The growing demand for renewable energy to meet state and utility goals is driving the rapid expansion in the U.S. wind power market. The sector emerged as the top provider of new power generation capacity in 2019, adding about 9.1 gigawatts of large-scale projects.
States and utilities across the U.S. are expanding electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure to overcome barriers to transportation electrification. The demand for fast charging in states with zero-emission vehicle goals, such as California, New York, and New Jersey, have heightened the need for reliable access to a wider network of stations.
Recently, state regulators have stepped up efforts to value distributed energy resources (DERs) more accurately while looking for ways to better reflect the costs they impose on the grid. Among recent actions, New York adopted a mechanism to move the market towards more cost-reflective rates, while California decided to include avoided transmission costs in the valuation, and Connecticut unveiled a study on quantifying the benefits of these resources.
The offshore wind industry continues to progress in the U.S. with East Coast states proceeding with new solicitations to procure capacity to meet their ambitious goals. New York and New Jersey are seeking to add nearly five gigawatts alongside offshore port infrastructure. Massachusetts is considering a bundled solicitation for generation and transmission in its next round of procurement. The industry’s growth has prompted federal regulators to examine whether existing frameworks in regional transmission organizations can accommodate offshore wind integration.
