal challenges, changing economics, and states’ push to reduce fossil fuels as they embrace clean energy.
Policy support for electric vehicles (EVs) continues to grow across U.S. states as transportation electrification is a primary component of regulators’ strategies to meet clean energy and emissions reduction targets. Recent initiatives range from California’s electric truck mandate to Nevada’s vehicle emission standards to New Jersey’s EV ecosystem proposal.
As states continue to reexamine net metering programs in the evolving distributed solar landscape, the industry faces a new challenge: a petition asking federal regulators to exercise jurisdiction over these state-administered programs that compensate behind-the-meter generation for grid-exported energy.
As the pandemic continues to unfold, utility regulators across the U.S. are focusing on the core issues of providing relief for the hardest-hit customers and reviving the economy with the help of utility initiatives. To date, several states have extended disconnection moratoriums and implemented customer relief programs, while others are examining how additional spending by the utilities could provide new jobs while minimizing customer bill impacts in the future.
In a move commended by offshore wind advocates, federal regulators released a much-awaited environmental analysis of the $2.8 billion Vineyard Wind project, which would be the first U.S. large-scale offshore wind project, and other facilities planned along the East Coast. The review is a step forward in the project’s permitting process and critical for the future offshore wind industry as it braces for challenges from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged permitting timelines.
Prices in the 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative’s latest carbon auction rose to the highest since 2015, defying impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic as two more states gear up to join the initiative. Meanwhile, revenues from California’s post-pandemic auction tumbled to $25 million, less than 5 percent of the previous auction proceeds, pointing to a need for reforms for predictable outcomes and a long-term strategy to fund climate programs.
A growing number of states across the U.S. are amping up energy storage to complement the drive towards clean energy as batteries can help integrate diverse generation technologies and stabilize the grid. State commitments to procure battery storage capacity now top 11 gigawatts, following targets established by Nevada and Virginia this year.
A handful of U.S. states have taken steps to provide relief for the solar industry that has been facing uncertainties in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Measures to address the ensuing challenges range from expanding incentive programs, extending project deadlines, and expediting new projects.
Oil and gas regulators across U.S. states are weighing measures to address the sudden oversupply of oil under the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic that has resulted in an unprecedented drop in demand for oil.
More states and utilities are exploring microgrids as part of their resiliency strategies driven by the growing demand to bolster the reliability of the power system in the face of extreme weather events, such as storms and wildfires.
Utility commissions in almost a dozen jurisdictions have canceled hearings and revised procedural schedules in several pending electric and natural gas rate cases. A few utilities have committed to delay the implementation of rates, in order to avoid burdening customers amid the difficult circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The New England grid operator has proposed a long-term, market-based solution to the region’s energy security problem as the power generation fleet moves towards a mix of energy-limited resources. With the retirement of resources with stored fuel, the system is increasingly reliant on facilities that run on just-in-time natural gas deliveries and weather-dependent wind and solar energy. To address the ensuing challenge, the grid operator proposes to improve the current market structure by creating incentives for the region’s fleet to invest in the energy supply arrangements and technologies on which the region depends.