December 6
Austin Energy Details New Solar Standard Offer Program
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Austin Energy recently provided details on its new Solar Standard Offer program, which will allow commercial property owners to either host solar panels on their rooftops or lease their roof space to third-party solar developers. Energy produced through the Solar Standard Offer program will be sold to Austin Energy, feeding directly into the city’s growing renewable energy supply.
Utilities across the country are struggling to connect with customers, and green energy messaging isn’t helping. That’s according to Nathan Shannon, CEO and President of the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative. “[Consumers] are more concerned with making sure that they have enough to cover their own monthly bills,” Shannon said on the With Great Power podcast.
Demand flexibility programs are increasingly important as utilities strive to balance supply and demand on the grid. These programs offer a win-win solution for utilities and homeowners: utilities can reduce peak demand and improve grid reliability. At the same time, consumers can save money on energy bills by tapping into distributed energy resources (DERs).
Consumers Energy believes its investment in smart technology for Michigan’s electric grid is paying off, with the utility claiming the tech kept the lights on for over 72,000 customers who “would have otherwise lost power at some point” this year. Automatic transfer reclosers (ATRs) can be thanked for that, Consumers Energy said. So far in 2024, Consumers Energy projects those 72,000-plus customers would have lost power for a total of over 350,000 hours.
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Industry News
Can thousands of houses equipped with remote-control thermostats and other devices mimic what big power plants do for utility grids? EnergyHub, a software and services company that operates virtual power plants (VPPs) for about 70 utilities in 30 states, says yes – and it has a trove of data from three major U.S. utilities that shows how it can be done.
Utility-scale U.S. solar installations are set to continue record-breaking growth with over 32 GW installed in 2024, due in part to a requirement that modules imported during the anti-circumvention tariff moratorium be in service by December, according to a report recently released by the American Clean Power Association (ACP).
Florida Power & Light Company (FPL) responded to each of Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, restoring power to impacted customers in a limited time period. FPL’s enhancements to the electric grid, including building stronger infrastructure, undergrounding power lines and deploying smart grid technology helped customers avoid outages and speed restoration.
Transportation electrification, if not effectively managed, may become the most disruptive new electricity demand on the power system, analysts and utility leaders agree. Electric vehicle (EV) drivers prefer home charging for its low cost and convenience despite the longer charging times, according to a 2023 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
