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02.02.21 9

PG&E's remote-grid initiative envisions an off-grid solar, battery and generator option to remove power lines that risk sparking wildfires.

PG&E Plans Utility-Owned ‘Remote Grids’ for Isolated Communities

Replacing power lines with solar, batteries and generators could cut fire risk and save money — in some limited cases.

by Jeff St. John

02.01.21 Grid Edge 8

SPP's energy trading market expansion is one of several steps across the U.S. to grow electricity markets and interstate transmission for a renewable-powered grid.

Growing Energy Markets: Southwest Power Pool Expands Day-Ahead Trading to the West

The latest real-time energy market expansion underscores a growing appetite for sharing renewable power across regions.

by Jeff St. John

01.28.21 Grid Edge 8

Former FERC commissioners lend weight to new report calling for a major reworking of federal transmission policy.

Report Calls for a Ground-Up Overhaul of Federal Transmission Grid Policy

Seven former FERC chairs and commissioners agree: The U.S. transmission grid needs to expand dramatically to meet clean energy goals.

by Jeff St. John

01.28.21 Grid Edge 0

Social Energy plans to expand home solar-battery aggregations from the U.K. to Australia, Japan and continental Europe. (Credit: Social Energy)

UK Solar and Battery Aggregator Social Energy Raises Cash, Plans Expansion

CarVal Investors makes “significant investment” in startup controlling batteries for U.K. grid services.

by Jason Deign

01.27.21 Energy 16

President Biden's new executive orders range from federal clean energy and EV procurement and R&D to environmental justice. (Credit: GTM)

Biden Executive Orders Set Broad Federal Role in Clean Energy and Climate Change Mitigation

The orders combine federal clean energy and technology procurement, R&D support and environmental justice.

by Jeff St. John

01.27.21 Grid Edge 2

Utilities are using ConnectDER's meter collar device to smooth solar installation costs and capture grid data. (Credit: ConnectDER)

Con Edison Tests ConnectDER as a Utility Touchpoint for Distributed Energy

Can a meter socket plug-in device bridge the rooftop solar (and battery, and EV charger) gap between utilities and customers?

by Jeff St. John

01.26.21 Energy 12

The Sierra Club's definition of what utilities must do to reduce carbon emissions is very different from how utilities have set their own targets.

New Report Shows Gap Between Utility Carbon Pledges and Climate Change Imperatives

The Sierra Club says utility pledges “greenwash” coal and natural gas. Utilities point to the costs of massive fossil plant shutdowns.

by Jeff St. John

01.25.21 Energy 2

Corporate giants are seeking federal policies to expand wholesale energy markets and harmonize decarbonization policies nationwide. (Credit: Google)

What the Biggest Corporate Energy Buyers Want From Federal Clean Energy Policy

Companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart, Disney and Mcdonald’s lay out their policy priorities.

by Jeff St. John

01.22.21 Grid Edge 16

Booming rooftop solar installations are pushing utilities and solar inverter makers to integrate flexible export controls into grid operations.

Australia Looks to Smart Inverters to Cram More PV Into World’s Top Solar Market

South Australia tests a flexible-exports scheme this year in a bid to add rooftop solar to the grid.

by Jason Deign

01.21.21 Energy 13

New FERC chair Richard Glick, pictured with fellow FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, will bring Democratic leadership to a federal agency core to President Biden's clean energy agenda. (Credit: FERC)

President Biden Names Richard Glick as FERC Chair

A new leadership role for a key Democratic opponent to Republican-supported policies at a vital federal agency.

by Jeff St. John

01.20.21 Energy 16

President Joe Biden has moved quickly on the earliest steps of his climate and energy plans in his first day in office.

Inauguration of President Biden Kicks Energy and Climate Agenda Into Action

Hours after being sworn in, Joe Biden resubmits U.S. to Paris Agreement and lays the groundwork for a major climate-change mitigation push.

by Jeff St. John, Julian Spector, Emma Foehringer Merchant

01.19.21 Grid Edge 5

California agencies face a tight deadline to take steps to prevent more rolling blackouts this summer.

Final Analysis of California’s August Blackouts Yields Few Surprises and a Tight Deadline for Solutions

Quick supply and demand-side actions could forestall future rolling blackouts, but how to get there is open to debate.

by Jeff St. John

01.19.21 Wind 1

Mainstream has worked on a number of offshore wind projects, including the 3 GW Hornsea project in the U.K., later sold to Ørsted. (Credit: Ørsted)

Aker Horizons Buys Up Mainstream Renewable Power

The Norwegian firm acquires a 75 percent stake in Mainstream Renewable Power, an Irish developer.

by Jason Deign

01.19.21 Energy Storage 5

Spain's Ebro river, the source of a reservoir that's the target of two competing pumped-hydro storage project proposals.

The Stretch of River Holding Spain’s Pumped Hydro Future

Two projects are vying to make Spain a European pumped hydro leader by 2030.

by Jason Deign

01.15.21 Grid Edge 5

California regulators are directing $200 million in utility funding to build microgrids that can power communities during fire-prevention blackouts.

California Sets $200M Budget for ‘Complex, Multi-Property Microgrid’ Projects

Utility funding for community resilience against fire-prevention outages doesn’t go far enough, microgrid groups argue.

by Jeff St. John

01.13.21 Wind 0

New York's biggest round of offshore wind contracts yet anchor Gov. Andrew Cuomo's latest green investment plan.

New York’s Latest Clean Energy Push Includes 2.5GW of Offshore Wind Contracts for Equinor and BP

The largest U.S. offshore wind contract to date is a centerpiece of Gov. Cuomo’s new call for expanded clean energy investment.

by Jeff St. John

01.13.21 Grid Edge 1

Pearl Street Technologies is applying integrated-circuit modeling techniques to planning a more optimal transmission grid.

Pearl Street Technologies: A New Way to Optimize the Transmission Grid

Carnegie Mellon spinout raises funds for integrated-circuit modeling tech adapted to model renewables-rich power grids.

by Jeff St. John

01.12.21 Grid Edge 8

Transmission upgrade costs are barring wind and solar projects from interconnecting to the grid, despite growing demand for clean energy.

Report: Renewables Are Suffering From Broken US Transmission Policy

Interconnection backlogs and excessive upgrade costs require ground-up reform to solve, grid advocates say.

by Jeff St. John

01.08.21 Grid Edge 6

New Jersey's first large-scale smart meter deployment comes on condition of giving customers access to data.

New Jersey Approves PSE&G’s $778M Smart Meter Rollout

The state’s first big AMI deployment comes with a demand from the regulator to share data and value with customers.

by Jeff St. John

01.08.21 Grid Edge 25

Cross-country transmission networks could drive down costs, reduce technology challenges, to reaching zero-carbon electricity, new study says.

MIT Study: Transmission Is Key to a Low-Cost, Decarbonized US Grid

Modeling shows a nationwide transmission network could tap existing solar, wind and battery tech to reach zero-carbon power.

by Jeff St. John

01.07.21 Grid Edge 1

The project will help avoid or delay infrastructure investments and avoid system-balancing costs. (Credit: National Grid)

New UK DERMS Project Targets Flexibility Across Distribution and Transmission Grids

Smarter Grid Solutions to work with the regional DNO and U.K. system operator on the whole-system platform.

by John Parnell

01.07.21 Perspectives 3

Decisions made about today's smart meter deployments could affect the energy transition for decades to come.

Industry Perspective

We Already Have the Key to a Clean Energy Economy. We’re Just Not Using It

Smart meters can optimize the grid and empower customers — if regulators and utilities can ensure they’re used that way.

by Nora Mead Brownell and Josh Brumberger

01.05.21 6

Google Nest and other major behind-the-meter flexibility providers say California's regulations need to change to enlist demand response to prevent grid emergencies.

California’s Big 2021 Decision on Grid Reliability: Expand Supply or Manage Demand?

Google Nest and other distributed energy providers demand fast action to bolster behind-the-meter flexibility.

by Jeff St. John

01.04.21 Grid Edge 10

Renewable energy can weaken the inertia needed to keep power grid frequency stable, forcing grid operators to find new ways to measure and manage it.

Reactive Technologies: Pinpointing the Inertia of Renewable-Powered Grids

Accenture investment to expand the U.K. company’s active grid measurement tech for grid operators including National Grid and AEMO.

by Jeff St. John

01.04.21 Energy 54

Small modular reactors stand a chance of being built by decade's end under new government funding programs.

Nuclear Enters 2021 With Buoyant Global Outlook for Small Modular Reactors

SMRs get a boost with policy moves in the U.S., U.K. and Canada.

by Jason Deign

How Cheap and Abundant Can Clean Power Get?

Climate Fintech Startup Atmos Financial Puts Savings to Work for Clean Energy

Could Chile’s Auction Help Save CSP From Oblivion?

What the Coming Wave of Distributed Energy Resources Means for the US Grid

Extreme Weather Keeps Maxing Out the Grid

A Wartime Plan for Electrifying America

An Island’s Path to 100% Renewables

Greentech Media Chronicled Clean Energy Before It Was Cool

Are Batteries at a Turning Point?

Vestas Ventures Makes First Investment With Stake in Wooden Tower Start-Up

Vestas Launches World’s Largest Turbines as 'Big 3' Competition Ramps Up

BP, RWE and EnBW Win Big in UK Offshore Wind Leasing Round

How Cheap and Abundant Can Clean Power Get?

Climate Fintech Startup Atmos Financial Puts Savings to Work for Clean Energy

Could Chile’s Auction Help Save CSP From Oblivion?

Regulation & Policy

PG&E Plans Utility-Owned ‘Remote Grids’ for Isolated Communities

Growing Energy Markets: Southwest Power Pool Expands Day-Ahead Trading to the West

Report Calls for a Ground-Up Overhaul of Federal Transmission Grid Policy

UK Solar and Battery Aggregator Social Energy Raises Cash, Plans Expansion

Biden Executive Orders Set Broad Federal Role in Clean Energy and Climate Change Mitigation

Con Edison Tests ConnectDER as a Utility Touchpoint for Distributed Energy

New Report Shows Gap Between Utility Carbon Pledges and Climate Change Imperatives

What the Biggest Corporate Energy Buyers Want From Federal Clean Energy Policy

Australia Looks to Smart Inverters to Cram More PV Into World’s Top Solar Market

President Biden Names Richard Glick as FERC Chair

Inauguration of President Biden Kicks Energy and Climate Agenda Into Action

Final Analysis of California’s August Blackouts Yields Few Surprises and a Tight Deadline for Solutions

Aker Horizons Buys Up Mainstream Renewable Power

The Stretch of River Holding Spain’s Pumped Hydro Future

California Sets $200M Budget for ‘Complex, Multi-Property Microgrid’ Projects

New York’s Latest Clean Energy Push Includes 2.5GW of Offshore Wind Contracts for Equinor and BP

Pearl Street Technologies: A New Way to Optimize the Transmission Grid

Report: Renewables Are Suffering From Broken US Transmission Policy

New Jersey Approves PSE&G’s $778M Smart Meter Rollout

MIT Study: Transmission Is Key to a Low-Cost, Decarbonized US Grid

New UK DERMS Project Targets Flexibility Across Distribution and Transmission Grids

We Already Have the Key to a Clean Energy Economy. We’re Just Not Using It

California’s Big 2021 Decision on Grid Reliability: Expand Supply or Manage Demand?

Reactive Technologies: Pinpointing the Inertia of Renewable-Powered Grids

Nuclear Enters 2021 With Buoyant Global Outlook for Small Modular Reactors