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12.30.20 Grid Edge 1

The grid edge in 2020 was driven by decarbonization and climate change pressures, and by policy and technology advances.

Greentech Media’s Must-Read Grid Edge Stories of 2020

Decarbonization, resiliency, distributed energy market policy and M&A in the year of COVID-19.

by Jeff St. John

12.29.20 Grid Edge 3

Aggregated energy companies racked up new customer fleets and bigger investments in 2020.

10 Victories for Virtual Power Plants in 2020

When life went virtual, virtual power plants came alive.

by Julian Spector

12.28.20 0

Renewable energy developers are awaiting a restart of South Africa's long-delayed national procurement program.

South Africa Renewables Developers Impatient for New Bidding Opportunities in 2021

A stop-gap procurement ending this month raises hopes for a new bid window soon.

by Jason Deign

12.24.20 Solar 7

Clean energy and energy storage advocates are still pursuing a list of federal policies that didn't make it into this week's spending and relief bill.

What Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Did, and Didn’t, Get from Congress This Week

Yes on tax incentives, R&D funds and opening public lands. No on storage ITC, direct pay and a clean energy standard.

by Jeff St. John

12.23.20 Energy Storage 4

Behind-the-meter batteries like this AMS installation in Irvine can provide grid services and on-site backup power plus load management. (Credit: AMS)

PG&E’s Latest Energy Storage Procurement Includes Fleet of Behind-the-Meter Batteries

Distributed batteries join utility-scale energy storage projects to balance California’s solar-powered grid.

by Jeff St. John

12.22.20 Energy 44

Solar, wind tax credit extensions and clean energy R&D funding have made it through both houses of Congress.

Congress Passes Spending Bill With Solar, Wind Tax Credit Extensions and Energy R&D Package

UPDATE: Legislation includes energy R&D investment plan and key renewable energy tax credit extensions, but no “direct-pay” provisions.

by Jeff St. John

12.21.20 Grid Edge 6

Why Cities Are the Growth Market for African Minigrids

Villages get donor financing, but urban and ‘peri-urban’ areas are where minigrid developers are finding customers.

by Jason Deign

12.18.20 Grid Edge 32

Renewables could double by 2030 with key Biden administration steps, but hitting 50 percent will take stronger federal action.

Report Outlines How US Could Reach 50% Renewables by 2030

Biden administration actions could double renewables by 2030, but new laws will be needed to achieve greater gains, Wood Mackenzie finds.

by Jeff St. John

12.17.20 Energy 11

Princeton study charts path to a carbon-free U.S. by 2050, if radical shifts in generating and using energy can start now.

Princeton Study Charts a $2.5T Pathway to a Net-Zero Carbon US

The report forecasts massive renewables investments and radical shifts in transport, heating and energy, as well as a relatively slight increase in energy costs.

by Jeff St. John

12.16.20 Energy Storage 5

A former power plant site in Queens will host a 100-megawatt battery being built by 174 Power Global under contract to Con Edison. (Credit: Getty Images)

Con Edison Contracts Its Biggest Battery to Date in New York City

A 400-megawatt-hour battery from 174 Global Power will balance NYC’s energy needs with increasing offshore wind power capacity.

by Jeff St. John

12.15.20 Energy 17

Jennifer Granholm has been picked to lead the Energy Department under the Biden administration. (Credit: Getty Images)

Biden Selects Granholm as Energy Secretary, McCarthy for Climate Czar

The Biden administration’s energy and climate policy takes shape with top picks for key agencies.

by Jeff St. John, Emma Foehringer Merchant

12.15.20 Energy 23

Last-minute additions to omnibus spending bill could boost R&D spending for a wide array of clean energy technologies.

Clean Energy Funding Finds Its Way Into Congressional Spending Bill

A wide array of research and development funding for renewables, grid, nuclear and carbon capture could make it into the law.

by Jeff St. John, Emma Foehinger Merchant

12.14.20 Wind 0

Avangrid Renewables' Kitty Hawk project would be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts.

Avangrid Submits Plan for 800MW First Phase of Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Project

Avangrid’s project off Virginia and North Carolina coasts join gigawatts’ worth of offshore wind in the works along the Eastern seaboard.

by Jeff St. John

12.14.20 News 1

Duke, Dominion and Southern say the 15-minute trading platform could boost clean power and lower costs. Renewables advocates want deeper changes to Southeast energy markets.

Southeastern Utilities Launch Plan for Regional Energy-Trading Market

Utilities including Duke, Dominion and Southern tout the value of real-time trading, but proponents of clean energy want to see bigger steps.

by Jeff St. John

12.14.20 Energy 8

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hoping to create 250,000 jobs in the energy sector. (Credit: U.K. FCO)

New UK Proposals Chase More Nuclear and Higher Carbon Prices

Government confirms talks with EDF for a new 3.2-gigawatt plant and offers a glimpse of post-Brexit carbon trading.

by John Parnell

12.14.20 Grid Edge 3

Distribution grids will need more visibility as distributed energy grows.

Research Finds Unknown ‘Critical Points’ in European Grids

Finding from Depsys highlights need for network intelligence to speed the energy transition.

by Jason Deign

12.10.20 Grid Edge 3

California faces tough cost, reliability and technology choices when it comes to microgrid options for fire-prevention blackouts.

California Faces Big Challenges to Microgrid Plans for Wildfires and Outages

Proposed regulations have an uphill battle to speed PG&E’s switch from mobile diesel to cleaner, more cost-effective alternatives by 2021.

by Jeff St. John

12.09.20 Efficiency 20

Clean energy and health advocates are calling for California to expand regulations to require all-electric construction in new homes.

Debate on All-Electric New Buildings in California Is Coming to a Head

Clean energy groups, utilities and corporate giants are running out of time on the push for all-electric baselines to limit new natural gas build-out.

by Jeff St. John

12.09.20 Energy 4

Virginia's gigawatt-scale renewable growth plans aren't enough to zero out the state's carbon footprint.

Report: Virginia’s 100% Clean Energy Law Insufficient to Tackle Climate Change

Cash-strapped legislatures are confronting climate change amid a pandemic, and current policy likely needs expansion.

by Emma Foehringer Merchant

12.09.20 Energy 6

Heat pump installs will need to ramp up substantially to keep pace with government targets.

Can Flexibility Unblock the UK’s Heat Pump Potential?

Annual heat pump installs will have to increase by a factor of 30 to meet government ambitions. Integration with flexibility technologies could hold the key.

by Catherine Early

12.08.20 Energy 8

A global consortium including ACWA, CWP, Envision, Iberdrola, Ørsted, Snam and Yara targets 25 gigawatts of green hydrogen production by 2026.

Coalition Aims for 25GW of Green Hydrogen by 2026

Seven firms join forces for fiftyfold scale-up of global hydrogen production capacity.

by Jason Deign

12.08.20 Grid Edge 0

The U.K.'s decarbonization plans require substantial grid investment. (Credit: National Grid)

UK Regulator Approves £40B of Grid Investment, But Is It Enough?

The new spending framework won’t raise consumer bills, but network firms are unsure if it’s enough to hit net-zero targets.

by John Parnell

12.07.20 Energy Storage 5

Southern California Edison's second major battery procurement so far this year will bring 590 megawatts online by 2023.

Southern California Edison Inks Another Massive Round of Utility-Scale Battery Contracts

A total of 585 megawatts of utility-scale projects with Recurrent, NextEra and 174 Power Global/Hanwha Group, plus a 5-megawatt behind-the-meter contract with Sunrun.

by Jeff St. John

12.07.20 Grid Edge 6

OhmConnect's Resi-Station will provide 550 megawatts of power to California by toggling devices in thousands of homes. (Image credit: OhmConnect)

OhmConnect Raises Infrastructure Funding for 550MW ‘Power Plant’ of Home Demand Flexibility

Google-affiliated Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners invested $80 million in the power plant, $20 million in the company.

by Julian Spector

12.07.20 Grid Edge 5

Dynamic line rating can find unused capacity and test the health of transmission systems — if utilities and regulators can set rules for using it and investing in it.

Dynamic Line Rating: Expanding Transmission Grid Capacity for Clean Energy

European and U.S. utilities and regulators are taking the next steps to boost renewable integration by tracking power line capacity in real time.

by Jeff St. John

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

Greentech Media’s Must-Read Grid Edge Stories of 2020

10 Victories for Virtual Power Plants in 2020

South Africa Renewables Developers Impatient for New Bidding Opportunities in 2021

What Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Did, and Didn’t, Get from Congress This Week

PG&E’s Latest Energy Storage Procurement Includes Fleet of Behind-the-Meter Batteries

Congress Passes Spending Bill With Solar, Wind Tax Credit Extensions and Energy R&D Package

Why Cities Are the Growth Market for African Minigrids

Report Outlines How US Could Reach 50% Renewables by 2030

Princeton Study Charts a $2.5T Pathway to a Net-Zero Carbon US

Con Edison Contracts Its Biggest Battery to Date in New York City

Biden Selects Granholm as Energy Secretary, McCarthy for Climate Czar

Clean Energy Funding Finds Its Way Into Congressional Spending Bill

Avangrid Submits Plan for 800MW First Phase of Kitty Hawk Offshore Wind Project

Southeastern Utilities Launch Plan for Regional Energy-Trading Market

New UK Proposals Chase More Nuclear and Higher Carbon Prices

Research Finds Unknown ‘Critical Points’ in European Grids

California Faces Big Challenges to Microgrid Plans for Wildfires and Outages

Debate on All-Electric New Buildings in California Is Coming to a Head

Report: Virginia’s 100% Clean Energy Law Insufficient to Tackle Climate Change

Can Flexibility Unblock the UK’s Heat Pump Potential?

Coalition Aims for 25GW of Green Hydrogen by 2026

UK Regulator Approves £40B of Grid Investment, But Is It Enough?

Southern California Edison Inks Another Massive Round of Utility-Scale Battery Contracts

OhmConnect Raises Infrastructure Funding for 550MW ‘Power Plant’ of Home Demand Flexibility

Dynamic Line Rating: Expanding Transmission Grid Capacity for Clean Energy