Xcel to retire Texas coal-fired power plant early, speeding up companywide exit from coal to 2030

The Minneapolis-based utility plans to add 11,700 MW of wind and solar across its eight-state system.

By Ethan Howland • Nov. 1, 2022

How the US plans to transform its lithium supply chain

With just 3.6% of global reserves, U.S. access to the critical mineral is vital to the country’s sustainable energy plans.

By Deborah Abrams Kaplan • Nov. 1, 2022

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

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

Dominion settles with Walmart, others on potential cost overruns for $9.8B offshore wind project

“Today’s settlement strikes a much better balance between shareholders and ratepayers that enables the project to move forward,” said Will Cleveland, a Southern Environmental Law Center senior attorney.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 31, 2022

Electric utilities aren’t doing enough to address inequities in today’s power system, advocates say

How are companies, regulators, NGOs and others ensuring that the energy transition is equitable?

By Robert Walton • Oct. 28, 2022

Engie buys 6-GW solar and storage development portfolio from Belltown Power

The deal for projects in PJM, ERCOT and other markets comes as Consolidated Edison, American Electric Power and Duke Energy move to sell their unregulated renewable energy businesses.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 28, 2022

Bringing equity to electricity service through home, power sector and regulatory innovation

Individual homes can be upgraded, community solar can help to lower bills and regulators can broaden the public engagement process to be more inclusive, consumer advocates say.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 27, 2022

National Grid, VEIR collaborating on superconductivity in transmission

Technology that can increase capacity on transmission rights-of-way is highly sought after as electrification increases.

By Stephen Singer • Oct. 26, 2022

The energy system is ‘inherently racist,’ advocates say. How are utilities responding to calls for greater equity?

Utility commitments to customer equity, energy affordability and equitable access to clean energy resources are becoming more common, but energy justice advocates say companies need to do more. 

By Robert Walton • Oct. 26, 2022

5 Walmart suppliers team up on renewable energy buy

Levi Strauss, J.M. Smucker and three others completed the first aggregated power purchase agreement under the retailer’s Project Gigaton, which encourages vendors to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. 

By Sarah Zimmerman • Oct. 25, 2022

Georgia Power has overcharged customers nearly $1.9B since 2011, solar groups allege

Georgia Power’s complaint that net metering costs customers too much money is nonsensical in the face of the utility’s excessive profits, the Solar Energy Industries Association and other groups say.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 25, 2022

Texas solar and wind resources saved consumers nearly $28 billion over 12 years: report

Intermittent fossil-free generation reduces Texans’ exposure to volatile natural gas and coal costs as well as emissions, according to the report from energy system analysis firm IdeaSmiths.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Oct. 25, 2022

Sunnova urges California PUC to dismiss PG&E, SCE ‘sky is falling’ concerns, review microgrid proposal

“This is a real opportunity to examine what's going to be a fairly prevalent use case,” said Robert Perry, a consultant for World Business Academy, one of 16 organizations supporting a commission review of the plan.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 25, 2022

Duke Energy to pass first $56 million wave of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits to customers

The company owns several solar projects in Florida that qualify for retroactive tax credits now available under the Inflation Reduction Act, a company spokesperson said.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 21, 2022

BOEM to hold California offshore wind lease sale with 4.5 GW potential in December

How much revenue the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s unprecedented sale of leases off the Golden State’s central and northern coast can generate is an open question given the developing wind turbine technology at issue.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • Oct. 20, 2022

Venture capital interest in solar, energy storage is soaring in the first months post-Inflation Reduction Act

Solar and energy storage remain hot commodities among investors, but high interest rates have slowed the flow of capital into solar companies, according to new data on renewable energy finance.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 18, 2022

PPA prices jump 9.6% in Q3 as growing demand hits supply chain, transmission roadblocks: LevelTen

While the Inflation Reduction Act has spurred greater excitement about renewable energy, it has yet to slow a 34% year-over-year increase in power purchase agreement prices, according to LevelTen Energy.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 18, 2022

How solar installers can leverage the IRA to boost business

The Inflation Reduction Act is set to spur a major wave of home electrification across the country. But, achieving this depends on the expansion of renewable energy like solar and battery storage.

Oct. 17, 2022

New offshore wind best-practice guidance could speed project approvals, boost worker safety

The guidance will help provide greater transparency, consistency and certainty to the offshore wind energy industry’s regulatory process, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

By Ethan Howland • 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

CAISO calls for near-term power procurement, even with possible Diablo Canyon extension

The California Public Utilities Commission is considering requiring utilities and others to line up near-term power supplies to make up for project delays in earlier procurements.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 11, 2022

GM takes on Tesla, others; launches unit focused on energy storage, solar and vehicle-to-grid charging

General Motors hopes the new services will spur EV adoption while improving grid resiliency, it said as part of a broader business announcement Tuesday.

By Dan Zukowski • Oct. 11, 2022

Duke Energy proposes green tariff for South Carolina customers seeking 24/7 renewables

Company leaders say the tariff, which could become a template for actions in other states, was prompted by a growing number of corporate customers who said they needed access to renewable energy 24/7.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 10, 2022

GE begins restructuring its onshore wind unit to adjust for ‘market realities’

GE confirmed that it has begun to “streamline” its onshore wind operations after reports of hundreds of layoffs and falling revenues.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 10, 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