By Kelsey Misbrener The House Appropriations Committee approved funding for a number of important environmental programs Friday as part of the FY21 funding bill for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of the Interior (DOI). Most notably, the budget dedicates emergency funding for many of the infrastructure proposals in the Moving Forward Act (H.R.2),…
By Kelsey Misbrener A new poll from Yale University, George Mason University and Climate Nexus found that at least 7 in 10 New Jerseyans support the proposals included in the New Jersey Clean Energy Equity Act currently on the agenda for the Senate Environment Committee meeting on July 16. The bill aims to help low-income…
By Kelly Pickerel California electricity provider Clean Power Alliance (CPA) has approved the Azalea Solar + Storage project. Azalea is the fourth renewable energy and storage project approved by CPA in the last three months, which will collectively result in $410 million in new investment in Southern California’s clean energy economy. All four projects will…
By Kelsey Misbrener The California Solar & Storage Association (CALSSA) unveiled a new series of virtual events called the Product Expo Series. Solar and storage expos in 2020 are a giant question mark, yet they remain an important way for the industry to connect, learn about new products and technologies, and get questions answered. CALSSA’s…
By Kelly Pickerel While the COVID-19 pandemic has reduced air pollution in the United States, the longer-term impact on the environment is unclear. In a recent study, MIT Sloan School of Management Prof. Christopher Knittel and Prof. Jing Li analyzed the short- and long-term effects, finding that the actual impact will depend on the policy…
By Kelsey Misbrener DTE Electric today received approval from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) for its Renewable Energy Plan. The plan will bring an additional 353 megawatts of wind and solar projects online by 2022. New solar projects in 2022 will triple DTE’s solar generation capacity. “These approved plans will enable DTE to meet…
By Kelsey Misbrener GRID Alternatives Inland Empire (GRID IE), an affiliate of GRID Alternatives, is a national leader in making clean renewable energy technology and job training accessible to communities who need it most. GRID IE was awarded a $2.05 million grant under the California Department of Community Services and Development (CSD) Low-income Weatherization Program,…
By Kelsey Misbrener Virtual Peaker and Generac have formalized a licensing agreement that fully integrates the Generac PWRcell suite of energy storage systems with Virtual Peaker’s advanced cloud-based distributed energy platform. The agreement allows Virtual Peaker access to Generac’s proprietary PWRcell control systems, allowing PWRcell systems to participate in utility companies’ grid services programs. Integration…
By Kelsey Misbrener Longroad Energy, a U.S.-based renewable energy developer, owner and operator, announced the financial close and sale of the Muscle Shoals Solar project, a 294-MWDC project located in Colbert County, Alabama. Ørsted, the global renewable energy company, acquired the project at financial closing. Muscle Shoals Solar, the largest renewable energy project in Alabama,…
By Kelsey Misbrener simPRO is supporting service-based businesses to achieve end-to-end asset maintenance with a connected and intelligent solution, simPRO IoT. simPRO IoT provides both software and hardware solutions to monitor remote assets and integrate data into field service management jobs and operations. “IoT is a solution that is revolutionizing the maintenance and service industry…
By Billy Ludt Eastern Mennonite School (EMS) has signed an agreement with Secure Futures Solar of Staunton, Virginia to install and operate solar panels on its Harrisonburg campus. The school’s solar arrays will generate a total capacity of 136 kW. The solar panels at EMS will offset nearly a third of the electricity used by…
By Billy Ludt Alliant Energy, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Iowa Economic Development Authority are jointly supporting a battery-storage solution in Decorah, Iowa that aims to connect customer-owned solar while maintaining reliable electrical service across the community. Battery storage is needed in Decorah because one electric circuit that serves the community will start…
By Kelsey Misbrener Five climate and energy-conservation groups took legal action in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to challenge an Arizona public power utility’s discrimination against rooftop-solar customers. The Salt River Project, a public power utility in Arizona, raised electricity rates for rooftop-solar customers by 60%. In response, rooftop-solar customers challenged the utility for…
By Kelsey Misbrener Smarter Grid Solutions (SGS) announced its ANM Strata distributed energy resource management system (DERMS) was awarded a contract to run a demonstration program as part of New York State Energy Research & Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Future Grid Challenge. Under the demonstration program, SGS will work with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Borrego Solar…
By Kelsey Misbrener Energy Toolbase, a software platform providing solar + storage modeling, energy storage system control and asset monitoring products, has integrated Delta, a leader in power and thermal management solutions. onto its sales and modeling software platform. This integration will empower renewable energy developers to objectively analyze and propose the economic value proposition…