Oregon's chief utility regulator resigns abruptly

Lisa Hardie, appointed in 2016 by Gov. Kate Brown to the Public Utilities Commission, didn't give a reason for her resignation. She will be replaced as Chair by Megan Decker.

By Robert Walton • April 13, 2018

New Jersey passes bills for nuke subsidies, 50% RPS, 2 GW storage target

Gov. Phil Murphy (D) is expected to sign the measures, but proposed reforms to PJM's capacity market make the nuclear subsides' impact on wholesale power prices unclear.

By Gavin Bade • April 13, 2018

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

US led surging global energy storage market in 2017, GTM says

While the U.S. remains the leader in energy storage deployments, with 431 MWh out of a global total of 2.3 GWh in 2017, China is rising quickly into second.

By Peter Maloney • April 13, 2018

Senate confirms coal lobbyist Wheeler as EPA No. 2

Andrew Wheeler was present for preliminary meetings last year that led to the crafting of the Department of Energy's controversial plan to bail out coal and nuclear plants. 

By Gavin Bade • April 13, 2018

Perry: Emergency order for coal, nukes is 'exactly what has to happen'

The Secretary of Energy told a House committee Thursday emergency action to save coal and nuclear plants is necessary, though he stopped short of committing to a particular action. 

By Gavin Bade • April 12, 2018

How much are tariffs holding solar back?

Solar is maturing into a least-cost, best-fit resource for utilities and customers while facing down challenges with plunging costs and new grid services.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 12, 2018

Mitsubishi subsidiary seeks permits for $1.5B gas plant to send power to NYC

Diamond Generating is proposing a 1,200 MW plant in New Jersey's Meadowlands — an area close to major markets for electricity, but also environmentally sensitive.

By Peter Maloney • April 12, 2018

Utilities, DER providers face off over market access at FERC meeting

Grid operators and utilities want to ensure that new distributed resources do not threaten reliability, while DER providers are wary they will use the argument as an excuse to stifle competition.

By Gavin Bade • April 12, 2018

DC Council bill would establish US's first independent DER authority

The authority would have the power to review any utility investment over $25 million to see if non-wire alternatives could meet grid needs less expensively. 

By Gavin Bade • April 11, 2018

MISO states push for authority over DER in electricity markets at FERC meeting

The states want to be able to choose whether they allow distributed resource aggregations to play in both retail and wholesale markets.  

By Gavin Bade • April 11, 2018

Residential storage faces sunny prospects this year

Pairing storage with rooftop solar could boom if interest translates into action.

By Peter Maloney • April 10, 2018

Three things consumers want from electricity providers

Utilities are working to improve the customer experience, but what do consumers really want? Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative's Patty Durand explores.

By Patty Durand • April 10, 2018

PJM files competing capacity market reforms at FERC

Stakeholder consternation over the two plans led the grid operator's leadership to punt the decision to federal regulators.

By Gavin Bade • April 10, 2018

Perry: Economics not 'the issue' for FirstEnergy emergency evaluation

A senior DOE official previously said the agency "would never use" an emergency order to "stave off an economic issue."

By Gavin Bade • April 9, 2018

Southern Co. to be 'low to no carbon' by 2050, CEO says

While he gave no exact targets, Tom Fanning told Utility Dive that Southern will focus on technologies "that will allow us to take down carbon emissions to zero."

By Gavin Bade • April 9, 2018

What's next for South Carolina's embattled utilities?

The $10 billion planned cost for new nuclear turned into more than $20 billion, and the utilities' nuclear renaissance turned into a nuclear nightmare.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 9, 2018

Updated: California muni shelves gas plant to consider renewable options

The Glendale community becomes the latest on the list of jurisdictions reconsidering gas plant investments. 

By Gavin Bade • April 9, 2018

Trump 'looking at' emergency order to save PJM coal, nuclear plants

The president's off-the-cuff remarks came a day after he dined with a former lobbyist for FirstEnergy, the coal-bound Ohio utility that requested a bailout for the plants. 

By Gavin Bade • April 5, 2018

The two key questions about going to 100% renewables in Los Angeles

The city council wants its municipal utility to reach the clean energy goal, and a new report says it can by 2030 — if the utility can learn new ways.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 5, 2018

Updated: ISO-NE seeks to keep 1,600 MW of gas generation from retirement

The grid operator says the retirement of two units at Exelon's Mystic Generating Station could put power reliability at risk. 

By Gavin Bade • April 4, 2018

Unnecessary complexity? Assessing New York and California's landmark DER proceedings

New York and California have spent years opening opportunities for distributed energy resources with minimal real impact. Could they have done it differently?

By Herman K. Trabish • April 4, 2018

Utilities take note: Hybrid renewables projects are coming

In 2017, combinations of cost-effective renewables plus storage went online, with more due this year. And 2019 looks like a hybrid boom year.

By Herman K. Trabish • April 3, 2018

Energy efficiency, rooftop solar to trim New England power use, draft report says

The ISO New England findings align with a national trend of stagnant, even declining demand due to efficiency measures in particular.  

By Krysti Shallenberger • April 3, 2018

Market-based IRPs: A new paradigm for grid planning?

Instead of forecasts, utilities like Hawaiian Electric and Xcel are beginning to use real-world prices in their integrated resource plans, allowing them to better compare renewables and DERs to traditional grid investments. 

By Gavin Bade • April 2, 2018

FirstEnergy asks DOE for emergency action to save PJM coal, nuke plants

The utility wants to secure cost recovery for all uneconomic PJM plants with a 25-day fuel supply, similar to a DOE proposal unanimously rejected by FERC in January.

By Robert Walton , Gavin Bade • March 29, 2018