First battery storage project begins operating in MISO

Indianapolis Power & Light's 20 MW storage facility is the first to begin operating in the 15-state market.

By Robert Walton • July 15, 2016

Sonnen enters C&I storage market with scalable batteries for peak shaving, TOU rates

The company said its 18 kW (24kWh) commercial and industrial batteries should ship late in the fourth quarter of this year.

By Peter Maloney • July 13, 2016

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

PG&E, SolarCity partner for solar+storage, grid services pilot

Up to 150 customers in San Jose will receive smart inverters or battery storage systems, and SolarCity will get a chance to demonstrate its suite of grid services. 

By Robert Walton • July 13, 2016

MIT researchers see a 'window of opportunity' for non-battery storage

Pumped hydro and compressed air storage can add value to renewable energy projects today, researchers found, but that could change as wind and solar drop further in price.

By Peter Maloney • July 12, 2016

Advanced Microgrid Solutions secures $200M funding for aggregated storage projects

The San Francisco company is seeking to cut the costs of microgrids and storage by scaling up quickly, and that leaves little time to complete pilot projects.

By Peter Maloney • July 12, 2016

Sonnen cuts battery system cost 40% to serve self-consumption market

Seeing an opportunity in changes to net metering policies, Sonnen has introduced a cheaper battery without backup power features.

By Peter Maloney • July 8, 2016

Come together? DER aggregation sparks more confusion than consensus in power sector

Utilities and DER providers have divergent opinions on how the aggregation of distributed resources will develop, according to a recent GTM survey.  

By Herman K. Trabish • July 7, 2016

Anatomy of a nuke closure: How PG&E decided to shutter Diablo Canyon

In a policy environment that prizes renewables, PG&E saw no cost-effective route to keeping the giant nuclear plant open.

By Herman K. Trabish • July 7, 2016

New York Green Bank aims to grow portfolio by two-thirds next year

The bank aims to spur innovative reneweable energy projects that would otherwise have trouble attracting investment. 

By Peter Maloney • July 7, 2016

New Mexico senator to roll out tax credit for energy storage

Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) plans to introduce legislation next week that would create a tax credit for energy storage, modelled after similar credits for wind and solar. 

By Peter Maloney • July 6, 2016

California dreaming: Utilities uneasy with regulator's vision to remake their business model

Commissioner Florio wants a fundamental rethinking of utility revenues and distributed resources, but his proposal has critics on all sides.

By Peter Maloney • July 6, 2016

AMS, Opus One partner on software-storage grid solution

Advanced Microgrid Solutions will develop and manage distributed energy resources for commercial, industrial and large aggregated customers.

By Robert Walton • July 6, 2016

Advocates push New York to pursue 4 GW of storage by 2030

To reach 50% renewable energy, the state should be sourcing a quarter of its peak usage from battery storage, they said.

By Robert Walton • July 6, 2016

Inside the first municipal solar-plus-storage project in the US

The Village of Minster tackled a solar-plus-storage project to diversify its portfolio and now looks to build a microgrid to protect its key C&I customers from power outages. 

By Herman K. Trabish • July 5, 2016

NextEra decision looming, Hawaii lawmakers consider suing Gov. Ige over PUC appointment

The governor appointed a commission lawyer to the regulatory post without legislative approval ahead of a decision on the largest business deal in Hawaii history. 

By Peter Maloney • July 5, 2016

Vermont regulators implement rules for 75% renewables target

Vermont's Public Service Board has implemented rules for 75% by 2032 renewables target, stipulating at least 1% needs to come from distributed resources. 

By Peter Maloney • July 1, 2016

A FERC challenge: Opening up electricity markets to advanced energy technologies

Grid operators should allow distributed resources and demand response to be priced for their unique attributes in organized markets, Arvin Ganesan and Suedeen Kelly argue in this guest post.

By Arvin Ganesan and Suedeen Kelly • June 30, 2016

Tesla begins monetizing Nevada tax credits with $20M sale to MGM casinos

The sale allows the battery company to generate cash from the credits, which MGM uses to pay state gambling fees. 

By Peter Maloney • June 30, 2016

Virginia Gov. McAuliffe issues executive order to cut GHG emissions

The governor directed state agencies to find a way to cut emissions from the power sector that does not need approval from the Republican-controlled General Assembly.

By Peter Maloney • June 30, 2016

After Diablo Canyon: PG&E CEO Tony Earley on renewables, DERs and California's energy future

The same resources pushing the giant nuclear plant offline will be key to the utility's future in a low carbon economy. 

By Gavin Bade • June 30, 2016

Seeking more renewables, Kit Carson Co-op exits relationship with Tri-State G&T

Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has exited its relationship with Tri-State Generation & Transmission and will buy renewable power from a private company instead.

By Peter Maloney • June 29, 2016

District of Columbia Council unanimously approves bill for 50% renewable energy mandate

The bill would also provide for 1,500 MW of new local wind and solar power, advocates said. 

By Peter Maloney • June 29, 2016

Energy storage slowdown in Q1 an 'anomaly' as sector expected to regain momentum

A dip in the non-residential market dented numbers for the beginning of 2016, GTM Research reports, but new growth opportunities are emerging.

By Peter Maloney • June 28, 2016

AMS will install 12 MWh of Tesla batteries at Cal State to cut usage, mitigate Aliso Canyon leak

California State University is looking to storage to cut peak demand and help mitigate for potential supply disruptions due to the nation's worst-ever methane leak.

By Peter Maloney • June 28, 2016

BMW to deploy used EV batteries in residential storage market

BMW announced plans to work toward deploying used EV batteries in the residential storage market.

By Peter Maloney • June 27, 2016