Grid Edge

Grid Edge 0
Understanding the Texas Grid Failure

Understanding the Texas Grid Failure

This week on The Energy Gang: we dissect what went wrong in Texas.

by Stephen Lacey
Energy Storage 34
Not all lithium-ion batteries are created equal. Proponents of the less-fire-prone LFP variety think the technology's time has come.

Will Safer Batteries Finally Take Over the Home Storage Market?

Tesla and LG Chem rule the market with their NMC battery products, but the LFP battery contenders believe their technology’s time has come.

by Julian Spector
Grid Edge 48
The massive blackouts across Texas are pushing regulators and policymakers to consider the threat of winter demand peaks and power-plant-disabling temperatures.

Texas Energy System Faces a Winter Reckoning

Widespread power plant failures spur calls for better weatherization and an examination of bulk power market structures.

by Jeff St. John
Grid Edge 9
Demand charges are a big problem for EV fast-charging. Finding the right rates to replace them requires a careful balancing act. (Credit: EVgo)

Getting the Rates Right for a Public EV Charging Build-Out

Demand charges can tank the economics of early-stage electric-vehicle charging rollouts. Replacements must balance support for EV growth with fair cost-sharing.

by Jeff St. John
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Grid Edge 87
A winter storm of historic proportions has shut down power plants and forced Texas grid operator ERCOT to cut off to power millions of utility customers.

Winter Storm Forces Blackouts Across Texas

Grid operator ERCOT has lost 34 GW of generation as extreme cold shuts down generators, leaving about 2.5 million customers without power.

by Jeff St. John
Grid Edge 5
FERC Chair Richard Glick has a long list of priorities for the key federal energy regulator. Many of them align with the Biden administration's energy transformation goals. (Credit: FERC)

New FERC Chair’s Focus: Environmental Justice and Climate Change Impacts

Glick’s priorities include fair treatment of new technologies and state policies, as well as transmission and interconnection reforms.

by Jeff St. John
Grid Edge 7
Bloom Energy is targeting carbon-free markets with hydrogen fuel cells, electrolyzers and carbon capture and storage built on its core technology. (Credit: Bloom Energy)

Bloom Energy Charts a Future in Hydrogen Fuel Cells, Electrolysis and Carbon Capture

Fourth-quarter performance and bookings boost profitability target to 2021 for natural-gas fuel cells. Hydrogen and carbon capture are the next steps.

by Jeff St. John
Grid Edge 53
Grid-scale batteries and hybrid renewable-storage projects are growing in scale, and transmission grid operators are struggling to manage them. (Credit: Stem)

How US Grid Operators Plan To Tackle Energy Storage at Gigawatt Scale

Batteries and hybrid renewables-plus-storage projects will be a massive grid resource. Transmission grids and energy markets will need to adapt.

by Jeff St. John
Energy 21
Community choice aggregators in Northern and Central California have created a supergroup of renewables purchasing power.

California CCAs Form Joint Buying Group, Creating Big-Time Power Purchaser

Community choice aggregators, already poised to add most of California’s new clean power, are teaming up to go big on contracts.

by Emma Foehringer Merchant
Energy 10
Startup C-Zero sees a cost-competitive pathway for

C-Zero Raises $11.5M to Scale Up ‘Turquoise Hydrogen’ Technology

Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Eni Next back the startup’s plan to make low-cost, carbon-free hydrogen from natural gas.

by Jeff St. John
7
Arizona's Corporation Commission has been at work on regulations requiring 100 percent clean energy; Republican legislators are not thrilled.

Arizona Bills Threaten ‘Showdown’ Over 100% Clean Energy Rules

Regulators were expected to move forward with a carbon-free requirement for investor-owned utilities. New legislation questions their authority to do so.

by Emma Foehringer Merchant
Grid Edge 8
California regulators are planning a new approach to enlisting behind-the-meter batteries, solar, electric vehicles and other assets to replace grid upgrades.

California’s Plan: Crowdsource Distributed Energy to Replace Grid Upgrades

The Partnership Pilot could start to enroll solar, batteries, EVs and other behind-the-meter assets as non-wires alternatives later this year.

by Jeff St. John
Utilities 20
There’s a Dirty Secret Behind Many Utility Climate Pledges

There’s a Dirty Secret Behind Many Utility Climate Pledges

This week on The Energy Gang, we discuss what integrated resource plans tell us about the seriousness of utilities’ climate goals.

by Stephen Lacey
Energy 4
The latest report on reaching net-zero carbon by 2050 breaks down the potential benefits on a state-by-state basis. (Credit: NASA)

A State-by-State Model of the US Net-Zero-Carbon Future

A new study forecasts clean energy’s economic benefits for middle America as well as the East and West Coasts.

by Jeff St. John
Smart Homes/Smart Buildings 13
What Could Dethrone Solar in Residential Energy?

What Could Dethrone Solar in Residential Energy?

This week on The Interchange: Do we need to flip the model for the cleaner, energy-aware home?

by Stephen Lacey
Energy 14
A new bill supercharges prior versions of a national green bank with $100 billion in capitalization.

National Green Bank Bill Targets $100B for Business Sectors Key to Biden’s Climate Agenda

A new push to support hard-to-commercialize clean energy and carbon-cutting investments with federal funding.

by Jeff St. John
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
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
Energy 1
Early-stage investors are looking for startups that can shave soft costs and expand access to clean energy.

The Rules for Early-Stage Cleantech Venture Capital Investment in 2021

Create incremental improvements, serve new national climate-change imperatives, and put social impacts front and center.

by Jeff St. John
California’s Battery Cavalry Arrives, But Maybe Not Soon Enough
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California’s Battery Cavalry Arrives, But Maybe Not Soon Enough

The state’s hoping for an unlikely fast-tracked battery build-out, even as some of the biggest storage plants in the world come online.

by Julian Spector |
Energy 13
GM CEO Mary Barra stands before a chassis bearing the automaker's Ultium battery platform, which will supply its newly expanded electric vehicle goals. (Credit: GM)

General Motors Pledges a Zero-Emissions Light-Duty Vehicle Fleet by 2035

Biggest U.S. automaker will have 30 all-electric models by 2025 and zero out corporate emissions by 2040.

by Jeff St. John
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
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
Energy 3
Granholm faced questions on the future of fossil fuels and her commitment to transitioning workers to new jobs.

Energy Secretary Nominee Granholm Talks Clean Energy Jobs at Confirmation Hearing

The Energy Secretary nominee who says she’s “obsessed with creating good jobs” pledged to support clean energy industries but shied away from condemning fossil fuels.

by Emma Foehringer Merchant
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