Deep Dive
Industry insights from our journalists
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Biden ‘EV revolution’ delayed as utilities, carmakers await critical IRS guidance on Inflation Reduction Act
A domestic EV industry and a national charging network buildout await federal agency interpretations of complex IRA tax credit and supply chain requirements.
Herman K. Trabish • March 17, 2023 -
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Treasury Department guidance urgently needed to tap IRA’s clean energy ‘gold mine,’ analysts say
Clarifications defining Inflation Reduction Act provisions on labor, domestic content, energy community, and clean hydrogen are urgently needed to put the “boldest action” by Congress to work, they say.
Herman K. Trabish • March 16, 2023 -
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Duke, APS planning reforms show ways to work with stakeholders to meet emerging power system needs
Integrated planning with deeper modeling and greater stakeholder engagement may slow overburdened regulators and utilities now, but will lead to better long-term decision-making, planners and analysts agree.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 28, 2023 -
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New power system cybersecurity architectures can be ‘vaults’ against insider attacks, analysts say
Utility operations facing hackers now, and a future of minimally-protected distributed energy resources, will need smarter, more complex defenses, from control rooms to customer-owned devices, analysts said.
Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 17, 2023 -
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‘No regrets’ approach to big batteries, green hydrogen and grid reliability urgently needed, analysts say
Advanced batteries and green hydrogen promise long-duration energy storage solutions for “net zero” system reliability, but only regulatory policy and market support can fulfill that promise, industry stakeholders say.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 31, 2023 -
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3 big advances coming as distributed energy resources take newer, bigger roles in 2023
Analysts foresee DER growth in 2023 at the wholesale market and retail distribution system levels as communities and local leaders demand more reliability and resilience.
Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 23, 2023 -
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Solar expected to see demand boom from Inflation Reduction Act in 2023 as supply chain remains uncertain
One expert anticipates a “hangover effect” from supply chain struggles will linger throughout the year.
Diana DiGangi • Jan. 19, 2023 -
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Electric vehicles near ‘tipping point’ in 2023, but tax credit questions, utility interconnection challenges lie ahead
Key factors for EV adoption this year include the implementation of federal incentives, development of a national charging network and addressing utility interconnection delays.
Robert Walton • Jan. 18, 2023 -
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‘Proceed with caution’: Key takeaways from California’s first offshore wind energy auction
A recent lease sale on the West Coast drew lower bids than similar East Coast sales, which experts say reflects the uncertainties the offshore wind industry faces in California. But the lower bids could ultimately benefit ratepayers.
Kavya Balaraman • Dec. 19, 2022 -
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Transmission as a reliability and affordability strategy drives CAISO and SPP regional market ambitions
Benefits of real-time markets are clear, demand for day-ahead markets is growing and advocates foresee full RTOs coming that could cross seams between East and West interconnections
Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 12, 2022 -
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High electricity rates impede crucial but costly technology investments to manage rising DER levels: utilities
Utilities want distribution system technologies for more DER visibility and control. But advocates want a new national stakeholder dialogue about the timing of spending for DER integration.
Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 29, 2022 -
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The power grid faced heat waves, record demand and tight conditions in 2022. What happens next?
All over the country, a changing climate and extreme weather events – whether due to high temperatures, low temperatures or storms and hurricanes – are posing a threat to grid reliability.
Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 22, 2022 -
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Republicans will soon control the House. Is a repeal of the Inflation Reduction Act likely?
The change of power in the House could spur a new wave of political attacks against the landmark law, legal and political experts say, but it’s not clear whether they’ll result in policy change.
Emma Penrod • Nov. 18, 2022 -
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US can reach 100% clean power by 2035, DOE finds, but tough reliability and land use questions lie ahead
New aggressive planning is needed to identify the long-duration storage technologies and find the land to grow enough resources to reach the Biden administration’s net zero emissions goals, a DOE national lab reports.
Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 15, 2022 -
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Putin-focused and other hacks of charging stations drive new cybersecurity steps for an EV boom
A broad utility-to-charger attack surface will require smarter protection strategies and tools for cyber threats as transportation electrification and vehicle-to-grid integration expand, analysts said.
Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 8, 2022 -
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As FERC’s transmission proposal sparks clashes, potential solutions emerge from MISO, elsewhere
Federal transmission planning reforms must decide who builds and where, who benefits and pays, who balances state and national interests, and who enforces the rules, stakeholders said.
Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 7, 2022 -
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How the US plans to transform its lithium supply chain
With just 3.6% of global reserves, U.S. access to the critical mineral is vital to the country’s sustainable energy plans.
Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Nov. 1, 2022 -
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ESG backlash unlikely to derail SEC climate risk rule
SEC Chair Gary Gensler faces growing resistance to the agency’s proposal that companies provide detailed disclosures on carbon emissions.
Jim Tyson • Oct. 28, 2022 -
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Bringing equity to electricity service through home, power sector and regulatory innovation
Individual homes can be upgraded, community solar can help to lower bills and regulators can broaden the public engagement process to be more inclusive, consumer advocates say.
Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 27, 2022 -
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The energy system is ‘inherently racist,’ advocates say. How are utilities responding to calls for greater equity?
Utility commitments to customer equity, energy affordability and equitable access to clean energy resources are becoming more common, but energy justice advocates say companies need to do more.
Robert Walton • Oct. 26, 2022 -
Danielle Ternes/Utility Dive
Electric utility CEO pay gap widens as groups push to link executive compensation and decarbonization
An increasing CEO-to-employee pay ratio is being driven in part by a decline in median employee pay, which could indicate a higher paid, more experienced workforce is retiring.
Iulia Gheorghiu and Julia Himmel • Oct. 18, 2022 -
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97% of smart meters fail to provide promised customer benefits. Can $3B in new funding change that?
Interoperability standards can deliver “non-discriminatory access” to real-time data from new smart meters to fulfill promises of customer savings and other system benefits, energy managers say.
Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 5, 2022 -
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Real-time pricing, new rates and enabling technologies target demand flexibility to ease California outages
Price signals linked to power market needs through smart technologies could make distributed energy resources that are aggregated and automated by third parties an answer to California reliability threats, industry observers said.
Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 13, 2022 -
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Accelerating renewable energy buildout faces big hurdles, even with Inflation Reduction Act: developers
“It's really important that everyone understand how contingent that capacity expansion is going to be on state-level decision making,” said Tyler Norris, Cypress Creek Renewables vice president of development.
Ethan Howland • Sept. 6, 2022 -
Why the energy transition broke the U.S. interconnection system
Who or what is to blame for growing interconnection delays around the U.S.? Experts say the same processes that created the U.S. power system may now be preventing its transition to clean generation.
Emma Penrod • Aug. 22, 2022
