Regulation & Policy: Page 84
-
Deep Dive
Utilities' failure to plan for DER surge promises missed opportunities, increased costs, analysts say
Utilities can use skyrocketing customer-owned DER to balance rising penetrations of variable renewables on their systems, if they take on the big work of distribution system planning.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 24, 2019 -
Inefficient coal plant scheduling cost ratepayers $3.5B from 2015 to 2017, report says
Coal-powered generation would have dropped 10% across the Midcontinent Independent System Operator region if utilities were dispatching their units based on market signals rather than self-scheduling, according to a Sierra Club report.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 23, 2019 -
Explore the Trendline➔
adamkaz via Getty Images
TrendlineThe Energy Transition to Renewables
New policy and business actions are giving a significant boost to renewable energy in the U.S., but opposition is growing and grid interconnection, permitting, labor and other challenges remain.
By Utility Dive staff -
Unpaid debts and lost grants: Co-ops struggle with 2017 tax law as Congress moves to address impacts
The "unintended consequences" from the 2017 tax law have become the "biggest policy priority" for rural electric cooperatives trying to maintain their nonprofit status.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 23, 2019 -
Getty Images
New York climate law to drive $115B in utility-scale resource investment by 2040, report finds
As the state transitions from gas-dominated generation, solar and wind would make up 39% of New York’s energy capacity by 2030, and 83% by 2040, according to Energy Ventures Analysis.
By Lynn Freehill-Maye • Oct. 23, 2019 -
DTE, Consumers Energy push back on Michigan legislators' plan to rewrite 2016 energy law
The 2016 statute "created needless challenges and roadblocks for the solar industry," according to one lawmaker, but Consumers says newly proposed legislation would unfairly create subsidies for private solar ownership.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 23, 2019 -
Opinion
A formula to fail? Separating fact from fiction in DTE's latest IRP
A singular focus on environmental issues for utility resource plans, without concern for the impact on affordability and reliability, is a recipe for failure, a former Michigan public service commissioner writes.
By Steven Transeth • Oct. 21, 2019 -
Deep Dive
EV charging promises a demand response bonanza for utilities, if they can handle it
Aggregated flexible load of high EV penetrations will be lucrative in demand response markets, but for now smaller EV demand gives utilities management practice.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 18, 2019 -
Energy Secretary Perry announces resignation after previous denials
Trump nominated Deputy Secretary Dan Brouillette as DOE Secretary following Perry's departure, expected "later this year."
By Catherine Morehouse • Updated Nov. 8, 2019 -
Elizabeth Regan, Industry Dive/Utility Dive
FERC OKs PJM, SPP storage plans, sets separate proceedings for minimum run-time requirements
PJM must implement Order 841 by Dec. 3 while SPP has nine months, although FERC opened separate dockets with the grid operators relating to their storage duration requirements.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 18, 2019 -
DOE
Despite 'political tug-of-war,' the US 'still needs fossil fuels': DOE General Counsel
"Fossil fuels are not some kind of snake oil being sold by somebody who doesn't believe in it, to a public who doesn't want it," DOE head lawyer Bill Cooper told an audience of energy lawyers in Washington, D.C.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 17, 2019 -
Regulators grant first federal permits for offshore wind to Dominion, Ørsted pilot
The 12 MW demo has "essentially" all the permits needed to build, and developers can double down on a lot of the stakeholder research and surveying efforts to propose plans for a 2,600 MW commercial project.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 16, 2019 -
Yujin Kim, Industry Dive
Deep DiveElectric revolution: As EV demand increases, can utilities and cities keep up?
Utilities are increasingly helping cities prepare for transportation electrification, while confronting increased power generation and delivery needs — often to areas already experiencing high demand.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 16, 2019 -
Deep Dive
US wind, solar finance alternatives rise as sector rushes against looming tax credit expiration
Resources are being rapidly deployed ahead of the post-2020 phase-out, but political uncertainty makes turmoil unavoidable.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 15, 2019 -
Opinion
Clean Peaks & Polar Vortexes: Aligning climate and reliability goals in an extreme weather world
If states do not align digitization, decentralization and decarbonization policies with a fourth dimension of diversification, industry may need to take unprecedented action, the authors write.
By Brian Evans-Mongeon, Dan Kopin and Lon Huber • Oct. 14, 2019 -
Sponsored by Wirecard2019 credit balance refund report, part 1: The benefits of a refund done right
Can the refund experience really set service providers apart from the crowd in sectors that have undergone deregulation?
Oct. 14, 2019 -
Mayors announce Global Green New Deal at C40 Summit
A coalition of 94 mayors showed support of the deal, intended to encourage emissions reduction in the transportation, buildings, industry and waste sectors.
By Cailin Crowe • Oct. 10, 2019 -
California, New England will miss 2050 carbon targets at current pace, reports find
California won't hit its emission reduction goals until 2157, while New England renewable additions will need to at least quadruple from current plans.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 10, 2019 -
Elizabeth Regan, Industry Dive/Utility Dive
PJM presses FERC to act by Nov. 3 on Order 841 filing detailing market participation for energy storage
The notice said the grid operator and its stakeholders need at least one month's notice to go live with a storage market participation model.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 9, 2019 -
Wikimedia Commons
NIPSCO to replace coal with 2.3 GW of solar, storage in latest RFP
The investor-owned utility is leading a rapid transition away from its aging coal assets through bids for more economic resources.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 9, 2019 -
Deep Dive
As CCAs take over utility customers, local renewable generation emerges as the next big growth driver
The demand for customer choice has the potential to quicken the power system's transition toward cheaper, cleaner electricity, and is moving beyond California.
By Herman K. Trabish • Oct. 8, 2019 -
Supreme Court to take on Atlantic Coast Pipeline appeal
The Trump administration disputed a lower court's ruling to reject a Forest Service permit for the pipeline, and the appeal could have implications for other pipelines crossing the federally-protected Appalachian Trail.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 7, 2019 -
Carbon price could allay 'astounding' cost to attain New York's zero carbon target: Report
The state's power grid operator concluded that a price on carbon in wholesale markets could lower the cost to implement the state's electric sector goal for zero emissions by 2040 by $850 million.
By Robert Walton • Oct. 4, 2019 -
Coal-heavy Pennsylvania to join Northeast's carbon cap and trade program
Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf committed the state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Pennsylvania had the fourth largest CO2 emissions in the power sector in 2016.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 4, 2019 -
As EPA preps coal ash rollback, study finds heightened risks of water, soil contamination
Industry and environmental groups have been anticipating changes to the federal rule, but a Duke University study presented to the EPA suggests health risks of the toxins may be greater than previously thought.
By Catherine Morehouse • Oct. 3, 2019 -
Elizabeth Regan, Industry Dive/Utility Dive
Trump bucks bipartisan tradition with plan to nominate Republican FERC commissioner
The administration is avoiding the pattern of nominating a pair of Republican and Democratic nominees when two seats are open on the commission, despite having a pre-cleared Democratic candidate.
By Iulia Gheorghiu • Oct. 2, 2019
Previous
