Regulation & Policy

Baker signs major Massachusetts climate bill despite concerns over fossil fuel limits, other provisions

The decision to not exempt multifamily housing from the community-level ban on natural gas and other fossil fuels will ensure that low- and moderate-income families continue to be priced out of these towns, Gov. Charlie Baker said.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 12, 2022

FERC commissioners press financial giant Vanguard over possible efforts to influence utility power portfolios

“Should a company like Vanguard seek to influence the management and operation of utilities’ generation portfolio, for example, this could have a significant impact on the rates consumers pay for electrical service,” the commissioners said.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 12, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Power companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

Gov. Baker wavers on signing Massachusetts climate bill due to concerns over fossil fuel limits

"Part of the bill gives me agita,” the governor said Tuesday, according to CommonWealth Magazine.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 10, 2022

Diving into the Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits and the ambitious plan to reshape the US energy sector

Tax incentives in the plan would stabilize federal energy policy, incentivize domestic manufacturing, and benefit communities impacted most by the changing energy landscape, the author writes.

By Mona Dajani • Aug. 9, 2022

Hawaiian Electric braces for bill increases amid high oil prices, coal plant retirement

At the same time, the company sees a lot of potential upside from the Inflation Reduction Act, executives said during an earnings call Monday. 

By Kavya Balaraman • Aug. 8, 2022

Senate passes Inflation Reduction Act with $369B in energy and climate spending

The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote Friday on the bill, which includes major tax credit provisions to spur emissions-free energy, electric vehicles, nuclear power and clean hydrogen, among other things.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 8, 2022

Virginia regulators approve Dominion Energy’s 2.6-GW, $9.8B offshore wind farm

The project will be the largest wind farm in the U.S. and the first with diversity hiring requirements, the Sierra Club noted.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 8, 2022

Electrifying fleet customers – How utilities can capitalize on the coming fleet electrification wave (before it’s too late)

Utilities have a critical role in the coming wave of commercial vehicle electrification. Fleet advisory services are necessary to determine infrastructure needs to successfully manage new charging demands.

Aug. 8, 2022

Sinema backs Inflation Reduction Act, clearing hurdle to $369B energy, climate package

An agreement reached Thursday with the lone Democratic holdout, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., opens a path for the bill to move through the Senate.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 5, 2022

Inflation Reduction Act would spur 42% US carbon emissions cut by 2030: Princeton-led study

The Senate bill cuts U.S. carbon emissions mainly by speeding up the deployment of clean electricity and electric vehicles, according to the analysis released Thursday.

By Ethan Howland • Aug. 4, 2022

Why electricity is more expensive and less reliable

After a quarter century, the evidence is accumulating that our experiment with electricity restructuring is failing, former chairman and CEO of the Illinois Commerce Commission Brien Sheahan writes.

By Brien J. Sheahan • 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

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

FERC, NERC urge North American Energy Standards Board to help boost gas-electric coordination

NAESB announced plans last year to support improved coordination between the natural gas and electricity markets, but that initiative has made little progress.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 2, 2022

NRC to certify NuScale small modular reactor design for use in the US

The first small modular nuclear reactor design to be approved in the U.S. is expected to go online at an Energy Department laboratory in Idaho in 2029.

By Larry Pearl • Aug. 1, 2022

Massachusetts climate bill heads to Gov. Baker’s desk after last-minute Senate, House approval

The measure includes support for electric vehicles and building electrification and calls for a study on energy storage systems.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 1, 2022

FERC proposes expanded ‘duty of candor’ obligation to increase market integrity, but pushback expected

The proposal could bolster Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision-making, according to Public Citizen’s Tyson Slocum.

By Ethan Howland • July 29, 2022

New York announces 2-GW offshore wind solicitation with a focus on supply chain infrastructure

The state, which already has the largest offshore wind portfolio in the nation, published a third solicitation that includes the first phase of its $500 million investment in wind ports and manufacturing.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • July 28, 2022

Manchin, in reversal, backs bill with $369B in climate spending

After scuttling climate legislation two weeks ago, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Wednesday said he backs a budget reconciliation bill that invests in hydrogen, nuclear and renewable energy as well as fossil fuel and energy storage technologies.

By Ethan Howland • July 27, 2022

FERC must regulate small-scale LNG export projects to ensure safety, methane oversight, green groups say

With U.S. liquefied natural gas exports ramping up, small-scale LNG projects need a lead federal agency to review them, environmental groups said in a petition Friday.

By Ethan Howland • July 25, 2022

Ameren Illinois ordered to explore possible benefits of shifting from MISO to PJM

“The Illinois Commerce Commission feels it is appropriate to explore whether membership in MISO continues to provide net benefits to Ameren Illinois’ electricity customers,” ICC Chairman Carrie Zalewski said Friday.

By Ethan Howland • July 25, 2022

Biden executive order on power system cybersecurity leaves critical operations vulnerable, experts say

From mysterious electronics in Chinese transformers to sensors without password protections, analysts see growing vulnerabilities in U.S. power system operations.

By Herman K. Trabish • July 25, 2022

Massachusetts passes 'landmark' climate bill to decarbonize multiple sectors, add 5.6 GW offshore wind

The wide-ranging bill supports the decarbonization of the state’s building and transportation sectors, scrapping language that would have blocked residential retail energy choice.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • July 22, 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

ENGIE, clean energy groups press FERC to approve ISO-NE plan for state review of DER interconnections

The proposal would remove major barriers to distributed energy market participation in New England, the supporters said.

By Ethan Howland • July 22, 2022