Soon the cup of coffee customers buy from a Starbucks in the state of Illinois will be brewed using renewable energy generated by wind turbines. The Seattle-based coffee giant recently signed a long-term agreement with Constellation, Exelon’s commercial business, to power more than 340 Starbucks locations in Illinois with 100% carbon-free energy.
On April 24, 2018, the New York Public Service Commission (PSC) initiated a new proceeding as part of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) to explore the role of electric utilities in providing infrastructure and rate design to accommodate the needs and electricity demand of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure.
On February 15, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously approved Order 841, which is designed to remove barriers for the participation of energy storage resources in wholesale markets.
In November 2017, the Atlanta City Council unanimously passed ordinance 17-0-1654 in an effort to increase electric vehicle (EV) readiness and adoption. The ordinance implements construction policies that make new commercial and residential properties more supportive of EV adoption.
In April 2017, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) published a guide that provides state regulators and other decision makers with a framework for addressing advanced energy storage in their markets. The report, Charging Ahead: An Energy Storage Guide for State Policymakers, attempts to provide a systematic approach to explore actions and pathways for wider spread storage deployment.
In July 2017, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 589 with provisions to develop more than 3,200 MW of solar energy in the state. The bill also included an 18-month moratorium on wind farm permits to assess the impact of interference wind turbines could have on military operations.
In April 2017, General Electric completed the world’s first hybrid battery-gas turbine system for Southern California Edison. The demand for grid flexibility requires quicker response times by traditional gas generation entities. Natural gas-storage hybrid systems are slowly starting to appear in the market to fill this void.
In October 2016, Volkswagen (VW) agreed to pay $14.7 billion as part of a settlement related to diesel vehicles violating Clean Air Act regulations. For electric utilities, settlement investments may improve the availability and adoption of electric transportation, which may ultimately result in electric load growth.
Maryland will offer tax credits for residential and commercial energy storage projects beginning in 2018. Although Maryland is not the first state to provide incentives for energy storage, the use of tax credits marks a departure from recent energy storage mandates.
Consolidated Edison (Con Edison), in conjunction with FleetCarma, recently introduced the “SmartCharge New York” program. The program rewards electric vehicle (EV) owners for charging during off-peak hours and providing critical data on electric-delivery system impacts.
Increasing penetration of renewables and the associated overproduction risk will require innovation in traditional solar power purchase agreement (PPA) structures. In January 2017, the Solar Electric Power Association and ScottMadden released a report analyzing potential alternative approaches to curtailment for PPA structures in Hawaii.
Partially driven by securitization and strong investor appetite, property assessed clean energy (PACE) loans are forecasted to double over the next year and potentially become the fastest growing method of financing in the United States. However, as these loans have ballooned they have come under criticism by consumer and real-estate industry groups.
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