June 11
Duke Files Phase II Electric Transportation Programs
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Following six months of stakeholder input, Duke Energy recently filed an additional $56 million proposal of Phase II programs to continue the advancement of transportation electrification in North Carolina. The filing follows the November 2020 North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) order approving the company's $25 million Phase I electric transportation pilot program.
Demand-side flexibility can support widespread electrification and a renewables-based power grid by providing operating reserves throughout the year thus reducing the need for natural gas plants and energy storage to fill in demand gaps, according to a new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).
Southern California Edison’s support of California's clean energy goals hit a tangible milestone in May with the completion of upgrades to the SCE’s West of Devers transmission lines. The project increases transmission capacity necessary to bring renewable generation from desert areas in the eastern part of California to the population centers of the Inland Empire and San Gabriel Valley.
Although it has yet to be built, 350 MW of energy from NextEra Energy Resources, LLC’s Clearwater Wind Project in Montana has already been spoken for by Puget Sound Energy (PSE), in an agreement that will bring the utility’s wind portfolio to 1,500 MW total. This new arrangement will last 20 years, with power drawn from a subsidiary of NextEra.
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Industry News
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper laid out ambitious offshore wind goals Wednesday as the state pushes toward its aim of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 70 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Cooper's executive order calls for the state to develop 2.8 GW of offshore wind projects by 2030 and 8 GW by 2040, or enough turbines to power 2.3 million homes.
In 2018, U.S. consumers drove about 17 million new cars off dealership lots. But more than double that number bought used cars – from neighbors, used car dealerships or marketplaces like Craigslist. Electric vehicle boosters are encouraging states to consider this trend in designing EV incentive programs to help the country rapidly decarbonize transportation.
Michigan-based Consumers Energy is accelerating the electric vehicle transformation with a new program to help businesses statewide transition to carbon-free EVs. The utility’s PowerMIFleet program will focus on Michigan businesses, offering expertise and $3 million in rebates for charging locations throughout the state.
According to Wood Mackenzie and the U.S. Energy Storage Association’s (ESA) latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report, 910 megawatt-hours (MWh) of new energy storage systems were brought online in the first quarter of 2021, an increase of 252 percent over the first quarter of last year, making it the biggest first quarter so far for the U.S. storage market.
