Group interconnection studies: Beneficial but not a panacea
IREC’s latest analysis compares group studies with serial solar interconnection studies, concluding that while group studies can help manage queue challenges, they don’t significantly expedite necessary grid upgrades.
Overhaul regional grid operators to speed renewables, says energy lawyer
Harvard law lecturer Ari Peskoe says the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should require regional grid operators to add “under-represented voices” such as state regulators to their boards, to help speed adoption of new technologies.
U.S. Energy Department announces $3.5 billion to shore up electric grid
Investing in America will fund 58 projects across 44 States to improve grid resilience and reliability.
Two milestones achieved in AI-enabled concentrated solar power
The achievements pave the way for deployment of Heliogen’s centrifugal particle receiver in the Capella Project, a collaboration with Woodside Energy.
Vermont utility announces emissions-free “zero outages” initiative
Green Mountain Power targets zero power outages by 2030, backed by a strong contribution from solar, wind, and energy storage linked in microgrids.
Grid-forming inverters will enable a high-renewables grid
As renewable generation increases, so does the need for grid-forming inverters to provide the same functionality that rotating synchronous generators provide. The UNIFI Consortium is coordinating industry progress on the new inverter technology.
HVDC transmission serves mostly wind and hydro power, not solar
A report from The Brattle Group and DNV recommends clearing barriers in the U.S. to high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission. HVDC transmission projects show many cost-saving use cases, but so far, transmitting solar power is rarely among them.
U.S. utility testing 5 MW, 10-hour organic solid flow battery
German battery manufacturer CMBlu is supplying its 5 MW, 10-hour-duration organic solid flow long-duration battery technology to a US utility project, featuring high-performance organic energy storage molecules.
Bringing ERCOT’s speedy interconnection process to the rest of the U.S.
Texas grid operator ERCOT is enabling rapid growth in solar and wind capacity through an interconnection process known as “connect and manage.” That approach could be used across the U.S. with modifications, according to a new study.
Sunrise brief: California electricity pricing exploded in the last three years, far outpacing inflation
Also on the rise: Funding for second-life EV battery materials manufacturer reaches $4 billion. Model procedures for fixing distributed solar and storage interconnection. And more.
