GE to buy Alstom out of joint ventures for $3.1B

The three joint ventures, which focused on renewables, nuclear and the grid, were developed in 2015 when GE purchased Alstom's energy business.

By Robert Walton • May 10, 2018

How two value-of-solar studies add up to no clear value of solar

Valuation studies for Montana and Maryland demonstrate the complications of trying to use rooftop solar’s costs and benefits to settle net energy metering disputes.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 10, 2018

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

Connecticut lawmakers pass sweeping energy bill

While the bill will raise the state's renewables goals, rooftop solar supporters say provisions could stall the industry's growth.

By Robert Walton • May 10, 2018

New Hampshire rethinks distributed generation-only pilots for non-wires alternatives

Stakeholders said that without including other distributed energy resources, like energy storage, efficiency and demand response, any study of DER value would not yield much useful information.

By Robert Walton • May 10, 2018

EnSync's solar+storage to allow energy sharing in Hawaii

By combining solar energy and storage to share power, the company says it can increase system efficiency and lower costs.

By Peter Maloney • May 10, 2018

California to require rooftop solar for new homes

The state is the first to mandate that new homes be built using advanced energy efficiency measures and rooftop solar, starting in 2020.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • May 9, 2018

PG&E taps EVBox to build up to 2.5K charging stations

The California utility announced its first supplier of charging stations, which it will own as part of its CPUC-approved electric vehicle charging program.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • May 9, 2018

Washington utilities need better carbon cost estimates in IRPs, regulator says

Washington utilities file an integrated resource plan every two years. Regulators want to see a more robust assessment of climate change risks in the next one.

By Peter Maloney • May 9, 2018

Virginia regulators reject Dominion's 100% renewables tariff

The Virginia State Corporation Commission determined the proposed tariff would give Dominion "extraordinary discretion" and the rates would be subject to "uncertainty and subjectivity."

By Robert Walton • May 8, 2018

Tesla's Musk talks 'gigawatt-hour scale' storage project

Tesla CEO Elon Musk is thinking big and bigger, building on the success of the company's 129 MWh South Australia project.

By Peter Maloney • May 8, 2018

EIA: Gas to outpace renewables for 2018 US gen additions

For the first time in five years, renewables are expected to make up less than 50% of capacity coming online.

By Robert Walton • May 7, 2018

As California energy markets modernize, regulators worry about repeating the past

A new report from staff of the California Public Utilities Commission concludes the state could drift back into another power crisis without careful planning as markets and technologies evolve.

By Robert Walton • May 7, 2018

South Carolina eyes expanded net metering as Vermont cuts rates

South Carolina is moving to expand the state's net metering cap from 2% to 4% of peak load. Vermont's move would cut the value of rooftop systems.

By Robert Walton • May 7, 2018

Solar has transformed into solar-plus-storage: What will net metering become?

Two prominent policy actions that could drive a more innovative use of solar-plus-storage are time-of-use rates and three-part rates with demand charges.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 7, 2018

ISO New England hits milestone: More grid power used at night than midday

Officials say this is a first but had been expected, due to the proliferation of distributed resources.

By Robert Walton • May 4, 2018

How can US utilities be ready when everything changes?

EY has modeled three critical tipping points for utilities on the way to a new energy system. In Europe and Oceania they're staggered, but in the U.S., they'll arrive in much quicker succession, Dana Hanson writes.

By Dana Hanson • May 4, 2018

New York ISO: Distributed solar largely to blame for declining load

New York's grid is aging needs an upgrade, but it's also undergoing rapid transition, due to a mix of policy and emerging technologies.

By Robert Walton • May 4, 2018

Solar at the crossroads: Is utility-scale, distributed or both the way to go?

Sunrun says solar's future is on rooftops, but solar advocates and utilities say an advanced power system with utility-scale and distributed energy resources is a better bet.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 3, 2018

HECO proposes 2 large battery projects to support renewables push

Proposals include 20 MW and 100 MW battery systems, which must be approved by state regulators.

By Robert Walton • May 3, 2018

Iowa town vote on forming muni from Alliant too close to call

Decorah, Iowa, is considering whether to separate from Alliant and form a municipal utility in order to develop more renewable energy. 

By Robert Walton • May 3, 2018

15 minute charge for a 300 mile range? DOE moves to boost EVs

The agency on Monday announced $19 million for research on rapid charge times for electric vehicles, battery pack cost reductions and increasing vehicle range.

By Robert Walton • May 2, 2018

100-Hour storage? DOE launches $30M program to explore new technologies

The program is designed to address the needs of intermittent generation sources, such as wind and solar, by enabling a new set of applications that can provide long lasting backup power.  

By Peter Maloney • May 1, 2018

Michigan lawmakers propose to boost consumer-generated renewables

A bipartisan package of five clean energy bills aims to restore "fair-value pricing" for renewable energy sold back to utility companies, among other changes.

By Robert Walton • May 1, 2018

Dominion plans up to 3.6 GW gas, 4.7 GW solar in Virginia

The utility is counting on some form of carbon emissions regulation in the future as it laid out estimates of how much that might cost.

By Robert Walton • May 1, 2018

Lithium-ion domination could block promising storage technologies, MIT finds

Li-ion batteries are good for transportation applications, less so for the grid. But their dominance is making it difficult for producers of alternative storage technologies to survive, much less innovate and scale up.

By Peter Maloney • May 1, 2018