As extreme weather spurs billions in utility resilience spending, regulators struggle to value investments

A new study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory shows the value of resilience depends on too many factors to easily quantify and moves regulators back to human judgment.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 25, 2020

Storage, smart grid, energy efficiency sectors see $337M in Q1 corporate funding: Report

Venture capital funding in these sectors totaled $252 million, according to a report from Mercom Capital Group — a 20% increase over the first quarter of last year.

By Kavya Balaraman • April 22, 2020

Explore the Trendline➔

Distributed Energy Resource Growth

Distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar, battery storage and electric vehicles, are experiencing significant growth in the U.S. as the power sector evolves to a cleaner, less centralized future.

By Utility Dive staff

Increasing renewables and DER demand new reliability approach, but California is falling short, groups say

Resource adequacy's planning reserve margin worked when supply and load were stable, but new system realities demand a more dynamic approach to protect reliability, emerging power providers and DER advocacy groups say.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 15, 2020

Global EV sales will drop 43% in 2020 due to COVID-19, lower oil prices: WoodMac

Industry observers, however, note that all car sales are expected to be hit hard — not just electric vehicles. And the long-term outlook remains robust.

By Robert Walton • April 9, 2020

Pelosi steps back on infrastructure push as renewables industry vies for aid

Clean energy advocates say there are still avenues for power sector relief from the federal government, including critical project deadline extensions.

By Catherine Morehouse • April 6, 2020

Virginia rejects Dominion's $752M smart meter plan, other grid mod proposals

Regulators penalized the company for failing to justify costs to deploy advanced metering infrastructure, after Dominion failed to submit a broad time-of-use rate plan.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • March 27, 2020

Distributed storage could see growth in demand amid COVID-19 pandemic, analysts say

The circumstances of the outbreak and the raft of restrictions that states have implemented to prevent its spread could spur interest in resources that provide resilience and self-reliance, analysts say.

By Kavya Balaraman • March 26, 2020

PG&E, SCE abandon big microgrid plans for temporary emergency measures as wildfire season nears

Regulators' push to implement a law requiring microgrid rollouts is being frustrated by the costs of traditional generation and clean energy complexities.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 23, 2020

A red state template for 100% renewables? Utah bill unites Rocky Mountain Power, cities and activists

An 80% Republican legislature has approved HB 411, which will move more than a third of the state’s electricity load to 100% renewables by 2030.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 17, 2020

Florida, Utah, Washington approve bills to boost EVs, including $50M Rocky Mountain Power charging plan

Washington lawmakers passed a bill to adopt California's zero emission vehicle mandate while Utah and Florida legislators approved bills to bolster charging infrastructure in their states.

By Robert Walton • March 16, 2020

Outdated business models are holding back greater renewables, DER integration: Enter DSOs

Decoupling ownership and operation of the distribution grid would advance deployment of non-wires solutions, a DER planning manager at Exelon said.

By Iulia Gheorghiu • March 13, 2020

Green Mountain Power's pioneering steps in transactive energy raise big questions about DER's value

Peer-to-peer energy transactions could meet policy goals and system needs, if software platforms resolve the complexities of value and reliable operation.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 4, 2020

Duke settles with Chargepoint, expanding options for $76M North Carolina EV pilot

To address competitive concerns from ChargePoint, Duke will allow customers and site hosts greater flexibility in charging equipment.

By Robert Walton • March 3, 2020

Green hydrogen gets real as utility business models and delivery solutions emerge

The fuel may be the only way to meet power system needs in zero emissions scenarios and the market signals to produce and use it are finally clear.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 2, 2020

As Massachusetts solar installs plummet, stalled interconnections, land use questions are key hurdles

Last year, solar installments slowed and jobs disappeared in Massachusetts. Now, developers are trying to overcome regulatory barriers and local opposition to land development.

By Catherine Morehouse • Feb. 27, 2020

State of the Electric Utility 2020

Renewables and sustainability are top priorities for utilities, but there is room for improvement on cybersecurity, climate resilience and more, Utility Dive's seventh annual report finds.​

By Nami Sumida • Feb. 26, 2020

How distributed resources fit into Mountain West's game plan

There's room for utilities to co-exist, and even thrive, with added distributed generation, panelists at the Solar Power and Energy Storage Mountain West conference said Monday.

By Kavya Balaraman • Feb. 25, 2020

Utilities vs. grid edge upstarts: Turf battles in an increasingly DER-centric world

Utilities believe they are best positioned to manage the grid if they own and control the data directly, without intermediaries, but Tesla, SunRun and others want to collect and manage the data for their own platform benefits.

By Dan Goldman • Feb. 21, 2020

Slowed pay-off from billions in AMI investment puts the technology's future in doubt

Regulators have approved billions for utilities to roll out advanced metering infrastructure, but they expected new customer and system benefits, not just lower utility operation costs.

By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 20, 2020

Oregon approves Portland General's transportation electrification plan, setting stage for 1M EVs

The utility expects up to 1 million electric vehicles in its service territory by 2050, and now has a broad strategy focused on limiting costs to meet the associated demand.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 19, 2020

ConEd developing $13M curbside EV charging program with AddEnergie

Dozens of chargers will allow drivers to charge their electric vehicle while parked in the utility's New York City service territory — though they will likely pay more than equivalent gasoline costs.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 14, 2020

APS partners with clean energy business group to reach 100% carbon-free target

The utility will work with Advanced Energy Economy and 13 companies to develop clean energy solutions that include electrifying transportation, grid flexibility and expanding low-carbon generation capacity.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 14, 2020

Sustainability tops utility concerns, as SEU survey sees discrepancies on cybersecurity, stranded assets

Some 50% of utility respondents to Utility Dive's State of the Electric Utility Survey expect their organization to significantly increase the amount of grid-scale solar by 2030, a stronger forecast than for any other resource.

By Larry Pearl • Feb. 12, 2020

Ameren's hourly pricing program could reduce EV charging costs 50%, study finds

The dynamic pricing program, based on day-ahead prices in the Midcontinent ISO, has already saved Illinois residential consumers more than $12 million, according to the utility.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 11, 2020

ChargePoint commits $1B to expand EV charging as Ocasio-Cortez, others unveil bills for a national network

Last week, U.S. lawmakers and the developer of the largest electric vehicle charging network in the nation separately announced large-scale initiatives to grow the nation's emissions-free transportation infrastructure.

By Robert Walton • Feb. 10, 2020