Solar

Prices for solar energy systems fell to record lows across all sectors in 2015, according to two new reports from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The LBNL reports, released on August 24, are Tracking the Sun IX, which focuses on installed pricing trends in the distributed solar photovoltaic (PV) market, and Utility-Scale Solar 2015, […]

A unanimous vote by New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission (PRC) today determined that Public Service Co. of New Mexico (PNM) will be allowed to provide new renewable capacity to a proposed Facebook facility through a special service agreement.

Reliability and cybersecurity ranked as the two most important issues currently confronting the electric industry, according to surveys completed by 672 qualified utility, municipal, commercial, and community stakeholders for Black & Veatch’s “2016 Strategic Directions: Electric Industry Report.” It’s not particularly surprising to see reliability rank at the top of the list. “Reliability has always […]

The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) approved New York’s Clean Energy Standard on August 1, likely saving three upstate nuclear power plants, while requiring 50% of the state’s electricity to come from renewable energy sources by 2030. Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) praised the action in a statement following the announcement. “New York has […]

Power and utility deals through Q2 2016 are already outstripping full-year totals for previous three years.

The U.S. nuclear power business is in trouble, and Exelon has six units totaling more than 5,300 MW of dependable capacity on the chopping block. How will the Chicago electricity giant respond? Perhaps by acquiring more merchant nuclear capacity?

Despite escalating growth over the past decade, the U.S. solar power sector faces potentially crippling issues concerning module supply, workforce deficiencies, and grid interconnection obstacles, according to industry experts attending an international solar and energy storage convention. The country added an estimated 14.5 GW of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity in 2016, and by 2021, […]

  Pairing solar with energy storage will be integral to cement the future of both emerging sectors, said experts at the Intersolar North America’s annual event held this week in San Francisco. The three-day event and exhibition was co-located with ees North America, a stand-alone event focused on energy storage technologies and services. But experts […]

The “polar vortex” storm of January 2014 blew in big changes to PJM Interconnection’s operations. But these changes are now the subject of a lawsuit filed by environmental groups, alleging they discriminate against clean energy sources. The sub-zero temperatures froze coal piles and gearboxes. Natural gas plants, lacking firm contracts for fuel delivery, were unable […]

Renewable generation is usually characterized as more environmentally friendly than fossil fuels, and in many respects, that’s true. But there is a growing recognition that solar and wind generation have their own impacts, and an increasing number of manufacturers and generators are looking for ways to minimize them. Iceland might be about the last place […]