Tesla, Google, other corporate power buyers back FERC interconnection reform plan but see pitfalls

Google urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make sure any final interconnection rules don’t give utilities an advantage over independent power producers.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 17, 2022

California’s far-reaching climate law will usher in a zero-carbon economy. Now the state needs a follow-up plan.

Our clean energy deployment plan calls for a single agency to lead state efforts while ensuring transparency, accountability, equity and environmental justice.

By Armond Cohen and Michael Colvin • Oct. 17, 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

NGOs sue EPA to force it to act on Texas’s plan exempting 8 coal-fired plants from particulate matter limits

The Lone Star State’s long-time interpretation of national health-based air quality standards has resulted in significant increases in particulate matter pollution, environmental groups say.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Oct. 15, 2022

Ameren Missouri expects $1.3B in Inflation Reduction Act tax credits will help offset customer rates by 4.5%

The IRA’s benefits could be higher depending on how nuclear tax credits are calculated, the utility said in a Wednesday filing at the Missouri Public Service Commission.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 14, 2022

Sempra Energy hydrogen pipeline, blending proposals face opposition at the California PUC

“The commission should not be in the business of sanctioning aspirations and speculative ventures,” Utility Consumers’ Action Network said about the Angeles Link hydrogen pipeline proposal.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 14, 2022

State PUCs should re-examine planning, procurement costs in wake of Inflation Reduction Act: report

“PUCs should insist that utilities redo integrated resource plans and resource solicitations, despite the procedural headache,” Energy Innovation Policy & Technology said in a report released Thursday.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 14, 2022

What upcoming US elections could mean for the Inflation Reduction Act, FERC and US energy policy

A Republican Senate "might be the end, potentially the end, of Richard Glick at FERC,” said Ari Peskoe, director of Harvard Law School's Electricity Law Initiative.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 13, 2022

Connecticut energy and environment chief outlines updated clean energy plan on path to zero emissions

Filling unmet portions of previous solicitations with solar, developing transmission for offshore wind and adding energy storage and anaerobic digesters are the focus of the updated plan.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 13, 2022

Major utilities oppose Sunnova’s ‘micro-utility’ microgrid proposal at California PUC

Pacific Gas & Electric Co., San Diego Gas & Electric Co. and Southern California Edison say the California Public Utilities Commission should finish a pending rulemaking regarding microgrids before it reviews Sunnova’s proposal.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 12, 2022

FERC isn’t acting fast enough to strengthen the grid. Here’s one thing Congress can do.

Congress can and should shore up energy resilience by establishing a clear standard for inter-regional transmission support, the authors write.

By Liza Reed and Andrew Xu • Oct. 11, 2022

How an unlikely trio helped secure billions for rural electric cooperatives

As rural communities watch wind and solar farms begin to dot their landscape, many want to ensure rural America can own, not just host, the clean energy transition, the authors write.

By Duane Highley, Ramón Cruz and Erik Hatlestad • Oct. 10, 2022

EPA launches initiative to speed review of new chemicals for electric vehicle, clean energy sectors

The effort covers mixed metal oxides, which are a key component in lithium-ion batteries and can also be used in solar cells, wind turbines and other clean energy applications.

By Larry Pearl • Oct. 7, 2022

Washington to launch carbon cap-and-trade program in January, with tie to California program possible

“This new program will help us decarbonize our economy, improve air quality, and put Washington at the forefront of the fast-growing global era of clean energy,” Gov. Jay Inslee said.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Oct. 6, 2022

MISO energy users cannot leave system without paying their capacity fees: FERC

Industrial companies failed to show that it was unfair they would have to make the capacity payments they owe if they leave the Midcontinent grid operator, federal regulators said Monday.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 6, 2022

97% of smart meters fail to provide promised customer benefits. Can $3B in new funding change that?

Interoperability standards can deliver “non-discriminatory access” to real-time data from new smart meters to fulfill promises of customer savings and other system benefits, energy managers say.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 5, 2022

Broken markets: Slick Rick, Doug E. Fresh, and the global strain on the single clearing price

A single clearing price auction is no longer a viable or desirable way to sell power because the power market is now segmented into differentiated products, the authors write.

By Ray Gifford and Matt Larson • Oct. 4, 2022

Virginia governor calls for easing clean energy goals, injecting competition into utility sector

Gov. Glenn Youngkin, R, also aims to create a nuclear innovation hub and develop an advanced reactor within a decade.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 4, 2022

FERC OKs $500K fine for ISO-NE over alleged violations of capacity rules with Salem Harbor power plant

ISO New England improperly prevented its market monitor from having access to information about the Footprint Power project, among other violations, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 4, 2022

FERC, state utility regulators, and the arsonist’s dilemma

State and federal officials have saturated power markets with unworkable policies and are now openly lamenting the inability of those markets to deliver the results they expect, the author writes.

By Todd Snitchler • Oct. 3, 2022

A real page-turner: How the Inflation Reduction Act changes everything

The IRA will radically reshape the energy industry through tax credits, direct investments and loan guarantee programs.

Oct. 3, 2022

EV charging network plans approved for all 50 states

The FHWA’s approval unlocks $1.5 billion in NEVI program funds through fiscal years 2022 and 2023 for all jurisdictions across the U.S., allowing the build-out of chargers covering about 75,000 miles of highway.

By Danielle McLean • Sept. 28, 2022

Republicans oppose ‘sweeping’ transmission reforms, force Manchin to withdraw energy permitting bill

Progressives feared the bill would enable further development of fossil fuel infrastructure with less environmental review while Republicans worried it gave the federal government too much power over transmission development.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 28, 2022

New environmental justice office at EPA aims to raise the issue’s national profile

The Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, which will employ about 200 people, is seen as another step by the Biden administration to prioritize environmental justice in its policies.

By Megan Quinn • Sept. 27, 2022

Virginia governor acting like the CEO he used to be in trying to leave regional GHG compact: state senator

“If the governor wants to withdraw from RGGI, he has to learn how to govern,” Sen. Adam Ebbin said.

By Rod Kuckro • Sept. 27, 2022

Avoiding the ‘tax on God’ dilemma when transitioning to dynamic rates

Dynamic rate design is one of the most important tools for decarbonizing the grid. But it is imperative to figure out how to make these types of choices more accessible and better for customers to achieve targets.

By Brad Langley, VP of Marketing, GridX • Sept. 26, 2022