Software firm GridUnity aims to reduce interconnection times for utility-scale solar by at least a year through its real-time communication platform that brings transparency to interconnection stakeholders. Three grid operators use an early version of the software.

A Colorado-based generation utility will add renewable capacity and retire coal units, while six other rural electric co-ops plan to add 1.75 GW of clean energy capacity under a federal program designed to lower electricity costs.

“Too few entities” in the U.S. have adopted a global standard for transmission-connected solar, wind and storage projects that would prevent future large-scale grid disturbance events, says a brief from the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG).

Wider use of electric heat pumps to heat buildings creates a larger market for renewable energy, but also presents challenges, which can be met through building insulation and weatherization, cold climate heat pumps, thermal energy storage systems, and higher-voltage distribution grids, a report says.

A tribal clean energy fund has raised $30 million to fund predevelopment costs for solar projects on tribal lands. Meeting predevelopment milestones will enable tribal communities to apply for federal loan support to complete the projects.

While replacing existing transmission lines known as conductors with advanced conductors could enable 764 GW of transmission-connected solar by 2035, some utilities are slow to adopt the technology. Two utilities that have used advanced conductors for years shared their experiences on a webinar.

Customers of California utility PG&E who own certain models of electric vehicles may enroll in a pilot program for bidirectional EV charging. The program aims to show how improving distribution circuit utilization can keep customer costs down, by reducing the need for distribution upgrades.

The Sierra Club, an environmental group with a focus on reducing fossil fuel pollution, has graded 75 utilities on their resource plans through 2035. The average grade was a “D.”

To help states launch programs to compensate owners of distributed batteries for providing energy at peak times, Solar United Neighbors has developed model legislative language. Under one approach, the owner of a 5 kW battery could earn $1,100 per year.

The U.S. Department of Energy found increasing levels of savings under a high-renewables grid across three transmission frameworks: first, accelerated transmission expansion, then point-to-point high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, then HVDC using more flexibly sized multiterminal converters.