A federal program to help deploy new or expanded transmission capacity will favor transmission projects that will deliver renewable power, because contributing to lower greenhouse gas emissions is one of several evaluation criteria.

Under a U.S. Department of Energy program to promote grid flexibility and resilience, distributed energy resource aggregation projects may seek to share in $1.1 billion in smart grid grants.

Researchers aimed to find better screening shortcuts that could fast-track more residential solar, while meeting utility concerns. Of nine utilities surveyed, three rely on smart inverters to integrate residential solar, an approach that has expedited interconnection in Hawaii.

A grid modeling firm proposes an underground high-voltage DC transmission overlay for the continental U.S. that, along with increased solar deployment and even greater wind deployment, would help reduce climate pollutants and electricity costs.

Governors-elect in Maryland and Massachusetts aim to speed deployment of solar and wind power, while in Minnesota and Michigan, re-elected governors could submit their clean energy goals to legislatures with new Democratic majorities. Arizona might join the club.

As cyber risks rise with increasing deployment of distributed energy resources, the government and industry are defining the steps needed to ensure cybersecurity.

A net-zero power grid with electrification is a priority area for research and development, says an interagency assessment, with R&D needed to advance distribution systems, transmission planning, long duration energy storage, and use of highways for transmission.

100% clean power plus electrification in Wisconsin would cost the same, when counting health benefits, as continuing “business as usual,” and would achieve four times the emissions reductions as 100% clean power alone, found a study sponsored by two Wisconsin groups.

With more than 250 GW of renewables and storage capacity waiting in the PJM interconnection queue, states served by PJM unanimously called for the grid operator to speed up its processing of interconnection requests and its transition to a “cluster study” process.

Hourly pricing is intended to shift some load to periods of high renewables generation, when wholesale power prices are lower. Some customers are expected to opt in to hourly rates with the support of automated demand-shifting technology.