Tag: united states

How does the Inflation Reduction Act impact renewables project planning?

How does the Inflation Reduction Act impact renewables project planning?

July 13, 2023 |

With the IRA providing the certainty developers need, the pipeline for renewables projects in the US is looking robust and healthy. As a result, investment in solar and onshore wind in North America is booming, the US utility-scale solar market will add 437 gigawatts (GW) by 2032, while an average 20 GW of wind power should be added annually over the same period. At the same time, the energy storage market is expanding rapidly, with installations expected to reach almost 75 gigawatts (GW) by 2027. 

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<strong>Avangrid starts developing two solar projects in Texas and Ohio</strong>

Avangrid starts developing two solar projects in Texas and Ohio

March 17, 2023 |

Avangrid, a US-based energy company, has started the construction of two solar facilities in Texas and Ohio. The combined clean energy output from the Texas True North and Ohio Powell Creek projects will be 523.5 MW. True North, which is being built in Falls County, Texas, will start producing 321MW of power in the early 2025 timeframe. The project is anticipated to provide more than 200 employment during construction.

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Blueprint for US Transportation Decarbonization

Blueprint for US Transportation Decarbonization

February 9, 2023 |

The Biden-Harris administration published The Long-Term Strategy (LTS) of the US in November 2021. It is a visionary climate strategy that outlines a plan to tackle the growing climate crisis by decarbonizing the national economy. In January 2023, “The U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization: A joint strategy to transform transportation” was released. REGlobal provides a brief extract of the report.

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What Happens When Utilities Start to Integrate the IRA into Planning?

What Happens When Utilities Start to Integrate the IRA into Planning?

February 2, 2023 |

The passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was one of the climate highlights of 2022. As we enter 2023, our attention shifts toward implementation — and uncovering what’s possible when regulators and utilities leverage the full set of resources the IRA offers to accelerate an equitable energy transition. One of the places we expect to see changes emerge as a result of the IRA is in utility integrated resource plans (IRPs). IRPs are where utilities evaluate their long-term options for meeting energy needs, such as when to retire existing resources and what to build next.

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Directory of Clean Energy Technical Assistance Opportunities for US States

Directory of Clean Energy Technical Assistance Opportunities for US States

December 23, 2022 | , ,

The US Department of Energy and several other agencies in the federal government offer a wide range of technical assistance programs and opportunities, many of which states can take advantage of. While these programs can be tremendously helpful, information about them is spread across many pages on many different US government and national laboratory websites. This makes it difficult for states to find critical information regarding eligibility, funding, and deadlines.

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Expanding solar and storage in Oregon

Expanding solar and storage in Oregon

December 22, 2022 |

The Oregon Solar+Storage Rebate Program was established by the Oregon Legislature in summer 2019 and launched by the Oregon Department of Energy in January 2020. The program provides homeowners with rebates up to $5,000 for solar, and an additional $2,500 for paired energy storage systems when installed together. Low-income service providers—such as nonprofits, municipalities, or other organizations serving low-income Oregonians —are eligible for rebates up to $30,000 for solar, plus $15,000 for paired storage.

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America’s Top Companies Are Using Solar and Storage to Meet Their Climate Goals

America’s Top Companies Are Using Solar and Storage to Meet Their Climate Goals

December 9, 2022 |

The bar is rising for corporate climate goals. Eighteen of the top 25 companies ranked in this year’s report are pursuing 100% renewable energy or carbon neutral goals. Some of the leading companies are already achieving their targets. For example, this year’s top solar adopter Meta has powered its global operations with 100% renewable energy since 2020 and is now working toward a net zero emission value chain by 2030.

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FERC’s Winter Outlook Shows Need for an Updated Grid

FERC’s Winter Outlook Shows Need for an Updated Grid

October 26, 2022 |

In its winter assessment, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission forecasts that U.S. electricity markets should have ample supplies to heat and power consumers through the coming winter. It becomes clearer every day that no energy source is perfect, but adding more transmission lines, efficiency measures, renewable energy, demand response, and energy storage can deliver a system that is most able to withstand the coldest colds and hottest heat waves.

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Distributed PV Price and Design Trends in US: Report

Distributed PV Price and Design Trends in US: Report

September 30, 2022 | , ,

Berkeley Lab’s annual Tracking the Sun report describes trends among grid-connected, distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in the United States. The latest edition of the report focuses on systems installed through year-end 2021, and is based on data from roughly 2.5 million systems. New to the report this year is an expanded coverage of paired PV-plus-storage systems, including details on system design and pricing trends.

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Clean Energy Technology and US Industrial Policy: Report

Clean Energy Technology and US Industrial Policy: Report

September 15, 2022 | ,

Although the United States was an early leader in clean energy R&D and continues to make major technological advances, it has, over time, fallen behind in the commercialization and manufacturing of the technologies developed domestically. This study reviews U.S. industrial policy for clean energy sectors and argues that other economies have more frequently used proactive industrial policies to support the development of domestic clean energy technology industries.

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Climate and Energy Implication of US Crypto-Assets: Report

Climate and Energy Implication of US Crypto-Assets: Report

September 13, 2022 | ,

The Executive Order directed the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), in coordination with other federal agencies, to produce a report on the climate and energy implications of crypto-assets in the United States. OSTP assembled an interdisciplinary team of experts to assess and extend existing studies with new analysis, based on peer-reviewed studies and the best available data.

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US Short Term Energy Outlook Report

US Short Term Energy Outlook Report

September 9, 2022 | ,

This Short-Term Energy Outlook June 2022 report was prepared by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. The largest increases in U.S. electricity generation in the forecast come from renewable energy sources, mostly solar and wind. It expects renewable sources will provide 22% of U.S. generation in 2022 and 24% in 2023, up from 20% in 2021.

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Zinc8 to set up zinc-air batteries production facility in the US

Zinc8 to set up zinc-air batteries production facility in the US

September 6, 2022 |

Zinc8 Energy Solutions has notified the development of its first commercial production facility in Ulster County, New York. According to the company’s study, the recently announced US Inflation Reduction Act facilitates manufacturing production credits that provide distinct and direct benefits to Zinc8 impacting its US production plans. Zinc8 Energy Solutions has created a proprietary flow battery technology that it claims can deliver power ranging from 20 kW to 50 MW.

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US Utility Electrification Efforts and Opportunities: Paper

US Utility Electrification Efforts and Opportunities: Paper

August 31, 2022 | ,

Electric vehicles, building heating technologies, and commercial and industrial equipment are quickly emerging as attractive electrification or fuel switching opportunities for utilities. These electric technologies can lower customer costs, decrease emissions, increase utility revenue, and benefit customers broadly. But not all electrification of everything everywhere provides these beneficial outcomes, so utility program leaders must carefully weigh the pros and cons.

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Offshore wind development goals off the California Coast

Offshore wind development goals off the California Coast

August 17, 2022 |

A directive set forth by Assembly Bill 525 (AB 525, Chiu, Chapter 231, Statutes of 2021) directs that on or before June 1, 2022, the California Energy Commission (CEC) shall “evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and shall establish megawatt offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045.” On August 12, 2022, the CEC adopted a report whose preliminary findings set planning goals of 2,000-5,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030 and 25,000 MW by 2045.

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Innovative Partnerships Bring Community Solar to Low-income Households in the US

Innovative Partnerships Bring Community Solar to Low-income Households in the US

August 10, 2022 |

Over the last 15 years, community solar in the United States has grown dramatically: Installed community solar capacity increased almost 700% between 2006 and 2019. To support LMI participation in the clean energy economy and broader uptake of community solar, the development of catalytic partnerships — dynamic relationships that link utilities, non-profits, financial institutions, developers and other stakeholders to ease financial impediments — will be critical.

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Political economy of US green industrial planning

Political economy of US green industrial planning

August 4, 2022 | ,

E3G has released a briefing paper titled “The Political Economy of US Green Industrial Planning: Building State Capacity for Deep Decarbonization”. This briefing outlines the opportunities to embed deep decarbonization, as well as the risks. It concludes with recommendations for three priority capacities to build: public financing and asset management; supply chain and productive capacity monitoring; and formalized sectoral investment targeting and coordination.

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US State Policies For Building Electrification: Policy Brief

US State Policies For Building Electrification: Policy Brief

July 28, 2022 | ,

To meet ambitious emissions-reduction goals, a small but growing number of states are promoting electrification of space and water heating as an important building decarbonization tool. However, one barrier states face is the need to ensure that fuel-switching and electrification efforts are beneficial; i.e., they must reduce emissions and energy costs while harmonizing with existing energy efficiency policies aimed at reducing demand.

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