FERC commissioners tell senators of major grid reliability challenges, with some blaming markets

Power plants are retiring faster than they’re being replaced, according to FERC Commissioner Mark Christie. “The arithmetic doesn’t work,” he said at a Senate hearing Thursday.

By Ethan Howland • May 5, 2023

The IRS’s coming 45V tax credit rules can build a domestic clean hydrogen industry — but only if done right.

A loose framework of rules could raise utility rates, make it tougher to meet clean energy targets, and threaten reliability while setting the clean hydrogen industry up for failure once 45V expires.

By Dan Esposito • May 4, 2023

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

New York Power Authority given broad authority to own, operate, build and finance renewable energy projects

The New York Power Authority will be transformed “from a moribund agency to the most dynamic builder and owner of public renewables in the nation,” said chief legislative sponsor Assemblymember Robert Carroll.

By Stephen Singer • May 4, 2023

FERC dismisses AEP, Xcel, OG&E challenge to Southwest Power Pool reserve margin hike

In a dissent, FERC Commissioner James Danly asked whether responsible oversight of regional transmission organizations was possible given their complexity.

By Ethan Howland • May 4, 2023

State regulators, others urge FERC to reject PJM plan to delay upcoming capacity auctions

“Halting the markets before the commission has all of the facts before it may actually serve to delay the energy market transition … and raise prices for consumers,” the Organization of PJM States said.

By Ethan Howland • May 3, 2023

West Virginia PSC report calls for disallowing $203M in AEP cost recovery over low coal plant usage

Appalachian Power Co. and Wheeling Power failed to take steps to run three coal plants at a 69% capacity factor, a level set by state regulators, according to a report released Friday.

By Ethan Howland • May 3, 2023

Indiana utilities gain ‘right of first refusal’ to build transmission lines amid MISO buildout

AES Indiana, CenterPoint Energy, Duke Energy Indiana and Northern Indiana Public Service Co. stand to benefit from the legislation signed into law Monday.

By Ethan Howland • May 2, 2023

Coming EPA power plant rules will put carbon capture to the test, but better oversight is needed, critics say

New CCUS has the policy, private sector and regulatory support to end claims it underperforms, but only if new EPA rules require verification through strong federal oversight, advocates and opponents agreed.

By Herman K. Trabish • May 2, 2023

Environmentalists, state consumer officials challenge ISO-NE’s proposed winter fuel storage costs

Energy costs have soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as Europe, looking to end natural gas exports from Russia, emerges as an outsized competitor to New England, which relies on LNG.

By Stephen Singer • May 1, 2023

DOE updates nuclear waste storage plans to reduce impacts on disadvantaged communities

Comments submitted “underscore the need to build trust between communities and DOE and ensure fairness in the stakeholder engagement process.”

By Stephen Singer • April 28, 2023

FERC close to final interconnection rule, interregional transfer proposal: Chairman Phillips

“I’m committed to working with my colleagues, to make sure that we can advance and keep the momentum going on these proceedings,” FERC Acting Chairman Willie Phillips said.

By Ethan Howland • April 28, 2023

Pending Senate bill would require 30% transfer capacity between regions: Hickenlooper aide

Building those lines could produce a “stunning payoff,” Daniel Palken, an aide to Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said Thursday. “The technical term for this would be ‘a gold mine.’”

By Ethan Howland • April 28, 2023

Rep. Casten, ex-FERC chairs eye DERs, more power sector competition to achieve net zero goals

"We're not going to get to where we need to go with a zero-carbon electric grid unless we have distributed demand-side resources supporting what we need to do on the supply side,” said former FERC Chair Jon Wellinghoff.

By Diana DiGangi • April 27, 2023

Connecticut adopts performance-based regulation as Eversource raps investor environment

“You just don't get paid an automatic 9% whether you do good work or bad work,” Gov. Ned Lamont said. “You get paid for doing good work.”

By Stephen Singer • April 27, 2023

Congress should adopt 30% tax credit, streamlined permitting for regional transmission, clean grid group says

Permitting reform appears possible despite the divided Congress, Brett White, Pine Gate Renewables’ vice president for regulatory affairs, said Tuesday.

By Ethan Howland • April 26, 2023

Idaho National Lab’s open-source microreactor design and test bed spur start-up interest

Making an open-sourced microreactor design available is “much more resilient than a centralized approach,” said Yasir Arafat, chief designer of the MARVEL reactor at the Idaho National Lab.

By Stephen Singer • April 26, 2023

FERC clears NextDecade, Glenfarne LNG export projects after revising carbon, environmental justice reviews

The decisions come amid growing U.S. natural gas exports, which critics contend are helping to drive up electricity prices.

By Ethan Howland • April 25, 2023

Efforts to accelerate permitting could learn a thing or two from nuclear energy

In the past, the implicit assumption was that it was OK for it to take years or even decades to build energy projects because the status quo was acceptable. We know now that the status quo is not, in fact, acceptable.

By Jessica Lovering and Judi Greenwald • April 24, 2023

State regulators urge PJM to speed interconnection for new generation in face of power plant retirements

“We're rattling the foundations here,” Mike Jacobs, Union of Concerned Scientists senior energy analyst, said Friday. “And everything PJM is calling for in this moment of crisis is strengthening the status of the existing supply.”

By Ethan Howland • April 24, 2023

FERC approves incentive framework for voluntary cybersecurity investments

In the final rule, the federal agency dropped a proposed 2% return on equity from the incentives utilities can get for certain cyber investments.

By Ethan Howland • April 24, 2023

Maine jury clears Avangrid’s 145-mile transmission line, reversing ballot vote that blocked project

Building clean-energy transmission lines won’t be possible with “this much of a fight for all involved,” said Amy Boyd of the Acadia Center.

By Stephen Singer • April 21, 2023

FERC approves CAISO, NYISO, utility plans for ambient line ratings to boost transmission capacity

“I’m looking forward to moving forward with opportunities to promote various kinds of grid-enhancing technologies, which are really no-brainers,” FERC Commissioner Allison Clements said.

By Ethan Howland • 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

IRS guidance ‘appears to overestimate’ extent of energy communities under IRA: Charles River Associates

“At this time, I think we want to be careful not to say that the IRS was wrong per se, but that there is definitely a need for further diligence on this topic, and it should be monitored closely,” said CRA Associate Ryan Iyer.

By Diana DiGangi • April 19, 2023

House hearing highlights rising bipartisan support for nuclear energy amid wave of policy actions

Nuclear advocates hope bipartisan support can advance the industry, which "has stagnated over the past decade," Rep. Jeff Duncan said.

By Stephen Singer • April 19, 2023