Photo by Ryan McKnight, via Flickr.

FERC 841 Opens Markets to Energy Storage

Last month’s FERC order 841 was hailed by some as a watershed moment in energy storage history. But the devil’s in the implementation, according to Mike Berlinski of Customized Energy Solutions.
Photo Credit: CJG3/ BigStock.com

California Utilities Propose Storage for Energy Resilience and Equity, But More Needs to be Done

Three of California’s largest utilities recently proposed more than 100 megawatts of utility-owned energy storage to support resiliency in critical public facilities and $6 million in incentives for customer-owned storage at multifamily affordable housing properties.
Photo by Autoridad de Energía Eléctrica (AEE), Feb 12 2018.

Federal Energy Funds for Puerto Rico, A Small Down Payment

Just this past week, Puerto Rico suffered another setback in its effort to restore power to the island. One of its 400 megawatt power plants caught fire, plunging people back into the darkness.

The Launch of a U.S. Offshore Wind Industry

Contributing to the growing list of major milestones for the U.S. offshore wind sector, this week the Governors from both New York and New Jersey announced commitments to launch the nation’s largest offshore wind solicitations. These commitments confirm the strong business case for offshore wind.

It’s Time to Recognize the Value of Resilience

Extreme weather and related power outages come with a price tag, but these costs are not typically accounted for when considering the potential benefits of a resilient power system. The result is that fewer solar+storage systems pencil-out to make economic sense than would be the case if the power resilience they provide was accurately valued.
Block Island Wind Farm. Photo by Val Stori, Clean Energy Group.

Will 2018 Be Another Good Year for U.S. Offshore Wind?

2017 was a banner year for offshore wind in the U.S. Boosted by the start of commercial operations at the Block Island Wind Farm in December 2016, the offshore wind sector gathered momentum and made significant progress over the year.

Powerless in Atlanta

Any investigation into the massive power outage at Atlanta’s international airport last month should not only look back to see what went wrong. Rather, it should look forward to how the airport could use new technologies like solar and battery storage to prevent such disasters from happening again.

Massachusetts Announces More Energy Storage Grants

Last week, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $20 million in grants to support 26 energy storage projects in 25 Massachusetts communities. This grant program puts the state clearly in the storage leadership role in the East.

Equitable Health and Recovery Depend on Resilient Power

When natural disasters strike, people suffer, and the worst hit are invariably the most vulnerable among us – the elderly, the disabled, and the economically and socially disadvantaged.
Workers install new solar panels on a building in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Photo courtesy of Empowered by Light.

Mission, Money & Markets: Bringing Solar+Storage, New Capital to Post-Maria Puerto Rico

Funding from the Kresge Foundation will enable Empowered by Light to deploy resilient power and water systems on at least three fire stations in Puerto Rico. The resulting clean energy and water will have significant public health and safety benefits for the communities surrounding these stations.