‘Interconnection processes must evolve’ to handle DER influx: DOE

The DER interconnection roadmap issued in the last days of the Biden administration envisions interconnection wait times under one day for <50-kW systems and 25% shorter power outage durations by 2030.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 24, 2025

Trump freezes IRA funding

The White House issued a memo to clarify the funding pause, specifying that it pertains only to aspects of the law mentioned in Section 2 of the executive order.

By Kate Magill • Updated Jan. 23, 2025

Explore the Trendline➔

Sustainability

Companies are pursuing increasingly ambitous sustainability goals around clean energy, but integrating rising amounts of renewables, minimizing environmental impacts, and achieving carbon reduction targets can be challenging.

By Utility Dive staff

Sonnen, SOLRITE Energy launch grid-optimizing virtual power plant in Texas

The program aims to relieve congestion and improve renewable power economics on the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid, sonnen USA CEO Blake Richetta said.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 17, 2025

NREL seeks distributed wind turbine technology proposals from manufacturers

The request for proposals offers award amounts up to $800,000 for submissions from domestic manufacturers of small and medium-sized wind turbines.

By Diana DiGangi • Jan. 16, 2025

Bipartisan, ‘nonpolitical’ messaging key to achieving DOE’s 2030 VPP goal, analysts say

Successful VPPs in Utah and other GOP-controlled areas highlight effective framing around cost reduction, consumer choice, self-reliance and resilience, experts told Utility Dive.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 15, 2025

9 US electric power sector issues to watch in 2025

From rising electricity prices and demand to emerging opportunities and challenges around nuclear energy, virtual power plants, renewables and more, we’ve highlighted nine of the most important issues for the year ahead.

By Robert Walton, Ethan Howland, Diana DiGangi, Larry Pearl, Brian Martucci • Jan. 8, 2025

Microgrids boost grid reliability, lower costs: Colorado road map

Rising transmission costs and extreme weather impacts prompted a fresh look at the benefits of self-contained grids for rural Colorado communities.

By Brian Martucci • Jan. 7, 2025

Convergent lands $150M in financing for distributed solar, storage projects

The funding will speed development of more industrial-scale distributed energy projects, CEO Johannes Rittershausen said.

By Brian Martucci • Dec. 12, 2024

Texas task force aims to ‘tear down barriers’ to virtual power plant pilot as participation lags

The aggregated DER pilot, which includes Tesla and Bandera Electric as participants, aims to harness 80 MW of flexible resources on the Texas grid, but it has not reached that goal due to various limitations.

By Robert Walton • Dec. 11, 2024

BlackRock, Temasek venture leads $35M funding round for ConnectDER

The latest funding round, led by Decarbonization Partners, will help accelerate growth for the home solar power and EV adapter company.

By Lamar Johnson • Dec. 5, 2024

When TOU rates aren’t enough: BGE, other utilities expand active managed charging for rising EV load

With over 3 million electric vehicles on U.S. roads, managed charging pilots need to be scaled before infrastructure upgrade costs start rising, analysts and utility executives agree.

By Herman K. Trabish • Dec. 4, 2024

EPRI, Kraken advance DER interoperability standards to boost virtual power plant deployment

“Without interoperability standards, VPPs cannot reach scalability, affordability, and reliability as soon or as efficiently as they will be needed,” said Arshad Mansoor, CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute.

By Herman K. Trabish • Nov. 27, 2024

Unleashing the power of dynamic distribution pricing (Part 2)

We can't wait to implement dynamic distribution pricing while until we scale monitoring and analytics devices — here's how utilities can start implementing pilots now.

By Amaani Hamid and Emma Rodvien • Nov. 25, 2024

A model tariff can speed distributed power plant deployment and lower grid modernization costs

Distributed power plants can improve system resilience now, complementing longer-term grid upgrades that will take years or decades to build.  

By America Garcia and Shannon Anderson • Nov. 22, 2024

Digital twins reimagined at scale for utilities

Digital twins of assets will play an increasing role in helping improve operational efficiency.

By Phil Schwarz • Nov. 18, 2024

DOE earmarks nearly $150M for 67 clean tech projects at federal facilities

The Assisting Federal Facilities with Energy Conservation Technologies program grants will save a combined $41.7 million in energy and water costs annually, the Energy Department said.

By Brian Martucci • Nov. 11, 2024

Trump win is ‘setback’ for climate protection, but clean energy advocates say progress will continue

Trump’s victory means a Republican will be selected to lead FERC, which will likely work to rein in transmission incentives, said Tyson Slocum, director of Public Citizen's Energy Program.

By Robert Walton • Nov. 6, 2024

Is the grid prepared to power the AI revolution?

As the AI boom drives unprecedented growth for data centers, America's power grid faces a significant challenge: meeting the rising power demand needs of an AI-driven future. Nate Walkingshaw, CEO and Co-Founder of Torus, delves into this rapidly evolving energy landscape, where data centers alone could consume 9% of U.S. power by 2030. With traditional infrastructure lagging the expected electricity demand, Walkingshaw advocates for a flexible, distributed energy model, envisioning commercial properties as nodes for decentralized energy generation and storage systems.

By Nate Walkingshaw, CEO & Co-Founder of Torus • Nov. 4, 2024

Grid-interactive efficient building systems need robust cybersecurity measures, DOE says

Federal facilities managers must assess the potential risks of GEB systems and understand how they can affect the physical and data security of overarching systems where they are deployed, the Department of Energy says. 

By Brian Martucci • Oct. 30, 2024

Unleashing the power of dynamic distribution pricing (Part 1)

Utilities use dynamic pricing on wholesale electricity markets successfully, but haven't extended this pricing design to the distribution grid — here's why they should.

By Amaani Hamid and Emma Rodvien • Oct. 28, 2024

ABM to integrate Mainspring Energy’s power generation tool to strengthen EV charging solutions

ABM’s EV charging services for fleet operators include design, engineering and installation, microgrids and power storage and on-site proactive maintenance.

By Nish Amarnath • Oct. 25, 2024

King Energy secures $10M for rooftop solar financing model

The company, which installs solar panels on unused roof space, provides commercial property owners with a “simple, no-nonsense way” to trim operational costs and carbon footprints, CEO John Witchel said.

By Joe Burns • Oct. 21, 2024

Seasonal strategies: How utilities are engaging customers year-round

Discover how holidays and season changes offer key opportunities for utilities to connect with customers in creative and relevant ways.

Oct. 21, 2024

From aggregation to action: Implementing effective behind-the-meter control strategies with Distributed Energy Resource Management Systems (DERMS)

Discover how implementing a DERMS solution will help you utilize BTM DERs for grid reliability

Oct. 15, 2024

DOE offers microgrid funding with focus on Alaska, Hawaii, indigenous tribes

“DOE plans to work closely with rural and tribal communities to develop microgrid technologies that will lead to more reliable, affordable energy in isolated regions,” science and innovation chief Geri Richmond said.

By Ethan Howland • Oct. 7, 2024