Dive Summary:
- The failure to invest in renewable power risks utilities' long-term competitiveness and survival, argues reporter Dana Blankenhorn.
- Solar and wind projects offer perks such as premium rates during peak demand and the chance to profit from homes and businesses installing solar panels and paying off-peak rates for the same power.
- Political opposition to clean energy standards are losing ground. Last week, North Carolina's Public Utilities and Energy Committee voted out legislation that would have repealed the state's renewable energy standard.
From the article:
"Even the additional storage capacity needed to deal with such projects can become a profit center. A Department of Energy rule called FERC 890 effectively doubles the value of storage projects, which the agency lists at its energystorageexchange.org site."
