June 7
Alameda Eyes Energy Savings for Low-Income Customers
Top consumer smart grid news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Alameda Municipal Power has launched an energy savings program for low-income customers that aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions while lowering participants’ electric bills. Alameda Municipal Power estimates the program will save more than 660,000 kWh over its 18-month life span. Under the program, customers enrolled in Alameda Municipal Power’s financial assistance programs will qualify to receive free upgrades that include whole-house weatherization, LED lighting, advanced power strips and refrigerator replacements.
Enervee is pleased to announce that the SCE Cars Choice Engine® platform was launched on May 23 for Southern California Edison. SCE Cars will help customers in the market for an internal combustion engine vehicle — actually shopping for their next car — discover that an EV just might be their dream car... fun to drive, clean and affordable.
The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) recently signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Lendlease Energy Development for the output from a 160-megawatt solar project on the site of the decommissioned Rancho Seco Nuclear Generation Station. The Rancho Seco Solar II project will be the largest solar facility in Sacramento County, California, when it comes online, scheduled for the end of 2020.
Duke Energy Florida (DEF) announced Monday three battery storage projects totaling 22 MW, which will improve enhanced grid operations, improve reliability, increase efficiencies and provide backup generation during power outages. As the grid manager and operator, DEF can use the batteries to provide benefits such as balancing energy demand, managing intermittent resources, increasing energy security and deferring traditional power grid upgrades.
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Industry News
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that $5 million is available for projects that will help New York integrate renewable energy resources in ways that will improve the resiliency of the electric grid. Project proposals will be evaluated based on how they improve overall grid performance, reduce energy costs and support the state's clean energy goals to combat climate change.
Democratic Colorado Gov. Jared Polis last week signed seven climate and energy bills along with four electric vehicle bills and unveiled a roadmap of the state's path to 100-percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. The newly signed legislation will decarbonize the state's economy 90 percent below 2005 levels by 2050, codify Xcel Energy's 100-percent carbon-free electricity by 2050 goal and expand energy efficiency and EV programs in the state.
New research from the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) may help grid operators prepare for widespread electric vehicle adoption. The nonprofit research organization collaborated with the nonprofit Salt River Project in Arizona to analyze charging and driving data collected from nine Tesla drivers for one year to better understand the grid impact of their charging behavior and driving practices.
The U.S. energy storage industry installed a record amount of power capacity in the first quarter of 2019. The 148.8 megawatts of new grid storage capacity represented a 232 percent growth over Q1 2018, according to the latest edition of the Energy Storage Monitor report produced by Wood Mackenzie Power & Renewables and the Energy Storage Association.
