Category: Legislation & Policy
Utilities Need to Take an Ecosystem Approach to DERs as They Look Beyond Pilots
Sonder Agency
Between now and 2021, utilities will spend approximately $380 million on distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS), according to a recent report from GTM Research. The investment has only “just begun,” according to study author and GTM Research grid analyst Andrew Mulherkar. GTM Research defines DERMS as “an operational technology system that monitors, forecasts, optimizes… Read more
Harvey’s Devastation Shows the Need for Distributed Energy, Microgrids During Disasters
Sonder Agency
Harvey, the hurricane-turned-tropical depression that’s devastated the Texas Gulf Coast, has also driven home the value of off-grid energy systems, from backup generators to microgrids -- and the dire results of failing to have them ready to prevent disasters. The floodwaters have killed dozens of people and left tens of thousands homeless, and the storm… Read more
Duke Energy to Invest $6B for Solar, Batteries and EVs, Scrap Nuclear Plant Plans
Sonder Agency
Florida is set to get a lot more solar power and grid batteries -- in exchange for losing a future nuclear power plant. On Tuesday, Duke Energy Florida filed a revised settlement that lays out a four-year, nearly $6 billion investment into 700 megawatts of solar PV, 50 megawatts of energy storage, 500 electric-vehicle chargers,… Read more
DOE Supports Cutting-Edge Grid Technologies. But They’re Missing From Its Major Reliability Analysis
Sonder Agency
The new Department of Energy report on grid reliability and retiring baseload power isn't just notable for what it includes -- it's notable for what it leaves out. Ordered by Energy Secretary Rick Perry in April and leaked in rough draft form in July, the report creates a rough policy roadmap that could favor altering… Read more
DOE’s Grid Reliability Study Is a Rorschach Test for the Future of Electricity
Sonder Agency
The defining document of Rick Perry's Energy Department is finally here. When Secretary Perry sent a memo to his chief of staff in April requesting a review of how "market-distorting" policies are potentially threatening the reliability of the grid, it prompted swift backlash from pro-renewables groups. They feared it was a yet another attempt by… Read more
From the Podcast Vaults: Analyzing Elon Musk and Reviewing Distributed Grid ‘Fan Fiction’
Sonder Agency
What makes Elon Musk tick? What will the grid look like in 2030? This week, we (re)answer both of those questions. We're featuring a couple of our favorite podcast segments for your summer listening enjoyment. First up, a 2015 Energy Gang interview with Ashlee Vance, a Bloomberg reporter and author of the book Elon Musk: Tesla,… Read more
Grid Edge M&A Alert: Willdan Group Buys Integral Analytics for Up to $30M
Sonder Agency
Over the past decade, Cincinnati-based startup Integral Analytics has built a software suite that’s helping utilities around the country integrate distributed energy resources for real-time grid operations or decades-long planning horizons. Now IA’s software and customer base will be boosting the business of Willdan Group. The Anaheim, Calif.-based engineering design and services firm announced last… Read more
European Investment Bank Pumps $5B Into Renewables and Distributed Grid Upgrades
Sonder Agency
Renewable energy projects from Western Europe to Southern India are set to benefit from a European Investment Bank (EIB) financing package approved last month. The bank, the world’s largest international public lending institution, earmarked €4.3 billion ($5.1 billion) for energy sector initiatives within a €12.4 billion ($14.7 billion) investment war chest covering 53 projects. “These… Read more
PJM Talks to Congress, While FERC Waits On Appointees and the DOE Grid Study [GTM Squared]
Sonder Agency
New York Grapples With the Best Way to Promote Storage: Mandates or Market Reforms?
Sonder Agency
New York State is in the midst of a philosophical debate over how best to promote storage. The state's efforts to reform the electricity market have focused heavily on renewables, and the storage industry has been waiting for a big development of its own. The legislature took matters into its own hands last month and… Read more