California’s urban roofs provide more value for community solar+storage than rural areas: report

State and federal incentives could help “ensure that not all of our community solar is getting built in the cheapest areas out in rural locations,” said a solar developer’s Western policy director.

By Ysabelle Kempe • June 13, 2023

Washington regulators conditionally approve Puget Sound Energy’s 63% clean electricity by 2025 target

The interim target is part of Puget Sound Energy’s first-ever clean energy implementation plan, required by state legislation passed in 2019.

By Kavya Balaraman • June 9, 2023

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

Virtual power plant grid participation can grow with new business models, market rules: Guidehouse

Growth of virtual power plants will require system operators and regulators to develop supportive market frameworks, according to Guidehouse.

By Robert Walton • June 7, 2023

Why HVDC cables are poised to provide valuable alternatives

HVDC technology could be a valuable tool in the U.S. energy transition, but it will need to overcome some constraints.

By Bob Hobson, Associate Technical Consultant, Burns & McDonnell • June 5, 2023

AI, climate change, fuel cells among energy transition ‘disconnects’ for utilities: Morgan Stanley

“Not all incumbent utilities will gain from the energy transition,” analysts said in a report issued Wednesday. Those that could be challenged include Consolidated Edison, Entergy and NextEra.

By Ethan Howland • June 2, 2023

AlphaStruxure partners with Maryland county on first East Coast bus depot to produce green hydrogen

Construction on the depot, which will serve a fleet of 200 hydrogen buses through an electrolyzer, is scheduled to conclude by the end of 2025.

By Patrick Cooley • May 18, 2023

Georgia’s Plant Vogtle is a $35B boondoggle. We need new and better solutions for a carbon-free grid.

Urgent utility business model reforms are needed to create a 21st-century, people-centered grid that delivers affordable fossil-free solutions.

By Patty Durand • May 18, 2023

California could face $50B price tag by 2035 to prepare grid for DERs, study finds

The state could also see system-level peak load increase by 56% from 2025 to 2035, driven largely by transportation electrification, the study by analytics firm Kevala for the California Public Utilities Commission found.

By Kavya Balaraman • May 16, 2023

Hawai’i leads the way on advanced rate design with default time-of-use rates, fixed charge innovations

Hawai’i’s planned granular cost study still must prove to other states that the new TOU rates, fixed charge framework and new way of defining costs will allocate costs accurately, analysts said.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 9, 2023

NGOs suing California PUC, utilities over net metering update could face ‘fairly steep’ challenge: attorney

The lawsuit names the California Public Utilities Commission and the state’s three investor-owned utilities — Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas and Electric — as respondents.

By Kavya Balaraman • May 9, 2023

California regulators approve PG&E, Energy Vault green hydrogen and battery microgrid

The microgrid’s planned use of green hydrogen fuel cells and batteries marks a departure from PG&E’s earlier practice of using diesel generators for backup power during outages.

By Kavya Balaraman • May 1, 2023

Let’s not forget about how renewables will impact the distribution grid

As many more zero-carbon generation sources connect to the grid, the urgency of grid modernization programs will continue to increase. Discover how the rise of renewables will drive the need for upgrades on our distribution systems.

By Luke Ezell, PE, Account Manager, Burns & McDonnell • May 1, 2023

Xcel launches microgrid-based resiliency service for large Minnesota commercial, industrial customers

In Wisconsin, where the Empower Resiliency program was already offered, Xcel reached a deal to develop energy assets to power the Bayfield County jail and courthouse. 

By Robert Walton • April 26, 2023

NREL, UL publish requirements for a new distributed energy resource cybersecurity standard

UL Solutions has published testing and certification requirements that will be converted into standard UL 2941 after review by the company’s standard technical panel.

By Robert Walton • April 24, 2023

North Carolina eases transition from fixed to variable net metering rates for some Duke Energy customers

Solar panel installers worried that the variable rate would discourage customers from installing solar panels because variable rates are less predictable.

By Patrick Cooley • April 21, 2023

DOE offers Sunnova $3B partial loan guarantee for low-income solar, storage

It would be the first time that the agency’s Loan Programs Office has guaranteed a collection of small assets, LPO Director Jigar Shah said. 

By Diana DiGangi • April 21, 2023

Sunrun, others adapt as California’s new net metering rules spur booming interest in energy storage

The attachment rates of storage systems to distributed solar in California are projected to increase from around 11% today to over 80% by 2027, according to Wood Mackenzie.

By Kavya Balaraman • April 20, 2023

With looming EV load spikes, PG&E, Duke, other utilities adopt new rate design and cost recovery strategies

New dynamic time-varying rates and demand charge adjustments from California to the Carolinas could align customer usage with utility costs to make EVs a system benefit, rate design experts said

By Herman K. Trabish • April 18, 2023

North Carolina forges new path on net metering as other states cut rooftop solar incentives

State regulators partially accepted a deal worked out by Duke Energy and other stakeholders that includes a variable payment approach to net metering based on overall electricity demand on the grid.

By Patrick Cooley • March 31, 2023

California, CPower, Enel, AutoGrid, Voltus dominate virtual power plant market: WoodMac

Nearly a quarter of the virtual power plant projects in North America are located in California, according to a new report by Wood Mackenzie.

By Emma Penrod • March 31, 2023

A new era for smart meters: shifting intelligence to the Edge

The new generation of smart meters that are being developed by Gridspertise are the core of this innovation, since data management is performed both in the cloud and at the edge, closer to the source, enabling near-real time response.

March 20, 2023

Treasury Department guidance urgently needed to tap IRA’s clean energy ‘gold mine,’ analysts say

Clarifications defining Inflation Reduction Act provisions on labor, domestic content, energy community, and clean hydrogen are urgently needed to put the “boldest action” by Congress to work, they say.

By Herman K. Trabish • March 16, 2023

Duke, APS planning reforms show ways to work with stakeholders to meet emerging power system needs

Integrated planning with deeper modeling and greater stakeholder engagement may slow overburdened regulators and utilities now, but will lead to better long-term decision-making, planners and analysts agree.

By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 28, 2023

CPUC poised to reject Sunnova’s plan to build microgrids in new residential communities

Sunnova’s proposal involves owning and operating microgrids as part of new, master-planned residential communities that would include up to 2,000 homes and some non-residential facilities.

By Kavya Balaraman • Feb. 21, 2023

New power system cybersecurity architectures can be ‘vaults’ against insider attacks, analysts say

Utility operations facing hackers now, and a future of minimally-protected distributed energy resources, will need smarter, more complex defenses, from control rooms to customer-owned devices, analysts said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Feb. 17, 2023