The Inflation Reduction Act leaves low-income homeowners out of the clean energy transition. Or does it?

The IRA has a major flaw in one of its most popular provisions – the residential tax credit for solar and battery storage. Low-income homeowners often do not have a tax liability and cannot access this 30% tax credit.

By Shelley Robbins • Nov. 15, 2022

‘Needs more work’: Solar industry remains skeptical of California PUC’s new net energy metering proposal

One initial analysis suggests the proposal, if approved, would cut the average export rate in California from 30 cents per kilowatt to 8 cents per kilowatt effective April 2023. 

By Kavya Balaraman • Nov. 11, 2022

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

SMUD tests tool to accelerate rooftop solar interconnections

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District project “has worldwide potential,” according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and can “easily handle hundreds of applications daily.”

By Robert Walton • Nov. 10, 2022

Bringing equity to electricity service through home, power sector and regulatory innovation

Individual homes can be upgraded, community solar can help to lower bills and regulators can broaden the public engagement process to be more inclusive, consumer advocates say.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 27, 2022

Battery capacity in the US more than tripled since the start of 2021: report

More battery projects are coming online, spurring a significant rise in storage capacity and drawing in growing levels of corporate funding.

By Stephen Singer • Oct. 21, 2022

GM takes on Tesla, others; launches unit focused on energy storage, solar and vehicle-to-grid charging

General Motors hopes the new services will spur EV adoption while improving grid resiliency, it said as part of a broader business announcement Tuesday.

By Dan Zukowski • Oct. 11, 2022

97% of smart meters fail to provide promised customer benefits. Can $3B in new funding change that?

Interoperability standards can deliver “non-discriminatory access” to real-time data from new smart meters to fulfill promises of customer savings and other system benefits, energy managers say.

By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 5, 2022

Real-time pricing, new rates and enabling technologies target demand flexibility to ease California outages

Price signals linked to power market needs through smart technologies could make distributed energy resources that are aggregated and automated by third parties an answer to California reliability threats, industry observers said.

By Herman K. Trabish • Sept. 13, 2022

Why it might be simpler to address the challenge of managing DER with DERMS than you think

Integration of DER into planning, operations and markets presents massive challenges and opportunities but the DERMS journey for utilities is achievable and has clear starting points.

By Erik Felt, Smarter Grid Solutions • Aug. 29, 2022

Inflation Reduction Act has ‘direct impact’ on California net energy metering modeling, utilities say

The new law comes as California regulators consider reforming their existing net energy metering framework. A previous proposal received sharp criticism from the solar industry.

By Kavya Balaraman • Aug. 24, 2022

PG&E, Tesla virtual power plant delivers 16.5 MW to California grid amid calls for energy conservation

In a tweet, PG&E Corp. CEO Patti Poppe said that “the world’s largest distributed battery sure did put on a show!”

By Kavya Balaraman • Aug. 23, 2022

MISO can improve reliability before building transmission

Well before MISO builds out its recently approved $10 billion transmission portfolio, it can avoid blackouts by boosting its operating reserves rather than keeping a singular focus on planning reserves, the authors write.

By Rao Konidena and Allison Bates Wannop • Aug. 15, 2022

Texas regulators developing aggregated DER pilot project to boost reliability

The effort is part of the Public Utilities Commission of Texas’ larger work to ensure reliability in the wake of Winter Storm Uri.

By Robert Walton • Aug. 8, 2022

NextEra’s ‘game-changing’ Real Zero emissions goal spurs questions about hydrogen, demand-side management

NextEra, the world’s biggest IOU by market cap, wants a “real” reduction of all carbon emissions by FPL, its regulated subsidiary, with solar, batteries and green hydrogen, but it will go without much help from the demand side.

By Herman K. Trabish • Aug. 3, 2022

New Bloom Energy fuel cell factory expected to produce over 1 GW a year amid rising reliability threats

The $200 million facility will help Bloom meet the growing demand for its fuel cells to provide power during outages and periods of intense demand on the grid.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • July 26, 2022

ENGIE, clean energy groups press FERC to approve ISO-NE plan for state review of DER interconnections

The proposal would remove major barriers to distributed energy market participation in New England, the supporters said.

By Ethan Howland • July 22, 2022

New Mississippi rule requires utilities to pay low-income customers up front for solar installations

Mississippi Power Co. will offer up to $5 million a year in rebates and Entergy Mississippi will have a $10 million budget for rooftop solar rebates, of which 50% must go to low-income customers.

By Emma Penrod • July 14, 2022

High energy prices, Ukraine war and rising demand response potential spur energy efficiency efforts

New energy efficiency as demand response opportunities can meet customer and system needs as well as set the EU and the world free from both Russian energy and stopgap coal burning, International Energy Agency leaders said.

By Herman K. Trabish • July 11, 2022

Midcontinent ISO defends plan to wait until 2030 for distributed energy aggregations

Dismissing arguments by state regulators, the grid operator on Friday said it needs time to handle other priorities.

By Ethan Howland • July 11, 2022

Idaho Power kicks off process to consider net metering study

Regulators must assess the study as a “credible and fair” analysis before the utility proposes changes to net metering, but environmental advocates see the effort as a path for Idaho Power to restrict distributed solar. 

By Iulia Gheorghiu • Updated July 7, 2022

Upheaval in utility regulation emerging nationally as Hawaii validates a performance-based approach

Hawaii’s hard work on a PBR framework that protects utilities, consumers and the environment is paying off, but other states’ shortcuts could undermine success, advocates worry.

By Herman K. Trabish • July 5, 2022

Making EV charging a reality across the nation

Most utility industry experts agree that electricity is well-positioned to take the lead as the fuel of choice for automotive transportation.

By XENDEE • July 5, 2022

PG&E, Tesla launch program to use customers’ Powerwall batteries to tackle California reliability concerns

A pilot program to turn Tesla’s distributed energy storage systems into a virtual power plant as part of a state program to address reliability concerns may be hampered by its short life, warns a storage advocate.

By Elizabeth McCarthy • June 29, 2022

California moves to simplify interconnection rules for distributed energy resources

The new approach will potentially allow more projects to pass through the fast-track process, which means they could get interconnected in a matter of months versus many months to a year or more.

By Kavya Balaraman • June 27, 2022

Tests show fuel-flexible linear generators can use both hydrogen and ammonia

The generator currently represents a potential low- or no-carbon alternative to backup power generators, according to its manufacturer.

By Emma Penrod • June 22, 2022