Sunrun, SunPower gain as residential solar grows amid rising utility bills, reliability concerns: Morgan Stanley

Falling rooftop solar and microgrid prices could threaten utilities, according to Paul Patterson, a Glenrock Associates equity analyst.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 5, 2022

NRC authorizes Southern Nuclear to begin operation of Vogtle Unit 3

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s decision follows it issuing the first design certification for a small modular reactor and comes as Congress considers billions of dollars in financial incentives for existing nuclear plants.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 4, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Top 5 Stories from Utility Dive

Power demand is rising amid dramatic shifts in federal energy policy, but technology and markets continue to push the grid toward cleaner, more distributed resources. 

By Utility Dive staff

Global renewable investment sets new record at $226B in H1 despite supply chain constraints: BNEF

Bucking the “headwinds” of inflation and other challenges, BloombergNEF data shows an 11% rise in global renewable energy financing in the first half of 2022.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 3, 2022

NextEra’s ‘game-changing’ Real Zero emissions goal spurs questions about hydrogen, demand-side management

NextEra, the world’s biggest IOU by market cap, wants a “real” reduction of all carbon emissions by FPL, its regulated subsidiary, with solar, batteries and green hydrogen, but it will go without much help from the demand side.

By Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 3, 2022

Vistra, Sempra and Exelon poised for solid earnings this week: Morgan Stanley

For regulated energy companies, this earnings season “will be characterized by heightened sensitivity to beats and misses given a broader defensive leaning within the sector,” analysts say.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 1, 2022

Utility marketplaces are taking bold moves to build awareness

To increase customer awareness and drive traffic, utilities are making bold moves to differentiate their marketplaces from the plethora of options in today’s e-commerce landscape.

Aug. 1, 2022

First Solar mulls U.S. manufacturing expansion on prospect of new incentives

With its current manufacturing capacity sold out through 2023, First Solar CEO Mark Widmar says the creation of a new tax credit could put new U.S. factories on the table.

By Emma Penrod • July 28, 2022

AEP Q2 results belie recession talk as sales jump 3.5%, helping drive earnings growth, officials say

American Electric Power plans to launch a sales process for its unregulated renewable fleet by early September, officials said Wednesday in an earnings call.

By Ethan Howland • July 28, 2022

Tesla rewrites software to get around chip shortages hampering EV production

The semiconductor deficit has prompted the automaker to reduce the number of chips needed to produce a single vehicle.

By Sarah Zimmerman • July 27, 2022

NextEra plan for 200 MW solar, 75 MW storage at shuttered nuclear plant approved by Iowa regulators

An Alliant Energy utility plans to buy the project and recently increased a proposed cost cap for it by 23% because of supply chain and solar market disruptions.

By Ethan Howland • July 27, 2022

NextEra plans to shift away from Chinese solar panels within 2 years, company leaders say

NextEra continues to see growing demand — and rising profit margins — for renewable energy, setting the company on a path for significant growth, executives say.

By Emma Penrod • July 25, 2022

State regulators approve Georgia Power's plans to retire all coal plants by 2028 except for Plant Bowen

The state’s Public Service Commission voted to decide the retirement of the remaining two units at Plant Bowen, totaling nearly 1,600 MW, in the utility’s 2025 IRP proceeding.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • July 22, 2022

Peer analysis in energy: How the FERC just made it easy

For every utility, it’s crucial to track and compare across peers. Why not leverage FERC data?

By Hudson Hollister, Founder & CEO; Luke Ashton, Regulatory Economist • July 18, 2022

As Mass. lawmakers consider energy bills, power suppliers press to continue residential retail choice

A petition this week from over 1,000 Massachusetts residents asks legislators to remove language supported by the Attorney General’s office intended for consumer protection.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • July 15, 2022

Offshore wind developer Equinor to acquire battery company East Point Energy

Wind developer Equinor, based in Norway, says the acquisition will allow it to “build a portfolio of battery storage assets in the U.S.”

By Robert Walton • July 14, 2022

Interest in EVs has grown substantially, survey shows

A Consumer Reports survey shows 14% of consumers would buy or lease an electric vehicle if shopping today, but high purchase costs and low awareness of incentives remain barriers.

By Dan Zukowski • July 8, 2022

Idaho Power kicks off process to consider net metering study

Regulators must assess the study as a “credible and fair” analysis before the utility proposes changes to net metering, but environmental advocates see the effort as a path for Idaho Power to restrict distributed solar. 

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated July 7, 2022

Power supply groups urge FERC to reform Western offer cap to avoid market uncertainty

Recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission offer cap decisions threaten power suppliers’ willingness to sell electricity in tight conditions, industry groups said.

By Ethan Howland • June 30, 2022

Salem Harbor to pay $17.1M fine, disgorge profits to settle allegations it improperly received ISO-NE capacity payments

Salem Harbor Power Development asked a Delaware bankruptcy court on Tuesday to approve the settlement as part of the company’s ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring proceeding.

By Robert Walton • Updated June 29, 2022

Gensler sees limit to SEC rule on carbon emissions disclosure

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission would only require disclosure on carbon emissions across a supply chain from companies that have publicly committed to revealing such information, Chair Gary Gensler said.

By Jim Tyson • June 15, 2022

NextEra Energy plans to cut all carbon emissions by 2045, partly via FPL adding 140 GW of solar, storage

NextEra said Tuesday it can implement its carbon reduction plan without greenhouse gas offsets or increasing customer costs.

By Ethan Howland • June 14, 2022

Toyota enters energy storage market, launching residential battery product in Japan

The storage system’s vehicle-to-grid capabilities will provide “balancing in places where the grid system allows bidirectional charging,” providing power at “times of high energy use,” the company said.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • June 14, 2022

Newly public small modular reactor developer NuScale reports increased losses, big cash infusion

NuScale officials say they have enough cash on hand to last through 2024 as they work to deploy the company’s first small modular reactor by 2029.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • June 8, 2022

NuScale makes public debut but requires 'a lot of financing' to launch small nuclear reactor in 2029

Will being the first publicly traded small modular reactor company allow it to beat out its competitors?

By Elizabeth McCarthy • June 1, 2022

Climate-related disclosure annually costs companies $677,000 on average

The Securities and Exchange Commission is pushing a climate risk disclosure rule that would require companies to budget for detailed analysis of their greenhouse gas emissions.

By Jim Tyson • May 26, 2022