On Earth Day, the Biden Administration marked an important step toward accessible, affordable, and equitable residential and community solar as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the program awardees. Funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, Solar for All is part of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a $27 billion set aside to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants, deliver the benefits of greenhouse gas- and air pollution-reducing projects to American communities, and mobilize financing and private capital to stimulate additional deployment of greenhouse gas and air pollution reducing projects.
How State Policies and Regulatory Support Will Help ‘Solar For All’ Succeed
Topics: Federal Policy
NESCOE and ISO-NE Trailblaze on Transmission Planning and Procurement Ahead of FERC Ruling
With the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) much-awaited final rule on Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation imminent, New England’s grid operator, ISO-NE, quietly prepared to file at FERC its own hugely consequential, self-initiated Longer-Term Transmission Planning (LTTP) reforms. The problem it seeks to address? With peak demand for electricity set to double to 51 – 57 GW in the region by 2050, planners recognize the current grid’s transmission capabilities are ill-equipped to ensure reliability while handling the transition to an emissions-free electricity sector. ISO’s LTTP filing establishes a framework for procuring, building, and funding transmission projects and follows the inception of a new paradigm for long-term electric system planning. Combined, these solutions promise to propel us towards the much-needed build-out of the future grid and help us reach urgent state energy and climate policy requirements. In recognition, Advanced Energy United, along with a number of other allied organizations, wrote to ISO-NE and the New England States Committee on Electricity (NESCOE), commending their efforts while urging them to leverage this process as soon as it is effective.
Topics: Wholesale Markets, Transmission
Wrapping Up Maryland’s 2024 Legislative Session: Big Wins and Opportunities for the Advanced Energy Industry
The 2024 Maryland legislative session wrapped up on April 8th and marked another step forward for clean energy development in the state. Advanced Energy United played a key role in developing and supporting policies that reshaped how the state is approaching issues like transportation electrification, energy efficiency, and even geothermal energy.
Topics: Advanced Transportation, Energy Efficiency, Maryland, Building Electrification, Virtual Power Plants
New Study Touts the Benefits of Virtual Power Plants in California
We’re currently seeing three critical energy trends across the state of California.
First, energy affordability is an urgent crisis. California's success in reducing the cost of clean, renewable power means commodity energy prices during much of the day are lower than ever, but replacing our aging and fire-prone infrastructure has driven electric bills to unsustainable levels, especially for the state’s poorest and most vulnerable.
Topics: Energy Efficiency, California, Virtual Power Plants
Keys of Certainty to Accelerating (and Improving) Offshore Wind Project Permits
Navigating the complexities of permitting for U.S. offshore wind projects requires strategic collaboration among diverse stakeholders. To avoid project delays, and to enable large-scale strategic approval processes to happen rapidly, a coordinated effort between the federal government, regulators, developers, and stakeholders is required.
But, how can this be done?
On April 2nd, I had the opportunity to moderate a webinar discussion hosted by Reuters exploring this very topic, specifically: how do we streamline decision-making and the permitting process to create a supportive ecosystem for offshore wind projects? I was joined by a group of all-star panelists each of whom is extremely knowledgeable and experienced in this space: Pilar Patterson of Ørsted (an Advanced Energy United member), Stephanie Wilson of Atlantic Shores, Jennifer Flood of Southcoast Wind, and Hollie Emery of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.
Topics: Offshore Wind, Advanced Energy United, Permitting and Siting