The Utility Dive Awards for 2019

The annual awards highlight the biggest trends in innovation in the electric utility sector: from penciling out electrification efforts to pioneering new revenue streams for distributed resources.

Dec. 9, 2019

Stalled storage revenue streams call for greater investment: CAISO

The California ISO partnered with European grid operators and found storage is more economic when performing multiple applications at once, such as providing ancillary services and selling power.

By Matthew Bandyk • Dec. 5, 2019

Explore the Trendline➔

Data Centers and the US Grid

A look at how data centers are affecting the U.S. grid today and how new technologies and rate structures could affect that trajectory in the years to come.

By Utility Dive staff

US storage market value to surge 737% by 2024, driven mostly by utility projects: Woodmac

While blackouts drive home storage sales, large-scale projects are expected to increasingly dominate U.S. energy storage, Wood Mackenzie reported in its latest Energy Storage Monitor.

By Matthew Bandyk • Dec. 4, 2019

Battery prices fall nearly 50% in 3 years, spurring more electrification: BNEF

Bloomberg New Energy Finance projects that battery prices will soon hit levels that were unthinkable a decade ago.

By Matthew Bandyk • Dec. 3, 2019

Nevada PUC floats proposal for 1,000 MW storage target by 2030

The proposal comes more than two years after the state legislature passed a bill requiring the commission to look into adopting storage targets.

By Kavya Balaraman • Dec. 3, 2019

Despite changes, commissioners see traditional utility system dominating over next decade: NARUC

U.S. utility commissioners agree that traditional fossil fuel generation will be an important aspect of grid reliability over the next decade, according to a NARUC survey.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 26, 2019

How alternative storage solutions are breaking into the lithium-ion-dominated market

While lithium-ion batteries dominate as an energy storage option for supporting intermittent wind and solar, analysts are unsure about their ability to support large scale renewables growth.

By Tom Armistead • Nov. 26, 2019

Utility-scale storage critical to achieving Massachusetts carbon goals: UMass study

Building out storage infrastructure is expensive without policy incentives, researchers said.

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 20, 2019

House clean energy tax bill sees broad industry support, but Senate path uncertain

The draft legislative package, introduced Nov. 19, adds energy storage and offshore wind, while extending solar and electric vehicle tax credits.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 20, 2019

Can concentrated solar power act as energy storage? DOE wants to know more

DOE wants to make CSP work as solar energy that is available "on demand" and can store energy in the form of heat, as opposed to PV solar which is intermittent and depends upon separate systems to store energy for later use.

By Matthew Bandyk • Nov. 19, 2019

Salt River Project to install Arizona's largest battery system, helping to replace giant coal plant

The utility plans to develop two solar+storage facilities, with one featuring a 1 GWh battery system, which will help replace the lost power from the closure of the coal-fired Navajo Generating Station.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 15, 2019

How does AI improve grid performance? No one fully understands and that's limiting its use

Machine learning's greatest impact will be helping algorithms understand "how the voltage here affects the voltage there," which will enable "optimizing grid operations like dispatching battery storage," one industry executive said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 14, 2019

New battery storage on shaky ground in ancillary service markets

New battery storage systems will quickly overwhelm relatively finite ancillary service demand in regulated and deregulated markets across North America.

By Derek Sackler • Nov. 14, 2019

In search for cheaper, longer energy storage, mountain gravity could eventually top lithium-ion

Using mountains for storage could be combined with hydropower and prove to be economically attractive for microgrids, islands and areas with high electricity costs, a new study finds.

By Matthew Bandyk • Nov. 12, 2019

California proposes extending 4.8 GW gas capacity as bridge to 3.3 GW of new clean energy by 2023

The state's newly authorized procurement aims to have renewables-plus-storage and standalone storage compete well against other resources, along with energy efficiency and demand response resources.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 11, 2019

Renewables continue to get cheaper, just not as fast as before, Lazard analysis finds

The financial advisory firm released its latest levelized cost of energy report, showing the rate of cost declines for renewables is slowing as the industry matures.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 8, 2019

Incentives spur rapid storage growth in New York, outpacing distributed solar expansion: NYSERDA CEO

NYSERDA has been comparing the pace of its storage incentive program, aimed at bringing developers into the state, with the New York Sun program for distributed solar.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Nov. 8, 2019

Congressional Policy Tracker: Everything you need to know from carbon capture to wind energy

Renewable energy developers are lobbying for tax credit extensions while Republican leaders seek bipartisan research-focused solutions to support advanced nuclear, carbon capture and energy storage.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated Dec. 2, 2019

Bay area energy agencies launch distributed storage solicitation amid PG&E power shutoffs

The request for proposals by three Community Choice Aggregators and one municipal utility comes as local power providers increasingly look to local resources to meet the state's Resource Adequacy requirements.

By Larry Pearl • Nov. 5, 2019

Austin SHINES: A working model for managing solar from both sides of the meter

See how we're revolutionizing the way utilities view and utilize the influx of distributed energy resources entering the grid.

Oct. 31, 2019

Adding renewables and storage in LA is hard. Clean Power Alliance wants to change that.

Community choice aggregators like Clean Power Alliance are looking for local energy resources, but that has proven difficult in congested metropolitan areas where space is very expensive, such as Los Angeles County.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 25, 2019

Tesla earnings surprise includes storage, solar growth

A surprise profit sent shares soaring. Beyond vehicle sales growth and cost cutting, the company boasted record 477 MWh storage installations and rebounding solar in Q3.

By Robert Walton • Oct. 24, 2019

Utilities' failure to plan for DER surge promises missed opportunities, increased costs, analysts say

Utilities can use skyrocketing customer-owned DER to balance rising penetrations of variable renewables on their systems, if they take on the big work of distribution system planning.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 24, 2019

EV charging promises a demand response bonanza for utilities, if they can handle it

Aggregated flexible load of high EV penetrations will be lucrative in demand response markets, but for now smaller EV demand gives utilities management practice.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 18, 2019

FERC OKs PJM, SPP storage plans, sets separate proceedings for minimum run-time requirements

PJM must implement Order 841 by Dec. 3 while SPP has nine months, although FERC opened separate dockets with the grid operators relating to their storage duration requirements.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 18, 2019