Southern Company pledges “low-to-no” carbon electricity by 2050
The CEO of the southern power giant has made a pledge of heavy carbon reduction at the BNEF Future of Energy Summit, but the details are murky and contradictory, and wrapped in layers of mythology.
Shell envisions central role for solar in new report
Shell’s new report shows a world where solar meets the largest portion of primary energy demand as soon as 2050.
Duke low-balls renewable energy in its climate plans
The southern power giant’s stunningly unambitious plan for increasing renewable energy generation may be the result of keeping inflexible nuclear power online for unheard-of timelines.
Colorado enshrines energy storage as a right
A four-page bill signed by the state’s governor declares that the installation of energy storage by utility customers is in the public interest, and prohibits discriminatory charges or regulatory burdens from interfering with this.
Arizona regulators rebuff utilities, order turn from gas to renewables
As an historic first, the Arizona Corporation Commission has voted not to acknowledge the gas-heavy energy resource plans of utilities, and is pushing instead an aggressive clean energy plan by one of its members.
Pilot project for flywheel storage underway in Hawaii
Utility Hawaiian Electric has announced the start of operations of a pilot project featuring flywheel energy storage technology provided by Amber Kinetics. The project will test the technology’s capability of supporting the grid and allowing further integration of renewable generation.
Solar to help Texas meet this summer’s peak demand
The state is expecting nearly 400 MW of additional utility-scale solar by this summer, as the most significant source of new generation to help it meet summer peak capacity needs.
12 hours of energy storage enough for U.S. to run on 80% solar+wind
Scientists in California have modeled a solar-heavy/wind power electricity grid, without nationwide HVDC, that could reliably deliver 80% of U.S. electricity needs. 100% of needs would require 3 weeks of energy storage.
California regulators emphasize solar, batteries in utility planning framework
CPUC’s guidance calls for an additional 9 GW of solar and 2 GW of battery storage as the standard against which to compare utility and CCA Integrated Resource plans, and says that new fossil fuel plants must prove a need.
Texas, California among regions pushing the boundaries of renewables integration
Latest report by IEEFA showcases nine case studies among the world’s leading states by wind and solar market share, which can help up as an example for other countries on their energy transition pathways.
