Deep Dive: Page 9
Industry insights from our journalists
-
Danielle Ternes/Utility Dive
5 ballot initiatives poised to propel states, cities to 100% clean energy
At the local level, as in previous elections, energy is less prone to partisan politics in 2020.
Catherine Morehouse • Nov. 5, 2020 -
Danielle Ternes/Utility Dive
Ballot billions: Behind the efforts to fund and finance climate action
In a year that virtually depleted municipal budgets, ballot-derived tax and funding measures can be crucial to support city-level climate action. Outside of these measures, how else can cities secure cash?
Kristin Musulin, Chris Teale and Cailin Crowe • Oct. 30, 2020 -
Getty Images
Election 2020: Xcel Energy, municipalization advocates face off in Boulder
On Nov. 3, voters in the Colorado city must choose whether to trust Xcel’s commitments or the promise of a municipal utility.
Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 30, 2020 -
Getty Images
Election 2020: States accelerated renewables under Trump. Could a Biden win slow that?
The bipartisan push in favor of more renewable energy deployment at the state level could evaporate under a Biden administration that may lean toward federal mandates, experts say.
Emma Penrod • Oct. 29, 2020 -
Getty Images
Election 2020: For DOE, staffing, renewables spending, transparency at stake Nov. 3, analysts say
A Biden administration could refocus the U.S. Department of Energy on clean energy, transparency and environmental justice. Under Trump, expect more of the same push for deregulation.
Robert Walton • Oct. 28, 2020 -
Getty Images
Election 2020: Trump's FERC may need to shift course on clean energy, though Biden's road will not be easy
No matter what happens Nov. 3, the agency will have no choice but to address the industry's transition, even if it means backing away from some of its more controversial policies under the Trump administration, analysts say.
Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 27, 2020 -
Getty Images
Election 2020: Climate policy faces a tough road through Congress regardless of electoral outcomes
A Democratic Senate will attempt to pass Joe Biden's clean energy standard in the face of an expected Republican filibuster, while bipartisan support exists for more R&D spending on carbon-cutting technologies.
Matthew Bandyk • Oct. 26, 2020 -
As conflict rises over utility DER ownership, a Duke Florida program could offer a way forward
Regulators must decide how to separate regulated and private markets as both see ownership of rooftop and community solar.
Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 23, 2020 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
To batteries and beyond: Lithium-ion dominates utility storage; could competing chemistries change that?
The industry is growing increasingly comfortable with lithium-ion, but its limitations open up a space for other technologies to compete in the storage mix.
Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 15, 2020 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
To batteries and beyond: Compressed air, liquid air and the holy grail of long-duration storage
Proponents of the technologies are looking to carve out a niche for themselves in the market. In both cases, a key draw is duration.
Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 14, 2020 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
To batteries and beyond: In a high-renewables world, pumped hydro storage could be 'the heavy artillery'
Experts say pumped hydro is notoriously difficult to site. But as more renewables come online, the industry is eyeing new locations and fresh technologies.
Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 13, 2020 -
Adeline Kon/Utility Dive
To batteries and beyond: With seasonal storage potential, hydrogen offers 'a different ballgame entirely'
The ability to provide long-term storage could give power-to-gas technologies an edge as renewables grow on the grid, some experts say. But larger questions remain around the infrastructure and policies to support it.
Kavya Balaraman • Oct. 12, 2020 -
California has a renewables curtailment problem. Can your Google and Facebook activity help?
A new study proposes data center processing loads be shifted to match wind and solar supply, but the issue will require a mix of solutions, including advances in energy storage, analysts said.
Lynn Freehill-Maye • Oct. 8, 2020 -
Kendall Davis/Utility Dive
Cities push ahead on Energy Efficiency as a Service as private sector plays catch up
Forms of EEaaS have existed for decades as alternative funding mechanisms in cities. Now, as technologies accelerate and COVID-19 continues, the private sector wants in.
Chris Teale • Oct. 5, 2020 -
Demand response failed California 20 years ago; the state's recent outages may have redeemed it
The West's recent heatwaves put California power users in the dark but showed how flexible demand response, including distributed storage, can keep the lights on.
Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 28, 2020 -
Politics disrupts San Diego's pursuit of an energy transition partner amid dissatisfaction with SDG&E
San Diego's 50-year-old franchise agreement with San Diego Gas and Electric expires in January, but city leaders can't agree on standards for the next provider, leaving bidders, including Berkshire Hathaway Energy, waiting.
Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 18, 2020 -
Duke-solar industry breakthrough settlement aims to end rooftop solar cost shift debates
A collaboration among Vote Solar, Sunrun, Southeastern environmental advocates and Duke Energy has produced a rate design that could be a new paradigm for pairing and growing rooftop solar and demand response.
Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 16, 2020 -
For nuclear plants operating on thin margins, growing climate risks prompt tough choices
Climate change creates a number of problems for nuclear power plants that some academics say the industry needs to address soon.
Matthew Bandyk • Sept. 10, 2020 -
FERC summit highlights reliability concerns for renewables + storage, but has California found a solution?
In a day-long FERC conference on renewables+storage hybrids earlier this summer, system operators focused on reliability while advocates described new opportunities.
Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 3, 2020 -
Yujin Kim/Utility Dive
As utility collaboration with charging companies rises, emerging differences could impede EV growth
To accelerate EV charging infrastructure deployment, former competitors are working together, but new questions threaten to lead to dissension.
Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 31, 2020 -
Utilities face growing ransomware threat as hackers improve strategy, execution
The energy industry faces an increasing threat from financially-motivated hackers. Experts say more companies are paying, and ransoms are rising.
Robert Walton • Aug. 26, 2020 -
Ensuring DER inclusion in capacity markets may require a rethink of resource adequacy
The growth of customer-owned resources is forcing system operators and aggregators to see their value as reliability tools and rethink the concept of resource adequacy.
Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 24, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Utility Dive
Propelling the transition: Digitization bolsters utility rate cases, boosts drive to future-proof
The continuing automation and digitization of the power sector now enables utilities to better justify their spending plans and improve reliability as they prepare for new resources and electricity uses.
Guy Burdick • Aug. 21, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Utility Dive
Propelling the transition: Small changes are making big impacts on wind, solar, but challenges remain
Cutting-edge wind and solar may evolve differently in the near term, but advocates for both share concerns over grid reliability and preventing energy curtailment.
Iulia Gheorghiu • Aug. 20, 2020 -
Brian Tucker/Utility Dive
Propelling the transition: New and better transmission is key to zero carbon; here's what's driving it
New technologies can make it easier to develop transmission and get more out of lines that already exist. But experts say electric utilities must be incentivized to use less-expensive solutions rather than older and pricier approaches.
Robert Walton • Aug. 19, 2020
Previous
