May 29
Xcel Proposes Transportation Electrification Plan
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Xcel Energy’s Public Service Company of Colorado recently proposed the company’s largest-ever transportation electrification plan in an effort to advance EV adoption and lower carbon emissions in the state. The Colorado plan includes goals of launching 20 new programs for home, multi-family, commercial fleet and community-based charging; rebate programs; initiatives for low-income customers; and an EV school bus program. Xcel Energy is also looking at research on new technology and advisory services to educate the public on EVs.
When we talk about smart energy, thoughts often veer toward rooftop solar panels, the latest smart thermostat models, home energy storage or a Tesla Model S electric vehicle – all of which require substantial investments. This has led some to believe that smart energy is only for more affluent consumers – or that low- and moderate-income consumers are not interested in smart and clean energy technologies and related programs.
PG&E has requested approval of five energy storage projects totaling 423 MW, in a filing with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The projects are intended to further integrate clean energy from renewable generation sources while ensuring future reliability of the electric system. The agreements for the projects are a result of a competitive request for offers the PG&E launched in February following a November 2019 CPUC decision that identified potential reliability issues beginning in 2021.
U.S. electric utilities have increasingly ambitious goals, and Commonwealth Edison is no different. Its parent company, Exelon, supports Illinois’ push for 100-percent clean energy. But like most of the country, it has been laser-focused on meeting the challenges of the current pandemic. Utility Dive spoke recently with ComEd’s President and Chief Operating Officer Terry Donnelly, who said priorities like social distancing “quickly became apparent.”
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Industry News
The Vermont Public Utility Commission approved two new home battery programs proposed by Green Mountain Power (GMP). GMP’s new programs — Tesla Powerwall and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) – have proven to show cost savings and seamless backup power during outages in pilot programs. GMP’s BYOD tariff program was developed in partnership with solar companies and Renewable Energy Vermont. It offers up to $10,500 in upfront incentives to customers purchasing their own batteries through local installers.
Wisconsin utility Alliant Energy will spend $900 million buying 675 MW of utility-scale solar projects as it moves to replace uneconomic coal-fired plants with renewables. Alliant, which serves about one million customers in Wisconsin and Iowa, currently relies on renewables for about 20 percent of its generation capacity, largely wind power in Iowa, with twice as much coming from natural gas plants. On Tuesday, Alliant said it will “acquire” six large-scale solar projects in Wisconsin from developers.
The road to recovery for the backbone of the American economy, our small businesses, will be long and arduous as the nation continues to grapple with an incalculable public health and jobs emergency. Our federal policymakers took strong actions to address the immediate needs of small businesses and their employees during the economic shutdown. Now, with the country reopening, our federal leaders must find innovative ways to continue to support these businesses, which deliver half of the country’s GDP and employ half of our workforce, as they claw back from the human and financial devastation wrought by COVID-19.
Working with the solar industry and regulators, Hawaiian Electric has been able to reduce the amount of time it takes to activate a new private rooftop solar system. Company officials said it takes about two months less than it did previously to go from application to activation – about 50 percent less time than it did before. Among the improvements, customer systems smaller than 25 kW with proper activated protective equipment can now turn on as soon as the building permit closes.
