Load Management, Efficiency & Demand Response: Page 16


  • A gas-powered power generation plant is seen with four red and white striped pillars rising from the facility with a mountain's outline visible through a orange haze.
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    Duke Energy proposes new gas plant to meet load growth, but groups question projections

    “We’re already projecting eight times the load growth we anticipated just two years ago,” said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy’s South Carolina president.

    By Feb. 6, 2024
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    Ikea makes strides in reducing carbon footprint, attributes progress to clean energy initiatives

    The home furnishings retailer said its greenhouse gas emissions declined by 11.5% from the previous year and it has updated its climate strategy to reach net zero by 2050.

    By Zoya Mirza • Feb. 1, 2024
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    Trendline

    AI in the Power Sector

    Artificial intelligence is uniquely positioned to impact the electricity industry from both ends: as the technology driving large load demand growth and as a tool with the potential to make the power system more efficient. 

    By Utility Dive staff
  • Texas regulators nix proposed battery rule over concerns it would limit new resource additions

    The Texas electricity market “will need every megawatt of fast, flexible dispatchable generation resources, as soon as possible,” according to PUC Commissioner Lori Cobos.

    By Feb. 1, 2024
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    2024 US power sector outlook

    The U.S. clean energy transition is expected to accelerate in 2024 but faces question around transmission, financing, federal elections and other issues.

    By Utility Dive staff • Jan. 31, 2024
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    DOE invests $254M in industrial emission cuts, decarbonizing technologies

    In addition to awarding $171 million to 49 projects, the U.S. Department of Energy said it is accepting applications for $83 million to cut emissions from hard-to-decarbonize industrial sectors.

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 30, 2024
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    Deep Dive

    New solutions emerge to better integrate renewables into the grid, Xcel, Eversource and others say

    Requiring the 400+ GW of battery capacity in U.S. interconnection queues to have grid-forming capabilities could enable variable renewables growth “cheaper and faster than adding new transmission,” one expert said.

    By Jan. 25, 2024
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    Electrification, manufacturing to propel 1.5% annual US electric demand growth through 2026: IEA

    Data centers account for about a third of the anticipated U.S. demand growth, the International Energy Agency said.

    By Jan. 24, 2024
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    Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
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    Honeywell launches new control system to enhance building energy management

    The platform works with a building’s existing wiring to increase operational efficiency and sustainability while also protecting cybersecurity, the company says.

    By Joe Burns • Jan. 24, 2024
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    ASHRAE updates energy efficiency standard for existing buildings

    The 2024 edition of Standard 100 contains new metrics for setting emissions targets and a “simple” compliance mechanism for energy efficient and low-emission buildings, it says.

    By Joe Burns • Jan. 22, 2024
  • Bipartisan group of 12 senators proposes blocking DOE’s distribution transformer efficiency rule

    Stricter standards and an “overnight” implementation proposed by the U.S. Department of Energy “jeopardize electricity distribution for millions” of Americans, said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.

    By Jan. 22, 2024
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    $104M for clean energy projects in 31 federal buildings announced by DOE

    The selected projects are expected to save over $29 million in energy and water costs, generating an additional 27 MW of clean energy capacity, the U.S. Department of Energy says.

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 19, 2024
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    Texas grid holds firm through frigid temperatures, 3 demand records, 2 conservation calls

    The Texas power grid is more resilient than it was in 2021, when Winter Storm Uri caused widespread blackouts and almost 250 deaths.

    By Jan. 17, 2024
  • A rendering of a smart grid concept, with an electrical engineer operating a control panel distributor dashboard on a grid distribution network.
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    Catalyst Power launches demand response products for New York businesses

    The program creates incentives for customers to reduce electricity use when demand is at its highest, resulting in cost and emissions reductions, Catalyst says. 

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 16, 2024
  • High voltage pylons with electric power lines transfering electricity from solar photovoltaic cells at sunrise.
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    FERC Order 2222 hurdles require new options for deploying aggregated DERs: Guidehouse

    “Local flexibility markets” for DERs operating at specific points on a utility distribution system could help to manage grid operations, according to a white paper from Guidehouse Insights.

    By Jan. 11, 2024
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    Buildings can reduce energy intensity by up to 38%: report

    Undertaking energy savings and energy efficiency measures by 2030 can garner up to $2 trillion in annual savings, according to a white paper by the World Economic Forum and PwC. 

    By Nish Amarnath • Jan. 10, 2024
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    9 US power sector trends to watch in 2024

    The U.S. march toward a decarbonized electric system will continue in 2024 as policymakers and others work to balance, climate, reliability, affordability and other goals.

    By Robert Walton, Ethan Howland, Diana DiGangi, Larry Pearl, Kavya Balaraman and Emma Penrod • Jan. 10, 2024
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    PJM triples annual load growth forecast to 2.4% driven by data centers, electrification

    The PJM Interconnection’s fastest-growing zones include ones served by Dominion Energy and FirstEnergy’s Metropolitan Edison and Jersey Central Power & Light utilities, per the grid operator’s load forecast.

    By Jan. 9, 2024
  • Electrical components of a CenterPoint power plant in downtown district of Houston, Texas.
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    NIPSCO, Linde to pay $66.7M to settle charges for gaming MISO demand response program

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission-approved settlement agreement marks the second recent enforcement action involving MISO’s demand response program.

    By Jan. 8, 2024
  • DOE finalizes energy efficiency standards for residential refrigerators, freezers

    Energy efficiency standards advanced by the Biden administration will save consumers almost $1 trillion over 30 years, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

    By Jan. 3, 2024
  • The James V. Forrestal Building Building, the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy, in downtown Washington, DC at sunset.
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    $530M in building code technical assistance grants available from DOE

    The grants will support a wider range of energy code and building performance standards activities, including workforce development, by state, local and tribal governments.

    By Joe Burns • Dec. 20, 2023
  • Gas industry sues DOE over new furnace efficiency rule, citing cost and other concerns

    The new rule will require gas furnaces to be 95% efficient, but the American Gas Association and other stakeholders say it effectively bans a product class and will drive prices higher for many consumers.

    By Dec. 20, 2023
  • An artistic rendering of a sustainable building representing the concept of corporate goals for net-zero emissions by 2050.
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    To be truly net-zero, buildings must buy 100% renewable energy, global council says

    A globally consistent definition of net-zero buildings is needed, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development says, while analysts note current carbon compliance ambiguities.

    By Nish Amarnath • Dec. 19, 2023
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    stock.adobe.com/Southworks

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    Sponsored by Sense

    New survey highlights reliance on real-time data, suggesting increased momentum for remote energy management in 2024

    Users report maintaining or even increasing their use of Sense’s real-time home intelligence, despite changes in their routines.

    Dec. 18, 2023
  • The Seattle skyline, featuring the Space Needle and skyscrapers.
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    Seattle requires large buildings to zero out greenhouse gas emissions by 2050

    As building performance standards gain traction nationwide, Seattle’s policy is the city’s most ambitious plan ever to reduce building emissions, the City Council said.

    By Ysabelle Kempe • Dec. 13, 2023
  • A Resideo smart thermostat mounted on a wall of a home.
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    Courtesy of Ford Motor Co.
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    Ford, Resideo launch joint vehicle-to-home energy management project

    The two companies will study how Ford’s future electric vehicle batteries can supply power to homes to help reduce energy costs.

    By Eric Walz • Dec. 12, 2023