New Jersey lawmakers have passed a suite of sweeping measures to propel the state’s clean energy agenda under Democratic Governor Phil Murphy's administration. The swift turn of events marks a significant shift from his Republican predecessor Chris Christie who withdrew the state from the carbon market and shunned offshore wind.
Nine out of the ten resource zones cleared at $10/MW-day in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator’s sixth annual Planning Resource Auction, up from last year's clearing price of 1.50/MW-day. MISO said that increased demand and lower supply were largely responsible for the higher prices and expects adequate capacity for the planning year starting June 1.
To overcome protests against oil and gas pipelines, at least 8 states are advancing bills creating new penalties for disrupting pipeline operations. Despite the Trump administration's moves to support pipeline developers, the opposition - consisting of environmentalists, landowners, and a few state governments - has dramatically slowed down some projects.
The penetration of distributed energy resources (DER) has led states and utilities to reconsider their strategies and planning processes. Advanced metering infrastructure and automation allow utilities to capture the full value of DERs and explore new uses of emerging technologies. Because of the rapid influx of DERs utilities must stay proactive to avoid issues on the distribution grid and capture new growth opportunities.
Demand response (DR) is gaining relevance as a vital grid balancing tool amid the rapid surge in intermittent generation resources. The next generation DR will provide more localized responses to areas of stress to influence energy usage patterns. The digitally enabled grid, advanced metering infrastructure, and automated strategies coupled with dynamic pricing will support the DR market.
The Trump administration is seeking new avenues to revive coal and nuclear, such as research to diversify coal use and design new reactors. Although new technologies may slow the downturn of coal and nuclear, hopes of a renaissance remain dim as the industries lose out to cheaper, cleaner, and more efficient resources.
The recent surge in electric vehicles (EVs) highlights the crucial role of electric utilities in developing comprehensive charging networks, including public charging stations. As more EVs draw electricity from distribution systems, state regulators must balance reliability, cost-effectiveness, and utility planning.
With the federal government’s U-turn on climate policy, states are taking the lead in regulating greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, carbon trading is gaining traction as more jurisdictions are joining cap-and-trade markets.The two regional blocs in the U.S., California, Quebec, and Ontario’s cap-and-trade system and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) involving nine Northeastern states, recently outlined their plans after 2020 ending uncertainty about their medium-term future.
Ever more states are embracing pro-renewable policies by committing to clean energy and ramping up their clean energy targets despite federal policy uncertainty under the Trump administration. Frontrunners like California, Hawaii, New York, and Massachusetts are encouraging other states with nascent markets to follow suit.
Federal agencies have reacted quickly to President Trump’s executive order, issued in March 2017, on reducing undue burdens on domestic energy production. On February 16, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced the date for the largest sale of oil and gas leases in U.S. history. Scheduled for March 21, the sale will include all available areas in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. However, over the past year, the administration’s push for deregulation has prompted numerous legal challenges creating uncertainty in the industry.
The U.S. wind energy industry has grown significantly over the past decade thanks to federal and state support, along with technology advancements improving costs and performance. The federal production tax credit (PTC) has left the greatest impact on the industry. However, the PTC expires in 2019 narrowing the window for new projects as the industry prepares for a slowdown. Other challenges, such as attempts to redefine PURPA terms and assess the impact of wind farms on tourism, along with slow growth in electric demand, make the outlook on wind less certain.
Arizona's Energy Modernization Plan would set a goal 3,000 MW of energy storage by 2030, the most ambitious in the nation. The plan seeks to address peak demand challenges and provide system backup and stability through large-scale storage. Declining costs combined with a growing recognition of the multiple benefits of storage have led more states to consider storage in their energy planning and regulation. Moving forward, the future of storage will depend on creating rates and markets that capture the full value of storage and improving grid connection practices.
