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California Will Require Solar Power for New Homes
Long a leader and trendsetter in its clean-energy goals, California took a giant step on Wednesday, becoming the first state to require all new homes to have solar power. The new requirement, to take effect in two years, brings solar power into the mainstream in a way it has never been until now. It will add thousands of dollars to the cost of home when a shortage of affordable housing is one of California’s most pressing issues. [ read more … ]
Think Solar Is Upending California’s Power Grid Now? Just Wait
California just mandated that nearly all new homes have solar, starting in less than two years. Now, it’s going to have to figure out what to do with all of that extra energy. Already, the state is flooded with so much solar power during the day that it has to turn off some of its sun-fueled plants at times and often needs to ship excess green energy to neighboring states. The phenomenon has produced what state grid operators have been calling the duck curve — that’s when net power demand craters during daylight hours and then ramps up after sunset and natural-gas generators fire up to meet customer demand. [ read more … ]
Grid resilience ‘about national security’ — Perry
Energy Secretary Rick Perry yesterday downplayed the likelihood his agency will use emergency authority under the Federal Power Act to subsidize coal and nuclear plants but kept alive the possibility of pulling another policy lever with a similar goal. The Department of Energy has been weighing for months how to respond to what it sees as an imminent electric grid crisis caused by the closures of coal and nuclear facilities. [ read more … ]
Policy & Politics
Strange bedfellows lobby Perry on coal plant subsidies
A seldom-seen coalition of business interests is making another run at Energy Secretary Rick Perry as his department contemplates ways to subsidize the continued operation of coal and nuclear plants struggling to make money in today’s electricity markets. [ read more … ]
FERC Chairman links fuel security questions with resilience proceeding
The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday linked questions of power plant fuel supply to the agency’s grid resilience proceeding, saying it “sure would be convenient” if regulators can identify specific generator attributes to compensate in order to strengthen the nation’s grid. FERC staff is reviewing recent weather events to see “what is or isn’t needed during very challenging operational circumstances,” in terms of fuel supply and other attributes, Chairman Kevin McIntyre told reporters, adding that he hopes comments in the resilience proceeding — due Wednesday — will help inform that assessment. [ read more … ]
Report: Customer Needs Should Lead Resilience Effort
With the deadline for filings in FERC’s resilience docket looming, two aides to former FERC Chairman Pat Wood III last week sought to reset the definition — saying resilience is about transmission and distribution, not generation. In a report funded by the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Defense Fund, Alison Silverstein and Rob Gramlich say resilience should be measured from the customers’ perspective. [ read more … ]
Tesla Joins Berkshire Hathaway in Wading Into U.S. Grid Debate
At the start of the year, federal regulators spurned Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s proposal to subsidize coal and nuclear plants to guarantee the “resilience” of the U.S. power system. Instead, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ordered regional grid operators to look at how resilience should be measured and let the agency know whether any action needed to be taken to prop up the grid. They answered mostly in the negative. Companies including Tesla Inc. and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s energy unit threw in their two cents on Wednesday. [ read more … ]
Op-Ed: Order 1000 should remain a priority for FERC
Of the various policies being considered by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) this year, there is one in particular that deserves the continued attention of the agency: Order 1000; specifically, the electric transmission competition provisions of Order 1000. Unfortunately, too few areas of the country are able to capitalize on the advantages Order 1000 makes available to ratepayers. [ read more … ]
States, cities oppose Trump bid to stall litigation
In her first full day on the job, New York’s acting attorney general stood firmly today against Trump administration efforts to unravel the Clean Power Plan. Barbara Underwood, who was sworn in yesterday afternoon, led a coalition of states and cities in a court brief opposing the administration’s request to further delay litigation over the Obama-era climate rule. [ read more … ]
Iowa town narrowly rejects break from Alliant
An Iowa town has narrowly rejected a proposal to break away from Alliant Energy and form a municipal utility. The margin was so tight that a recount effort is already underway. Residents of Decorah, Iowa, voted 1,385 to 1,380 against municipalization, though Energy News Network reports supporters of the effort are circulating petitions for a recount. Proponents of the muni push, however, are not getting their hopes up. [ read more … ]
Americans more likely to buy electric cars, AAA study finds
More Americans are becoming charged up about electric cars. A new AAA survey finds 20% of Americans say their next vehicle will be an electric car. That’s up from 15% in 2017, the first time that AAA asked the question. [ read more … ]
Note: News clips provided do not necessarily reflect the views of coalition or its member governors.