Category: Knowledge Center America

AYPA Power secures $323 million for energy storage project in Idaho

Aypa Power has got $323 million in financing for its Kuna project. The Kuna project is a 150 MW / 600 MWh facility situated in the City of Kuna just north of Boise. It will be Idaho’s largest battery energy storage project and will be online in mid-2025. The financing package includes a $233 million green loan, which consists of a construction and term loan, a tax equity bridging loan, and a letter of credit facility. Additionally, the project received $90 million in tax equity, bringing the total funding to $323 million.

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Status of SAF Production Industry in US: Report

The purpose of this study “Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) State-of-Industry Report: State of SAF Production Process” by NREL is to provide an assessment of the current state of the SAF production industry and identify challenges and hurdles that industry may face in delivering the 2030 goals. This assessment is for the potential feedstocks and conversion pathways expected to contribute to 2030 goals and will generally follow action areas in the SAF Grand Challenge: feedstocks, conversion technology, supply chain, and policy and valuation.

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Outlook for DEFR in New York: Report

The NYISO seeks to improve the representation of this fleet segment in each of its successive studies, while understanding that characterization of emerging technology implementation pathways can introduce its own uncertainty into the model. The NYISO continues to recognize that there is a need for supply beyond renewables and storage resources that can provide dependability supply during the summer and winter peak periods and when the output of renewable resources is low. The Outlook “Appendix F: Dispatchable Emission-Free Resources” by the New York ISO has incorporated the DEFR concept into its evaluation of the Policy Case for further consideration.

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SAF Roadmap for Rocky Mountain Region: Report

This report “Fueling Up Sustainable Aviation” by RMI explores the production potential of SAF in the RMR with a focus on the availability of feedstock in the region as well as policy options to encourage SAF production and uptake. The report looks at the potential of available in-region feedstocks to meet an ambitious target for SAF supply based on the US SAF Grand Challenge, a collaborative effort launched in 2021 by the US Department of Energy (DOE), US Department of Transportation, and US Department of Agriculture, and options to fill the remaining gaps.

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Impact of Duties on US Solar Industry: Presentation

The current health of the U.S. PV sector is exceptional, with a strong track record of installation volume growth across end-use segments and a fast-emerging domestic PV manufacturing supply chain. Growing U.S. PV installations support job creation in a variety of sectors, with installation, project development, and supporting roles accounting for almost 90% of all U.S. solar employment opportunities. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a crucial piece of legislation supporting the current health of the U.S. PV sector, with positive impacts on both the demand and supply sides of the sector.

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Distributed Green Ammonia Roadmap for Minnesota: Report

Minnesota is uniquely positioned to take advantage of DGA. The current centralized ammonia production system can provide farmers with low-cost fertilizer, but also exposes farmers to price volatility and supply chain disruptions. Localized, distributed ammonia production can complement the existing system to hedge against negative outcomes as well as reduce emissions from fertilizer production. 

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Lessons from Colorado’s flexible EV charging: Paper

Vehicle charging flexibility has the potential to reduce Colorado’s electric infrastructure costs by $100 million to $300 million per year in 2035 and $200 million to $900 million in 2050. Residential-sector cost savings are so large that they could pay for all of the Level 2 charging infrastructure in that sector. Managed charging programs and electric rates are necessary for consumers to benefit from vehicle flexibility. Electric system costs will be reduced where customer programs and related data are integrated into utility planning and operations.

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New York’s 6 GW Storage Goal: Roadmap

The New York State Department of Public Service (DPS) and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have unveiled a report titled ‘New York’s 6 GW Energy Storage Roadmap: Policy Options for Continued Growth in Energy Storage.’ Energy storage is expected to play a crucial role by integrating large quantities of variable renewable energy, reducing curtailment and storing renewable generation. This roadmap aims to bolster energy storage capacity in the state, targeting 6 GW by 2030. The strategy outlined in the roadmap emphasises market reforms, innovative procurement mechanisms, and accelerated technology development to meet the expanded storage target.

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Puerto Rico’s Energy Transition Efforts: Report

Puerto Rico residents and businesses have moved rapidly to install rooftop solar and storage in recent years to improve their resiliency in the face of an unreliable power system. These actions represent a bright spot in the transformation of Puerto Rico’s electrical system towards more renewable energy. This report “Solar at a Crossroads in Puerto Rico” by IEEFA  tracks the overall progress of Puerto Rico’s long-touted transition to renewable energy.

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Renewable Portfolio Standard in US States: Report

The majority of US states use a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to achieve clean energy targets. RPS programs typically set annual clean energy production levels, but they ignore the significant variations in greenhouse gas emissions intensity of the grid at different times of the day and at different locations. Newly available locational marginal emissions (LME) data, which are collected at thousands of physical locations and updated every five minutes, provide insights into where and when the electricity sector produces the most and least GHG emissions. 

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Voluntary Carbon Market Principles in US: Paper

This paper “Voluntary Carbon Markets Joint Policy Statement and Principles” provides observations on the current state of VCMs and their potential. It then outlines voluntary principles that U.S. market participants should embrace as they engage in these markets. These principles will also guide how the U.S. Government engages with VCMs. Much of the content speaks to the development and operation of carbon credit markets generally. 

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Hydrogen Strategy Lessons from US and Vietnam: Paper

Domestic policy and participation from foreign corporations, becomes increasingly critical for the hydrogen energy market in Vietnam. A hydrogen development roadmap is crucial to realise the future of hydrogen in Vietnam. Directing capital to hydrogen is key to enabling its growth in the United States. The United States has a clear vision for its domestic hydrogen economy, which could generate an estimated $140 billion per year in revenue by 2030.

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IRA’s Approach to Clean Electricity Tax Credits: Brief

With the enactment of sections 45Y and 48E, the IRA has brought a welcome stability to the tax code for clean electricity production and can be expected to provide a much more flexible and predictable economic environment for deploying clean generation for years to come. Given the tight timing for the transition to these tax credits in 2025 and the need for advance planning by developers, the Treasury will need to publish guidance in the very near term to make good on the promise of a stable investment environment.

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Status of US Voluntary Green Power Market: Report

Voluntary green power, for this report, refers to renewable energy procurement by retail electricity customers above what is otherwise provided by load-serving entities. In this year’s report “Status and Trends in the U.S. Voluntary Green Power Market: 2022 Data” by NREL there are two topics of interest that could affect future trends in the U.S. voluntary green power market. The first topic relates to the emergence of three strategies to match green power procurement to buyers’ electricity demand and the second addresses the implications of the federal Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) for the voluntary green power market. 

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Grid Reliability Lessons for US: Report

In 2023, clean energy resources provided about 41% of electricity in the United States, with more than 16% of total generation provided by wind and solar—called “variable” renewable energy sources because of their daily and seasonal fluctuations in availability. The bulk power system, which supplies and transmits electricity, maintained high reliability throughout the year, showing that grid reliability is achievable as deployment of wind and solar has increased.

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Factors Affecting US Transmission Infrastructure: Report

Using statistical analysis and machine learning models to analyze a dataset from the data company MAPSearch of planned transmission projects of at least 100 kilovolts (kV) conceived between 2005 and 2023, which includes more than 1,300 transmission projects, the report provides a systematic assessment of the impact of key variables on the likelihood that a proposed transmission line will actually be built. 

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US Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit: Brief

This brief “Understanding the proposed guidance for the Inflation Reduction Act’s Section 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit” by ICCT reviews key aspects of the 2023 proposed guidance. After explaining the IRA’s requirements for the hydrogen production tax credit, it summarises how the guidance would address such issues as determining life-cycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during the hydrogen production process, accounting for the GHG emissions of electricity use, and rules about renewable natural gas (RNG), among other topics.

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Decarbonization Pathways for the US: Report

Beyond 2035, expanding renewable energy sources, end-use electrification, moderate fuel switching to hydrogen, and carbon CDR technologies are the predominant cost-minimising strategies to achieve net-zero emissions. Notably, source switching, both to electricity and hydrogen, in the transportation and industrial sectors are focal points for divergence between the Current Policy and Net Zero scenarios.

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