April 3
SMUD Invests $524,000 in Local Nonprofit Projects
This week's top smart energy news, curated by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC).
Member News
SMUD has awarded 25 local nonprofits with more than $524,000 in funding from its annual Shine program. The Shine program, now in its ninth year, is supporting nonprofit programs that engage communities across SMUD’s service area in an equitable transition to a clean energy future. Out of the 104 organizations that submitted applications, 25 were selected for their vision which aligns with SMUD’s 2030 Zero Carbon goal.
The Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative (SECC), a nonprofit organization that studies consumer behaviors, interests and concerns in the energy transition, this week released the findings of the “Consumer Understanding of Demand Response” survey, which was fielded to a nationally representative sample of 2,091 Americans over 18 years old.
Blake Herrschaft has plans to fully electrify his Tahoe City, California, home, which runs on a slim 100 amps of electrical service. But even with a hot tub, in an area that sees an average of 15 feet of snow per year and temperatures that dip into the single digits, his house won’t need an expensive service upgrade. “I’ve done the calculations,” he said.
U.S. electricity prices have risen significantly in recent years, though “national trends mask stark differences” in state prices, according to an analysis by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and The Brattle Group. Whether you take a “crisis” or “more nuanced view” of the increases, one thing is likely: “Record levels of [investor-owned utility] rate increase requests and regulatory approvals suggest additional near-term price increases absent policy/market actions.”
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Industry News
Solar and wind developers around the world just keep getting defeated – by themselves. Yet again, a record amount of new solar and wind capacity came online globally last year, according to the latest numbers by think tank Ember. The jump was sizable: Additions exceeded the prior year’s by 17%. Not to pit friends against each other, but solar is the clear front-runner when it comes to renewables deployment.
Solar developers installed 26.5 GW last year, down 22% from the 33.8 GW they installed in 2024, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Despite this decrease, solar still led all other generation sources in 2025 installations. As of December, solar now makes up 12.2% of installed generating capacity in the U.S., according to FERC – trailing only natural gas at 42.2% and coal at 14.3%.
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission recently approved the 2025 Clean Energy Implementation Plan (CEIP) for Avista Utilities, an operating division of Avista Corp. The plan outlines Avista’s strategy for an equitable transition to clean energy resources, including specific targets for renewable energy and energy efficiency, supporting Washington’s clean energy goals.
California lawmakers face a make-or-break choice about the state’s biggest and most successful virtual power plant program: Give it enough money to keep running this summer or scrap it altogether. The administration of Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed ending the four-year-old Demand Side Grid Support program, which pays homes and businesses to send rooftop solar power back to the grid or reduce their energy use during times of peak electricity demand.
