The Latest
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First Solar CEO warns senators of ‘collapse’ in solar cell, module pricing
Mark Widmar told the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday that the “relentlessness of the Chinese subsidization and dumping strategy” has led to a steep drop in solar cell and module prices globally.
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PG&E aims to raise up to $1B for transmission through leases to Citizens Energy
The proposed funding for transmission projects comes a month after Pacific Gas & Electric increased its five-year capital spending plan by 20%, to $62 billion.
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Hydrogen could compete with natural gas by 2030, but there’s a catch: report
Satisfying demand for green hydrogen would require about 700 GW of new renewable energy, according to analysis by The Brattle Group.
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Biden administration boosts EV supply chain with $2B lithium loan
The money will go toward constructing processing facilities at Lithium Americas' upcoming project, expected to produce 40,000 tons of the material a year beginning in 2027.
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Opinion
How targeted electrification can support a managed transition for the gas system
Regulatory and policy changes will be necessary for targeted electrification and gas decommissioning to achieve a scale that would support meaningful cost savings for gas ratepayers.
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3rd Circuit backs NRG, Constellation Energy, others in rejecting FERC move on PJM capacity auction
FERC allowed PJM to adopt a new rule to address anomalous high capacity prices in its latest capacity auction, but the federal appeals court said the change was illegal retroactive ratemaking.
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Bills aim to spur grid-enhancing technologies with shared-savings incentives from FERC
“The Advancing GETs Act will motivate grid operators and developers to bring new projects online that expand transmission capacity,” Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said Wednesday.
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DOE’s $750M investment could end hydrogen’s chicken-or-egg problem, EH2 says
The $750 million in hydrogen manufacturing grants could support 1,500 new jobs and the production of 1.3 million tons of clean hydrogen, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
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Opinion
Permitting reform budget request should push Congress to negotiate a bipartisan deal
Our domestic energy supply cannot be secured until the United States’ burdensome approval process is overhauled so that we can begin to get major energy infrastructure projects underway.
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Utilities, others lobby senators to block DOE’s distribution transformer efficiency rule
The U.S. Department of Energy plans to finalize new efficiency rules for distribution transformers in April, but a broad coalition of utilities is supporting legislation to block the effort.
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US electricity prices outpace annual inflation
Analysts cited transmission costs and federal policies for the 3.6% increase the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
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Lenders can spur building decarbonization with a focus on energy efficiency, renewables: RMI
A new RMI report recommends that lenders conduct, as part of their underwriting process, a cost-benefit analysis of efficiency upgrades and the replacement of fossil fuel technologies with renewable ones.
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Opinion
Republicans say Biden’s EV charging program goes too far. It really doesn’t go far enough.
We need a federal program that incentivizes the buildout of EV charging infrastructure in cities by covering both a part of the capital cost and the operating cost.
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New York City bill would mandate solar panels on public buildings
The legislation would require 100 MW of solar photovoltaic systems to be installed on the roofs of city-owned buildings by the end of 2025, with a broader goal of 150 MW by 2030.
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DOE’s ARPA-E faces budget cut, FERC to explore AI and other highlights from Biden’s budget
DOE’s Grid Deployment Office, the Energy Information Administration and renewables research would see budget hikes, while nuclear energy research and development spending would be cut.
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Texas loan program for new gas plants would be open to private generators that also supply ERCOT
The Public Utility Commission of Texas could vote next week on rules governing the state’s new loan program for dispatchable power plant construction.
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Global small modular reactor pipeline hits 22 GW, with US leading the market: WoodMac
Growing interest from heavy industry and a 25-nation agreement to triple nuclear power globally by 2050 are tailwinds as the first commercial SMR comes online in China.
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GridStor buys planned 900 MWh storage facility expected to ease grid congestion around Houston
The lithium-ion battery installation, acquired from Balanced Rock Power, is part of a wave of new battery capacity expected to come online soon in Texas.
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The White House wants to know more about Tesla’s charging standard
As more automakers switch to the EV maker's North American Charging Standard, regulators want to know how it will impact standards for public chargers.
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Opinion
Nuclear energy finance bans prevent the world from buying American
Securing financing for commercially-oriented nuclear energy projects is critical for American suppliers to compete against adversarial state-owned entities.
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California PUC urges FERC to reject SCE’s early cost recovery request for $1.6B in projects
Southern California Edison contends that being allowed to recover its costs while two transmission projects are being built, instead of waiting until they’re in service, will ease financial strains and customer rate shock.
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10 Republican-led states file lawsuit to block SEC’s climate disclosure rule
The states say the Securities and Exchange Commission exceeded its rulemaking authority in requiring public companies to disclose climate-related risks as part of their registrations and annual filings.
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California regulators approve new program to expedite power line undergrounding
The program allows utilities with at least 250,000 customers to submit a 10-year undergrounding plan to the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety, which must approve or reject it within nine months.
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Renewable energy M&A is entering a new paradigm, LevelTen Energy says
The latter half of 2023 saw a significant slowdown in transactions, which LevelTen Energy believes signals a shift in strategy among renewable energy developers.
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Opinion
Setting the record straight on Western market options: It’s not just about footprint
Instead of coercing the entire West into a single market, we should turn our attention to facilitating trade among multiple markets as a better use of our time and energy.