The Latest
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Renewables industry could address commodities squeeze with vertical integration: McKinsey
Proactive steps should be taken to account for the price volatility of raw materials needed for wind and solar, such as neodymium and polysilicon, the consulting firm says.
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DOE offers $750M to help drive clean hydrogen production costs down 60% by 2026
The funding announced Wednesday aims to cut the cost of hydrogen produced with emissions-free electricity to $2 per kilogram by 2026 from around $5/kg today.
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Courtesy of Entergy
OpinionExtreme weather events are expanding — the US power grid is not
FERC, governors, state regulators and utilities should focus their efforts on interregional transmission development by encouraging investments that will yield significant long-term benefits.
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Courtesy of Bechtel
NERC issues alert, recommendations to solar resources following inverter-based grid disturbances
The rapid interconnection of inverter-based resources “poses a high risk to grid reliability,” warned the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.
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NRC commissioner criticizes agency’s finances, citing rising spending, falling workload
“So far the agency’s transformation efforts have seemed to achieve the opposite of what was expected,” Commissioner Annie Caputo said.
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Power plant owners in 22 states face tighter NOx requirements under EPA’s final Good Neighbor rule
The rule released Wednesday includes flexibility for power plant owners to help maintain grid reliability, according to EPA Administrator Michael Regan.
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Texas regulators to set Oncor return on equity at 9.7%, maintain capital structure in pending rate decision
The decision reflects a challenging business environment and Oncor’s work to minimize customer outages — though it also factors in lagging interconnection times, regulators said.
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$700 million for community EV charging now available from federal grant program
Cities, counties, other local governments and tribes can apply for grants for public charging in urban and rural communities.
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Permission granted by Idaho Power
Construction begins on Idaho Power’s first energy storage projects as it faces growing capacity shortfall
State regulators said “public convenience and necessity” require Idaho Power to acquire 120 MW of dispatchable energy storage.
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CISA launches ransomware warning pilot for critical infrastructure providers
The Joint Ransomware Task Force is coordinating the program, called the Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot, actively warning organizations about internet-accessible vulnerabilities linked to known threat actors.
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Solar companies offer reassurance after renewables financier Silicon Valley Bank collapses
The federal government has ensured depositors won’t lose money as a result of the collapse, but many developers will have to find and establish new sources of financing.
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Lower gas prices to drive 35%-45% ‘plunge’ in 2023 peak power prices across most of US: Moody’s
California is the exception, where peak prices are expected to fall “only around 9%,” according to the ratings and financial research agency.
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Retrieved from Google Maps on March 14, 2023
Confidential PJM meetings hinder state energy policy, oversight: West Virginia PSC, Maryland lawmaker
Efforts are underway to increase transparency at the largest U.S. grid operator, with Exelon and FirstEnergy opposing a bill to require annual voting reports of PJM meetings.
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Courtesy of Bechtel
NRC chair defends reactor licensing changes: “We are in the middle of the rulemaking process, not at the end.”
Christopher Hanson’s upbeat message comes as nuclear energy enjoys rising support as an energy source that can help states and the federal government meet increasingly stringent greenhouse gas emissions limits.
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Solar industry aims for 2023 rebound, but year ahead remains deeply uncertain
Significant policy questions could put the U.S. on track to install 50 GW of solar per year by 2027 – or not, a report by Wood Mackenzie says.
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Permission granted by ISO New England
ISO-NE: Annual capacity auction closes with sufficient power system resources for 2026-2027 capacity year
Nearly all of the new resources securing capacity supply obligations were wind, solar, energy storage or demand-reducing resources.
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Community outreach and investment can help meet renewable industry’s worker demand, say labor experts
“It's gone from a critical issue to ‘the business doesn't work unless we get this right,’” said one panelist during the American Council on Renewable Energy’s public policy forum.
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California regulators set to launch proceeding to investigate natural gas price spikes this winter
With natural-gas fired generators producing about half of the state's electricity, the CPUC is looking at how high gas prices have affected California's power markets.
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NRC clears NIST nuclear reactor to restart following 2021 radiation escape, shutdown
NIST blamed the failure on inadequate training and qualification for operators, plant procedures, equipment and “inadequate management oversight.”
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EPA, DOE issue framework for maintaining grid reliability during energy transition
The agencies will consider “short-term interventions” to address emerging reliability risks, according to the agreement released Thursday.
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Biden’s proposed budget boosts funding for clean energy, permitting, efficiency programs
The budget, released March 9, includes $11.9 billion for Department of Energy climate and clean energy research, development, demonstration and deployment, a 20% hike over the FY 23 enacted amount.
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OpinionCan utility regulators adopt Silicon Valley’s ‘fail fast’ approach? A new Connecticut program may tell
While the pace of electric system transformation and technological innovation has increased rapidly over the last 15 years, regulatory structures have struggled to keep pace.
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‘Welcome to ERCOT.’ Regulators approve city of Lubbock, Texas, shift to retail competition
The Public Utility Commission of Texas on Thursday authorized the move after a last-minute agreement was struck regarding the allocation of termination fee proceeds.
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Grid operators oppose FERC conference on barriers to merchant interregional HVDC transmission
But Invenergy’s petition for a conference was backed Wednesday by state utility regulators, renewable energy advocates, consumer groups and transmission companies.
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NREL to test real-time utility meter data as resilience solution amid rising renewable energy adoption
As larger percentages of renewables dominate the grid, access to real-time data will become more important for avoiding outages and maintaining reliability, said Dan Forman, CEO of project partner Copper Labs.
