Distributed Energy
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OpinionCommunity solar is hot. Why not community wind?
Perhaps the biggest difference between yesterday’s community wind and today’s community solar markets is in their business models, which reflect their respective market and policy environments.
By Mark Bolinger and Bentham Paulos • Sept. 27, 2023 -
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Residential DER surges 63% in MISO, pushing distributed resources to 12.5 GW: report
Most utilities expect DER capacity will keep growing, in part driven by corporate clean energy goals, falling costs for distributed resources and access to MISO’s wholesale markets, according to a report released Monday.
By Ethan Howland • Sept. 26, 2023 -
Explore the Trendline➔
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TrendlineDecarbonization
Companies and governments are pushing to reduce carbon emissions, prompting questions about how to best increase the use of zero-emitting resources amid interconnection, transmission and other challenges.
By Utility Dive staff -
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PJM plan for distributed energy aggregations would block virtual power plants: Tesla
Tesla on Friday urged federal regulators to approve measures so residential aggregations in VPPs in PJM can be “achieved at scale and provide transformative reliability value and reduce consumer energy costs.”
By Ethan Howland • Sept. 25, 2023 -
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Sponsored by Huron Consulting GroupThe future of work in the energy and utilities industry: Embracing automation and digital transformation
In the energy and utilities sector specifically, automation has led to a dual effect – the elimination of certain job roles and the creation of new ones.
Sept. 25, 2023 -
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Deep DiveRising electrification requires a dramatic shift to integrated planning of DER, bulk resources: Xcel VP
Effective distribution system planning and merging analytic insights into comprehensive electricity planning both face barriers, analysts and stakeholders said.
By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 20, 2023 -
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Tripling virtual power plant capacity by 2030 could save $10B, meet 20% peak demand: DOE
With electric vehicles and other distributed resources surging, virtual power plants may be at an inflection point, the Department of Energy said Tuesday.
By Ethan Howland • Sept. 13, 2023 -
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Sponsored by Copper LabsAs grids struggle, is it time to revisit our approach to residential demand response?
With a warming climate and an evolving energy system, energy grids are facing new challenges to reliability. A more dynamic and performance-based approach to load flexibility could help.
Sept. 11, 2023 -
NARUC, NASEO issue microgrid policy framework to assist regulators
Microgrids’ ability to provide energy resilience raises policy questions “particularly with regard to cost allocation,” say state regulators and energy officials.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 23, 2023 -
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DOE lab develops new models to address inverter faults, avoid grid disruptions
Electromagnetic transient domain analysis may be key to stopping inverter-based resources from tripping offline or reducing output in response to grid events, according to research from Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
By Robert Walton • Aug. 18, 2023 -
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OpinionVirtual power plants: Resource adequacy without interconnection delays
VPPs can be implemented today, but much more needs to happen to accelerate this transition at scale.
By Ryan Hledik, Kala Viswanathan and Kate Peters • Aug. 17, 2023 -
Sunrun
US virtual power plants expected to proliferate as reliability needs rise with increasing renewables
Battery storage and smart appliances make virtual power plants a viable option to address the intermittency of renewable energy.
By Patrick Cooley • Aug. 14, 2023 -
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Deep DiveA community solar boom will test Xcel, other utility plans against developer, customer needs: analysts
New state and federal funding and initiatives for community solar can bring equity and system reliability to the emerging energy transition, analysts say.
By Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 10, 2023 -
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Cities can better afford renewable energy, EV and other climate projects with new tax incentives: report
Tax credits made available to cities through the Inflation Reduction Act are so significant “that they may warrant a re-evaluation of some previously assessed investment opportunities,” the Alliance for a Sustainable Future report says.
By Ysabelle Kempe • July 26, 2023 -
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New York completes state’s largest rooftop solar project atop Medline distribution center
Governor Hochul says the 7.2-megawatt community solar project is expected to power over 1,600 homes and reduce energy costs for both Medline and local residents.
By Joe Burns • July 21, 2023 -
Courtesy of Tesla
Tesla Q2 storage deployments increase 222% as company navigates ‘fractured regulatory environment’
The company’s solar deployments, however, declined year over year, which Tesla attributed to a high interest rate environment.
By Kavya Balaraman • July 20, 2023 -
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US utility-scale solar outlook improves on easing supply chain limits: Morgan Stanley
However, residential solar growth may be slowed by rising interest rates and California’s new net metering policy, the investment firm’s analysts said.
By Ethan Howland • July 19, 2023 -
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Solar-powered ‘microgrids’ coming to San Diego public buildings as first of 8 projects breaks ground
Batteries will store the excess solar energy a site generates, with that energy powering the facility in the afternoons and evenings, when electricity prices rise.
By Ysabelle Kempe • July 12, 2023 -
Courtesy of American Battery Technology Company.
EV batteries can be repurposed as grid storage to reduce battery supply chain impacts: report
Doing so, however, would require better regulation around accessing battery management systems, as well as flexible liability frameworks for repurposed batteries, according to the report’s author.
By Kavya Balaraman • July 11, 2023 -
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Sponsored by PXiSE Energy SolutionsTraining wheels for DERMS
Utilities—on the road to DERMS, start with a conservative approach.
July 3, 2023 -
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Sponsored by EPRIStrengthening the power sector’s approach to climate risk
As U.S. braces for hurricane season and a warmer than average summer, resilience of the electric sector is top of mind.
By Morgan Scott, Director of Climate READi, EPRI • July 3, 2023 -
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Dominion Energy, Virginia solar developers clash over small-scale project rules
A coalition of solar groups and developers argues that Dominion Energy’s interconnection rules have led to project delays and cancellations, while the utility says the rules are necessary to protect the grid.
By Diana DiGangi • June 29, 2023 -
Getty
Microgrids not just for resilience: new research from NARUC, NASEO highlights GHG reduction potential
Nuclear energy has not traditionally been seen as a microgrid resource, but microreactors “are likely to be deployed in the near term,” according to the report.
By Robert Walton • June 28, 2023 -
Jaskaran Kooner via Getty Images
OpinionLocal solar and storage are essential to the electrification movement
The key to lowering the cost of electrification is energy management and demand response, starting with local solar and storage.
By Robin Dutta • June 28, 2023 -
Cleantech M&A activity expected to grow, driven by ESG investing and federal funding: West Monroe
ESG is an “unstoppable long-term trend,” according to the report released Thursday. “Much of this wall of capital will be sunk into cleantech.”
By Ethan Howland • June 22, 2023 -
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Deep DiveFour non-transmission solutions for clean energy with new power lines in the permitting ‘Valley of Death’
Smart technologies, storage, overbuilding and distributed resources can move the energy transition ahead until workable reforms bring new transmission online, stakeholders agreed
By Herman K. Trabish • June 21, 2023
