The worst of times? The future of climate action in the Trump era

A renewable energy boom won’t be enough to stem the tide of global warming, but new decarbonization opportunities could be just around the corner.

By Gavin Bade • Jan. 4, 2017

A storage bubble? High investment in nascent industry sows fears of a battery bust

Market reforms and continued innovation will be needed to see storage reach its potential, experts say.

By Herman K. Trabish • Jan. 3, 2017

Explore the Trendline➔

Virtual Power Plants

Virtual power plants and their ability to balance energy supply and demand are increasingly sought by utilities as electricity demand increases, but their lack of standardization remains a barrier.

By Utility Dive staff

Ormat moves into storage, demand management with $35M Viridity acquisition

The geothermal developer will gain a platform to expand its project development experience into virtual power plants. 

By Peter Maloney • Jan. 3, 2017

Massachusetts DOER will set energy storage mandate targets by July

A law signed in August required the Department of Energy Resources to determine if a storage mandate is prudent for the state, which it did on Dec. 27.

By Peter Maloney • Jan. 3, 2017

Rooftop solar permits in Honolulu fell 40% in November

Solar permits for the first 11 months of the year were also down 32% from the same period in 2015.

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 23, 2016

How the Illinois energy reform 'fixed' the state's RPS, promising a renewables boom

A convoluted renewables standard stalled investment for years, but the new law aims for over 4 GW of wind and solar through a streamlined program.

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 22, 2016

Early Tesla storage executive Jaramillo to leave company after 7 years

Jaramillo's departure coincides with a dramatic ramping up of Tesla's energy storage products. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 21, 2016

2016: A 'transitional year for storage,' industry set to break records

Diverse storage deployment and investments on pace to surpass last year's numbers, analysts say. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 20, 2016

GTM: Ambri poised to roll out new version of liquid metal battery storage

A spokesperson said it is preparing to deploy a 500 kWh commercial storage system in 2018. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 20, 2016

Can New England steal California's storage thunder?

The Golden State gets all the attention, but there are a number of reasons to expect a Northeast storage boom in coming years, writes the Acadia Center's Peter Shattuck.

By Peter Shattuck • Dec. 20, 2016

Renewables challenge natural gas plants on price in latest Lazard analysis

Wind and solar are now well within the cost range of combined cycle plants, but still need generators or storage to support them on the grid.  

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 20, 2016

ComEd pushes ahead with Bronzeville microgrid, despite lack of legislative backing

Funding for the microgrid was left out of Illinois' mammoth energy bill, but ComEd says it will ask regulators to allow it to recover some of the costs. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 20, 2016

FERC proposes changes to large generator interconnection process

The Commission's notice focuses on large plants but also asks whether it could be expanded to distributed energy. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 19, 2016

UK utility picks Younicos for 49 MW storage project

Construction is slated to start in March and is expected to enter operations in 2018.

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 16, 2016

MIT report calls for regulatory, market reforms to accommodate DERs

The lengthy paper argues regulators must be as innovative as the companies they oversee to unlock the potential of distributed resources. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 16, 2016

Samsung and Dynapower team up for BTM storage inverters

The first deployment of the Dynapower-Samsung integrated storage system will be the University of Minnesota.

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 15, 2016

Sunrun rolls out its solar + storage system to California

Sunrun's offering will use LG Chem and Tesla batteries. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 15, 2016

ConEd Brooklyn-Queens non-wire alternative project installs first microgrid

The project, sited on a Brooklyn apartment complex, will include lithium batteries, solar PV and a fuel cell. 

By Gavin Bade • Dec. 14, 2016

With big gains in the Q3, energy storage market set to finish strong in 2016

Corporate investment in energy storage nearly hit $660 million in the third quarter, according to a new GTM Research report. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 13, 2016

Why Exelon's mammoth Illinois energy bill could set a precedent for other states

The grand bargain in Springfield may be a model to save nuclear plants in other jurisdictions, though not everyone is comfortable with the final deal. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 12, 2016

APS selects AES to install 4 MW of storage to support utility-owned solar pilot

The two installations will provide power to participants in APS's utility-owned rooftop solar pilot. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 12, 2016

Energy storage projects win 6% of UK capacity auction

A total of 3.2 GW of energy storage projects were among the winners for the 15-year contracts.

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 9, 2016

Canada poised to implement carbon price by 2018

Canada's federal government and 10 provinces will soon agree on a national carbon price, marking a split with expected U.S. climate policies. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 9, 2016

Updated: Arizona proposal seeks to mandate renewable generation during peak demand hours

A fix to the renewables mandate floated by the state’s consumer advocate would require a portion of wind and solar resources to deliver power when electricity demand is highest.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 9, 2016

Snohomish PUD in Washington to install 2 MW, 8 MWh flow battery

The vanadium redox flow battery is scheduled to be in service in the first half of next year. 

By Peter Maloney • Dec. 8, 2016