Renewable Energy Rise Drives Changes in European Wholesale Power

Short-term deals are growing in Europe’s wholesale power market as a surge in renewables requires traders to ensure that volatile wind and solar energy meets demand at all times. The European Union is pushing towards clean energy sources, whose output follows weather patterns and is hence unpredictable. This means more sales and purchases of power occur nearer the time of consumption, because electricity cannot yet be stored in large volumes and grids must keep a stable voltage to uphold supply security. [ read more … ]

Energy storage market surges 243% to new record

The U.S. energy storage market surged 243 percent in 2015 — its best year of all time, according to research this week from the Energy Storage Association and GTM Research. Led by deployment in the PJM wholesale utility market and residential installments in California and Hawaii, the industry deployed 112 megawatts of energy storage capacity in the fourth quarter of 2015 alone. That was higher than all deployments in the previous two years combined, according to the report. The technology is considered key for deploying more renewables, as well as allowing more backup power for utilities during blackouts and other grid challenges. [ read more … ]

Big Batteries, the Elusive Key to Clean Energy, Boomed in 2015

Large-scale energy-storage systems, long considered the elusive link to integrating solar and wind power into electric grids, are slowly becoming a reality. U.S. homes and businesses — mainly utilities — installed storage systems with 221 megawatts of capacity in 2015, according to a study released Thursday by Boston-based GTM Research and the Energy Storage Association. That’s about enough to power a city the size of Cincinnati, Ohio, for an hour and is more than triple the 2014 total. [ read more … ]

South Dakota Senate changes tax structure for solar energy production

South Dakota’s tax structure would change for solar facilities in an attempt to encourage their construction, under a measure that received final approval Thursday from the Legislature.
The Senate voted 33-1 for the measure, HB 1177. The House of Representatives had earlier approved it 54-15. Its prime sponsor is Rep. Roger Solum, R-Watertown. The change could be a great economic development tool, said Sen. Ried Holien, R-Watertown.

South Dakota doesn’t have any solar production now. [ read more … ]

Va. governor rejects bill with obstacles for EPA regs

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) has vetoed a bill that would require state lawmakers to sign off on any plan to meet federal climate regulations for power plants. McAuliffe, who supports U.S. EPA’s rule, said yesterday on Twitter that the bill would “hamper his ability to implement the Clean Power Plan in a way that works for [Virginia].” The measure comes in the wake of uncertainty surrounding the Clean Power Plan since the Supreme Court issued a stay of the rule last month. [ read more … ]

DOJ sends Exxon complaints to FBI

The Justice Department has asked the FBI to determine whether a probe into Exxon Mobil Corp.’s climate change disclosures is warranted. California Democratic Reps. Ted Lieu and Mark DeSaulnier had asked DOJ to look into whether Exxon violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, by failing to disclose truthful information about climate science to its investors. [ read more … ]