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

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

Duke Energy ups 10-year capital spending plan to $145B to modernize grid, move to zero-carbon generation

The capital investment plan puts it on track to meet or exceed its decarbonization goals, Duke says, but environmentalists remain critical of the company’s pace of change.

By Emma Penrod • Oct. 5, 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

NextEra, PGE open US’ first wind-solar-battery project as Inflation Reduction Act ups storage options

“This is exactly the kind of development that we hoped would go forward under the Inflation Reduction Act,” said Gregory Wetstone, president and CEO at the American Council on Renewable Energy.

By Katie Pyzyk • Oct. 5, 2022

Exelon’s vice president of IT talks sustainability, cloud and the war for talent

Oracle Cloud and utility tech is helping Exelon lower costs and be more efficient and sustainable

By Rodger Smith, senior vice president and general manager of Oracle Energy and Water • Oct. 3, 2022

The Inflation Reduction Act upends hydrogen economics with opportunities, pitfalls

Regulators and policymakers must resist the temptation to overcommit to hydrogen for end uses where electrification will ultimately win out, the authors write.

By Dan Esposito and Hadley Tallackson • Sept. 30, 2022

A renewed wave of excitement for the energy transition seen at RE+

Last month’s conference in Anaheim, California, drew over 20,000 attendees and talk of industrywide transformation in the wake of the Inflation Reduction Act.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 29, 2022

As more solar panels enter the US waste stream, producer responsibility standards emerge

A  recent Northeast Recycling Council webinar covered how manufacturing and standards must converge to handle this growing material stream.

By Megan Quinn • Sept. 29, 2022

‘It’s a good time to be a banker’: RE+ panel reports massive growth in corporate investment in renewables

Both the amount of capital flowing to the renewable energy space and the number and variety of investors interested in deals have greatly increased over the past year, panelists said.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 29, 2022

Utilities may need to rethink their company structure to achieve climate goals, Xcel executive says

Growing quantities of distributed resources require closer coordination between utilities’ generation and transmission planning teams, said Alice Jackson, senior vice president of system strategy and chief planning officer at Xcel Energy.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 28, 2022

Will the Inflation Reduction Act spur clean energy manufacturing in the US? Tax experts say yes.

Compounding value built into the Inflation Reduction Act tax credits likely has the power to “change behavior” at U.S. companies, tax professionals said on a panel at the RE+ conference.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 27, 2022

Growing scale, Inflation Reduction Act subsidies could push green hydrogen prices negative: RE+ panel

“You woke up one morning and your world has changed,” one panelist said of the Inflation Reduction Act during a session focused on hydrogen at the RE+ conference in Anaheim, California.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 27, 2022

‘Deploy, deploy, deploy:’ renewable sector energized but anxious about Inflation Reduction Act funding

Passing the Inflation Reduction Act was a seminal moment for the industry, clean energy advocates said during an RE+ panel, but it doesn’t mean the work is complete.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 26, 2022

Is the Inflation Reduction Act the end of the wholesale clean attribute market?

The IRA may reduce any real or perceived tension between wholesale markets and state policies and the need for other mechanisms to harmonize wholesale markets and state policies, the authors write.

By Sarah Ladin & Burçin Ünel • Sept. 23, 2022

California needs to move on from net metering, advocates, industry and utility leaders say

Although helpful to jump-start the solar industry, net metering has begun to interfere with the state’s broader climate goals, panelists agreed at the RE+ conference in Anaheim.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 22, 2022

Solar power constituted half of all global capacity additions last year, followed by wind: BloombergNEF

However, coal-fired generation surged in 2021 to record levels, driving up the power sector’s carbon emissions by 7%, the research firm said Wednesday.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 21, 2022

Microsoft partners with UK nonprofit on software to help coal plants transition to nuclear power

Microsoft and TerraPraxis believe that more digital tools could help some 2,400 coal-fired power plants around the world decarbonize — and potentially transition to nuclear generation.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 16, 2022

Solar developer Prospect14 launches joint venture aiming for a 10 GW solar project pipeline by 2025

Ampliform is backed by a consortium of investors led by the Jones Family Office along with Barings, the George Kaiser Family Foundation and others.

By Larry Pearl • Sept. 15, 2022

Taking the utility monopoly door down to put more solar up

A proposal by Sunnova would end nearly a century of guaranteed monopoly for California utilities by letting other companies not just sell power but use an alternative delivery system to the utility's platform, the author writes.

By John Farrell • Sept. 15, 2022

McDonald’s strikes 15-year solar energy deal with EDF Renewables North America

The partnership is expected to meet the electricity consumption needs of over 1,200 McDonald’s restaurants. 

By Emma Liem Beckett • Sept. 15, 2022

Inflation Reduction Act could raise prices on clean energy, warns Bank of America

Without additional transmission capacity, the law could incentivize inefficient development of renewables and result in higher price volatility.

By Robert Walton • Sept. 12, 2022

California planned to close down its last nuclear plant by 2025 and replace it with clean energy. What went wrong?

Efforts to replace the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant faced multiple challenges, including disruptions to global supply chains.

By Kavya Balaraman • Sept. 9, 2022

SEIA, WoodMac expect solar market rebound after Q2 installations drop 12% compared with last year

Supply chain constraints persist despite President Biden’s executive order delaying tariffs, according to a new industry report, but the Inflation Reduction Act offers hope for improvement.

By Emma Penrod • Sept. 8, 2022

Accelerating renewable energy buildout faces big hurdles, even with Inflation Reduction Act: developers

“It's really important that everyone understand how contingent that capacity expansion is going to be on state-level decision making,” said Tyler Norris, Cypress Creek Renewables vice president of development.

By Ethan Howland • Sept. 6, 2022