California

SACRAMENTO, CA (Sept. 19, 2018) – California Gov. Jerry Brown today signed into law a bill to protect the environment, workers, and local communities during the closure of  California’s last nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon near San Luis Obispo. Senate Bill 1090, which had wide bipartisan support, will help to ensure that the electricity generated by the […]

California Gov. Jerry Brown on September 10 signed into law a measure requiring the state to produce all its electricity from renewable sources by 2045. It’s a goal that also has been set by Hawaii and is being discussed by other states. Environmental groups and renewable energy advocates immediately praised Brown’s action. Utilities operating in […]

Lawmakers in California’s Assembly on August 28 cleared a key vote on a bill that would require the state to obtain 100% of all retail electricity sales from renewable and zero-emissions resources by 2045.  The state’s Assembly voted 43–32 in favor of SB 100. The bill, which now heads to the state Senate for a […]

OAKLAND, Calif. (August 7, 2018)—California can retire at least 28 of its natural gas plants because they are no longer needed to meet the state’s electricity needs nor its carbon emissions reduction goals, according to an analysis released today by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The study analyzed the operations of all 89 natural gas plants […]

Two planned solar projects in Nevada would be the first in that state to include battery storage, part of an increasing trend toward such projects to help mitigate issues with integrating renewable energy into the larger transmission grid. Both projects are scheduled to begin construction next year pending regulatory approval, with the Bureau of Land […]

ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — esVolta, a developer and owner of utility-scale energy storage projects across North America, has been selected by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) to build an energy storage system in Santa Clara County, California. Under the proposal, which is pending approval by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), esVolta will develop, […]

The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA’s) latest report on the nation’s power generation inventory expects 32 GW of new capacity will enter commercial service this year, the most in at least at decade. And for the first time in five years, renewable energy sources will not make up the majority of that new generation. Nearly […]

While 29 states and the District of Columbia currently have Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)—goals for power producers to provide a certain amount of power from renewable sources by a specific date—a growing number of states are also instituting standalone targets and mandates for energy storage procurement. Sources: Energy Storage Association, North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center, Lawrence Berkeley […]

Damage to the main and emergency spillways of the Oroville Dam in California, triggered in February 2017 by heavy rain that was part of Northern California’s wettest winter in almost 100 years, has brought

By Ken W. Irvin and David E. Kronenberg Sidley Austin, LLP In one of the first decisions of its kind, the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware held in In re La Paloma Generating Company, LLC that a power plant can be sold under Section 363 of the bankruptcy code free and clear of […]