New York Gov. Hochul announces 4 GW of offshore wind contracts as industry criticizes recent actions

Offshore wind advocates have questioned the governor's veto of an offshore wind transmission bill and the state's rejection of a financial relief petition by three project developers.

By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 25, 2023

Bloom Energy, Google, others back microgrid tax credit extension

The push for the microgrid controller investment tax credit extension comes amid growth but also emerging challenges for the sector.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 25, 2023

Explore the Trendline➔

The Energy Transition to Renewables

Rising demand for power is continuing to drive demand for renewables, but policy uncertainty and mixed signals from the Trump administration add to existing challenges.

By Utility Dive staff

Princeton’s Zero Lab has it wrong on corporate renewable energy procurement and emissions

The authors disagree with Zero Lab’s core conclusion that any procurement strategy other than hourly matching will have “zero or near-zero long-run impact on system-level CO2 emissions.”

By Jake Oster, Rob Threlkeld, Chad Reed and Hannah Hunt • Oct. 25, 2023

New Mexico approves early closure agreement for Xcel’s coal-fired Tolk power plant

Under the agreement approved by New Mexico regulators, Xcel will only run Tolk “when it is economically beneficial for customers,” the Sierra Club said.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 25, 2023

Xcel seeks 1.2 GW of new Minnesota wind resources to replace retiring coal plant

The new wind projects would utilize Xcel’s proposed 345-kV transmission line to deliver energy to the retiring Sherco coal plant in Becker, Minnesota.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 24, 2023

AI is enhancing electric grids, but surging energy use and security risks are key concerns

The power demands of artificial intelligence could grow almost fivefold by 2028, said Sreedhar Sistu, vice president of artificial intelligence offers for Schneider Electric.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 23, 2023

Failing to expand the grid may be biggest threat to US energy transition: National Academies

A panel of experts urged FERC to “expeditiously” issue its pending transmission planning and cost allocation reforms and to make sure wholesale power markets can support a shift to 100% clean energy.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 19, 2023

DOE announces ‘largest-ever investment in America’s grid,’ giving $3.5B across 44 states

The first round of funding under the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program will boost U.S. renewable capacity by more than 10% within this decade, said DOE officials.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 19, 2023

Renewable PPA dealmaking slows as high solar prices appear set to stay: LevelTen

Prices have begun to level out, but some corporate buyers are considering other options, according to officials at power marketplace LevelTen.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 18, 2023

Groups blast fossil fuel focus of DOE hydrogen hub selections

The DOE said Monday that two-thirds of the hydrogen produced in the hubs will come from renewable resources, but environmental groups are skeptical.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 17, 2023

New York rejects Ørsted, Equinor and BP bids to adjust offshore wind contracts

The developers say increased costs have left the projects financially unviable, but the state said granting their petitions would pass billions in costs to ratepayers.

By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 13, 2023

DOE selects 7 hydrogen hubs for $7B funding opportunity

The selection of several hubs focused on hydrogen production from fossil fuels and carbon capture drew the ire of environmental groups.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 13, 2023

Reworking the grid to accommodate offshore wind is a matter of ‘extreme urgency’: Ørsted exec

The limited points of interconnection on the Atlantic coast make collaborative and creative planning a necessity, said Ørsted’s Head of Electricity Policy Lopa Parikh.

By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 12, 2023

Clean energy could create up to 4.7 jobs for every commercial building

Solar PV, heat pumps and battery storage installation and maintenance could generate more than 2 million new jobs in the U.S. and Europe, according to a study by Schneider Electric and Boston University.

By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 12, 2023

2024 US power sector conferences to watch

Start planning for this year’s events, which will cover the clean energy transition, state and federal energy policy and more.

By Larry Pearl • Updated Feb. 16, 2024

Rooftop solar system median size up 200%, with storage pairings rising: DOE lab

In 2022, around 10% of all new residential solar installations included paired storage, and median system size was 7.2 kW, rising from 2.4 kW in 2000.

By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 10, 2023

NiSource hydrogen, gas blending project to test specialty skid to optimize mix

The pilot will help NiSource test the safety and viability of using hydrogen blends in natural gas infrastructure and in commercial and industrial settings.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 10, 2023

Bank of America upgrades Xcel Energy to ‘buy’ on strength of Colorado resource plan

Xcel’s plan to double its renewable resources in Colorado lays the foundation “for an upward inflection in rate base growth to the end of the decade,” said analysts at Bank of America.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 10, 2023

No more delays or excuses: California must build clean energy now to replace fossil fuels

We need Gov. Newsom to sign SB 619 so that 2023 is the last year state agencies can point to insufficient clean energy generation as a reason for delaying the closure of outdated fossil fuel plants.

By Ed Smeloff • Oct. 6, 2023

US solar farms are aging. Is it time to begin repowering?

Some 23 GW of U.S. solar farms contain inverters that will need to be replaced over the next five years. But repowering might not unfold in the solar industry the same way it did for wind.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 6, 2023

PNNL projects up to $6B annual benefit from West Coast offshore wind transmission planning

A new study from DOE’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory aims to guide state policy in Oregon and California and "stand as a rubric for future grid integration studies."

By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 5, 2023

Skepticism persists around clean energy and grid reliability. Here’s how to fix that.

The imminent retirement of dozens of coal plants is prompting new questions about the ability of renewables and storage to provide essential reliability services.

By Sara Baldwin • Oct. 5, 2023

Avangrid moves to cancel Park City offshore wind contracts on heels of SouthCoast termination

Canceling the project's existing power purchase agreements and rebidding the project is Park City Wind's “best path forward,” the company said on Monday.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 4, 2023

3 states sign first-ever agreement to coordinate offshore wind procurement

As the offshore wind market faces economic challenges, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts aim to cooperate to make projects cheaper and more viable.

By Diana DiGangi • Oct. 4, 2023

Battery storage failures highlight reliability challenges of inverter-based resources: report

The analysis is the latest data point in the North American Electric Reliability Corp.’s investigation of IBRs tripping offline or reducing output in response to grid disturbances.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 4, 2023