News

Washington Examiner covered how Virginia became the first Southern state to target 100% clean energy with the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act, noting AEE's engagement and study, and quoting key patron Senator McClellan. Read excerpts below and the entire Washington Examiner piece here. 

Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest utility, didn’t have much of a choice but to sign onto a 100% clean electricity goal after Democrats took the state’s legislature in 2019. “It's a matter of, we are going to get there, and you can either be part of the conversation on how to get there or not,” Jennifer McClellan, a Virginia state senator representing the Richmond area who was the lead sponsor of the state’s recently passed 100% carbon-free electricity legislation.

Utility Dive covered PJM Interconnection's compliance filing with FERC proposing implementation plans for FERC's  Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) order, quoting AEEs Jeff Dennis. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

PJM Interconnection on Wednesday issued a compliance filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that largely satisfied some of the biggest critics of the regulatory body's controversial Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) order. FERC's December order attempted to effectively raise the floor prices for state subsidized resources bidding into the wholesale market, eliciting concerns that the new rules could effectively nullify state policies attempting to increase deployment of new zero-emissions resources.

GTM Squared explains the new storage market opportunity created by the just-passed Virginia Clean Economy Act, quoting AEE's Harry Godfrey. Read excerpts below and the entire GTM2 piece here (sub. req.).

A new energy bill makes Virginia a market to watch... Virginia, as it stands today, can hardly be called an energy storage market. But its legislature just passed a clean-energy omnibus bill so comprehensive and thorough that, almost overnight, it converted the state into a storage market to watch.

Utility Dive covered recent passage of the EV bill passed in Florida (and other states) quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

Utah lawmakers on Thursday passed legislation that would allow Rocky Mountain Power to invest $50 million in electric vehicle charging infrastructure, as part of the state's effort to grow adoption of emissions-free transportation. House Bill 396 now heads to Republican Gov. Gary Herbert's desk, where advocates say he is likely to sign it. Similarly, Florida lawmakers on Wednesday passed Senate Bill 7018 which directs the state's Department of Transportation to consult with the Public Service Commission, Office of Energy and other stakeholders to develop a long-term plan for electric vehicle infrastructure expansion. And in Washington, lawmakers on March 9 passed legislation to adopt California's existing zero-emissions vehicle mandate and require the state reach 8% EV sales by 2025...

Smart Energy Decisions featured a guest column from AEE's Caitlin Marquis explaining the impact of FERC's Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR) on corporate renewable energy buyers. Read excerpts below and the entire Smart Energy Decisions piece here. 

The energy world is full of acronyms, and the hottest four-letter word of 2020 is, without contest, MOPR. MOPR stands for “Minimum Offer Price Rule,” and it has become a top concern of clean energy advocates, advanced energy developers, and states since December when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a much-anticipated decision on the rule. Applying to PJM Interconnection, which operates the bulk power system in all or part of 13 mid-Atlantic states and the District of Columbia, the FERC order poses a threat to both state clean energy policies and voluntary purchases of renewable energy in the largest U.S. energy market, and potentially all the organized wholesale markets under FERC jurisdiction, where direct corporate purchases of renewable energy are expanding.

S&P Global covered the passage of Florida's EV infrastructure bill (as part of a larger piece on uncertainty around recent oil prices) quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire S&P Global piece here. 

As states such as Florida adopt electric vehicle infrastructure legislation, electric utilities face uncertainty about how much power demand could be affected, in light of the recent crash in oil prices, analysts said Thursday. On Wednesday, Florida's GOP-controlled House of Representatives approved Senate Bill 7018, "Essential State Infrastructure" for the signature of Governor Ron DeSantis, a Republican. Support in both chambers was bipartisan.

Vox covered the passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act referencing AEE's Virginia Energy Transition Report. and jobs fact sheet. Read excerpts below and the entire Vox piece here. The story was also covered by Science Times here.

Over the last decade or so, Virginia has gradually transitioned from a purple to blue state. Now it will embark on another transition, from fossil fuels to clean, carbon-free electricity. After voting for Republican presidents going back to Richard Nixon in 1972, Virginians began consistently voting for Democrats for president in 2008. And they have a long tradition of Democratic governors, the latest being pediatric neurologist and Army veteran Ralph Northam, elected in 2017.

Utility Dive reported Indiana passed a bill making it more difficult to retire coal-fired power plants, quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

Indiana on Tuesday passed House Bill 1414, which will make it harder for utilities in the state to retire their coal generation. The House version of the bill was significantly altered in the Senate, drawing greater support from critical groups including the Indiana Energy Association (IEA) which represents electric and gas utilities in the state. 

Florida Politics covered the unanimous passage of SB 7018 by the Florida Senate as action moves to the House today, quoting AEE's Dylan Reed. Read excerpts below and the entire FLAPOL piece here. 

The Legislature is expected to pass legislation calling for a study on expanding the state’s electric vehicle charging grid Wednesday. That bill (SB 7018), carried through the Senate by Thonotosassa Republican Sen. Tom Lee, now looks for its final passage in the House before heading to Gov. Ron DeSantis. The measure would also allow the Department of Transportation (FDOT) to construct staging areas for emergency response, adds a “shot clock” for utility infrastructure permits, and create cases for utilities to cross rural land while protecting the environment.

Utility Dive covered passage of the Virginia Clean Economy Act quoting Virginia AEE's Harry Godfrey and highlighting AEE commissioned 5 Lakes Energy costs analysis. Read excerpts below and the entire UD piece here. 

The Virginia Clean Economy Act, which enjoyed wide support from environmental and clean energy groups, cleared both chambers and was sent to the governor's desk on Friday. The package presents a Democratic-led path to ambitious climate goals, and many clean energy advocates are lauding the effort as an example for other states. However, analysis from the State Corporation Commission has the leading utility in the state, Dominion Energy, collecting approximately $50.8 billion more from its customers due to the provisions.