Blog Archive - Former CESA Staff & Guests
Federal Support on Capacity Can Boost Regional Wind Goals
In December 2019, FERC, the federal regulatory body overseeing wholesale transmission and regulating regional transmission system/independent system operators, expanded the Minimum Offer Price Rule (MOPR), effectively prohibiting offshore wind and other state-supported resources from participating in capacity-market auctions. The rule made it difficult for offshore wind providers to participate in capacity market auctions. Now, to…
The Offshore Wind and Green Hydrogen Nexus: Exploring Europe’s Approach
The Clean Energy States Alliance recently released a new report that looks at the development of green hydrogen (H2) from offshore wind. Georgena Terry chatted with report author Val Stori to glean some of the highlights from the report. GT: How might green H2 fit into the energy system? VS: Traditionally, hydrogen has been industrially…
Five Months into the Biden Administration: A Whirlwind of Federal Action on Offshore Wind
In late March, President Joe Biden announced an offshore wind goal of 30 GW by 2030 in a manner that protects environmental assets and creates employment. Through a coordinated multi-agency approach, Biden plans to fast track the deployment of utility scale offshore wind. The focus will be on the creation of well-paying jobs, infrastructure investment,…
State and Federal Initiatives Increasingly Promote Energy Equity
For clean energy to succeed on a broad scale, it must benefit all communities, not just affluent ones. Recognition of the environmental justice and equity components of clean energy is essential for the successful adoption of clean energy technologies in under-resourced communities. This was acknowledged at the federal level as long ago as 1994, when…
Offshore Wind Solicitations Address Equity
Energy equity has become an increasing priority at both the national and state levels. As offshore wind moves into a major development phase, ensuring that it advances energy equity and environmental justice is essential. For the federal government, President Joe Biden elevated the importance of an “equitable, clean energy future” in his January 27, 2021…
Going Solar+Storage in Vermont: CESA’s Janice Ouellette Shares Her Story
My husband Dan and I feel very fortunate to live in the “Green” Mountain State of Vermont. In recent years, programs have emerged that have brought clean, renewable and affordable energy to the residential sector in the form of solar PV plus battery storage. Our path to solar plus storage has been a two-stage process,…
New York State announces second offshore wind solicitation for up to 2,500 MW of projects
New York State issued its second offshore wind solicitation for 1,700 MW up to 2,500 MW—the largest such solicitation in the United States. The state’s first offshore wind solicitation in 2017 resulted in contracts for 1,700 MW of wind energy. Offshore wind is positioned to help New York achieve its goal of 50% renewable generation…
DC Court Upholds Major FERC Storage Order, Should Lead to Massive New Battery Markets Across Country
This morning, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit upheld a major federal rule (FERC Order 841) that should lead to significantly expanded battery storage use in wholesale markets across America. In a hotly contested case, a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit unanimously ruled that FERC has the authority to require states…
The New England Battery Revolution: In a Public Health Crisis, State Efficiency Programs Are Making Resilient Power Affordable for All
In this time of the coronavirus, losing electricity has more far reaching consequences than ever before. To those at home with children, a power outage could mean no distance learning; to those with home-based medical equipment, it could mean illness or worse; to those now working remotely, it could mean inability to run a business,…
A Small-Scale Solar Project with a Big Impact in LaGrange, Georgia
The LaGrange Housing Authority in LaGrange, Georgia has found novel ways to advance renewable initiatives in a state that does not offer the kinds of support, programs, or incentives for renewable energy offered in many other places.