November 6
Xcel Targets $1.4 Billion in Wind and Solar Investments
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Xcel Energy is asking Minnesota regulators to approve $1.4 billion in new wind and solar investments in the next 12 months and is outlining plans for electric vehicle charging, energy storage and green hydrogen production pilot programs to meet its goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The new wind and solar plans announced recently are additions to a $22.6 billion, five-year capital investment plan from the multistate utility.
Bidgely is advancing electrification initiatives with global utilities and energy retailers through applied artificial intelligence and personalization techniques proven to drive customer engagement and operational efficiencies. The company equips utilities with the ability to identify EVs in the home, create personalized customer load-shifting incentives and pinpoint customers with a higher propensity to invest in EVs or solar.
Dominion Energy Virginia has proposed nine new solar facilities that would generate nearly 500 MW of renewable energy for customers. This builds on what is already the third-largest solar portfolio among utility holding companies in the United States. “This filing is another concrete step toward our commitment to bring more renewable energy to Virginia and build a clean, sustainable future for our customers and our Commonwealth,” Ed Baine, President of Dominion Energy Virginia, said.
Across the U.S., governments at all levels are prioritizing climate action and setting intense carbon-reduction goals. New York and Pennsylvania, along with 24 other states, have joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, which pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26 percent by 2025 – a steep goal now only five years away. The electric power industry is a long-standing partner in this push toward a clean energy future, as demonstrated by its significant CO2 emissions reductions.
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Industry News
The U.S. wind industry set a record in the third quarter, installing nearly 2,000 MW of new wind power capacity, according to the American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Powers America Third Quarter 2020 Market Report. These strong third-quarter numbers bring the total American wind capacity to nearly 112,000 MW. The report says U.S. wind is on pace for a record year as installations through the third quarter are up 72 percent over the first nine months of 2019. Market fundamentals and consumer demand continue to drive U.S. wind development.
A new analysis by Rewiring America, a grant-funded non-profit, shows that transitioning to 100-percent clean energy would save Americans as much as $321 billion in energy costs. The report, No Place Like Home: Fighting Climate Change (and Saving Money) by Electrifying America’s Households by Drs. Saul Griffith and Sam Calisch, finds that the 100-percent clean energy transition would be mean up to $2,585 per year in savings to each American household’s energy bills.
Long Island could become a hot spot for replacing old fossil-fueled power plants with batteries. The geography of the island constrains access to electricity; it relies on a fleet of aging oil- and gas-fired power plants to meet peak demand. That practice runs up against New York state’s crackdown on its dirtiest power plants and its concerted push toward a clean grid by 2040.
The California Public Utilities Commission said utilities are on track to meet renewable energy requirements for 2020, according to its annual Renewables Portfolio Standard report. The state’s RPS requires utilities, electric service providers and community choice aggregators to procure 33 percent of retail sales per year from renewable sources by 2020 and 60 percent by 2030. By 2045, the goal is to have a 100-percent carbon-free electric grid.
