October 30
Ameren Set to Transform into a Clean Energy Machine
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Having reached its carbon-reduction Paris Agreement objectives five years early, Ameren Corp. has decided to upgrade its carbon emissions plans, going net-zero CO2 company-wide by 2050 and expanding solar and wind generation – goals aimed at essentially transforming the utility into a clean energy machine. Ajay Arora, Vice President of Power Operations and Energy Management at Ameren, said perfect timing basically helped spur the upgraded plans.
Itron this week announced that NB Power will deploy its multi-purpose solution, including an IoT network and more than 350,000 Measurement Canada-approved distributed intelligence-enabled smart meters, to modernize its electricity grid. The project is a part of NB Power’s overarching smart grid program, which aims to create a modern grid that is smarter, cleaner, more resilient and efficient.
NorthWestern Energy is looking to update its 1,200 vehicle fleet with electric options, signaling its intention to make 30 percent of its light-duty and new bucket vehicles, along with 20 percent of its new medium and heavy-duty vehicles and all-new forklifts, electric by 2030. That work will get underway soon as NorthWestern will begin pursuing replacements by year’s end. Its fleet currently includes two electric power take-off bucket trucks and a Chevrolet Bolt, divided between South Dakota and Montana.
Dominion Energy recently announced another step to drive EV adoption, save customers money and reduce emissions in Virginia. Rebates for charging stations for multifamily communities, workplaces, transit bus depots and fast-charging locations are now available. A rebate program for the company's residential customers will launch in Virginia in early 2021. The rebates for infrastructure, chargers and network fees range from $2,000 to more than $50,000 per project.
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Industry News
The costs of utility-scale battery storage in the United States fell about 70 percent between 2015 and 2018, according to data compiled by the Energy Information Administration (EIA), a part of the Department of Energy. The average energy capacity cost of utility-scale battery storage went from $2,152 per kWh in 2015 to $625/kWh in 2018, according to the EIA. The agency noted, however, that costs vary widely by region and by application.
Maryland energy company Pepco filed a multi-year plan with the Maryland Public Service Commission to invest in the grid. Pepco’s multi-year plan includes hundreds of projects to modernize and reinforce the local energy grid between 2021 and 2023. These projects seek to improve system performance through the installation of more modern equipment. It also includes a proposal to transition to more efficient smart LED streetlight technology between 2022 and 2026.
Amid massive wildfires, rolling blackouts and the continued threat of large-scale grid outages, California is shifting more than $100 million of its $1.2 billion Self-Generation Incentive Program budget to help low-income communities install about 100 MW of stalled behind-the-meter battery projects. The shift won’t tap the $613 million in SGIP funds earmarked for low-income and medically vulnerable customers at highest risk of fire-prevention power outages.
The levelized cost of onshore wind generation has declined two percent over the past year to an average of $26/MWh, while the cost of utility-scale solar dropped nine percent to an average of $31/MWh, when accounting for government subsidies, according to an annual analysis released last week by Lazard, a financial advisory and asset management firm. Despite ongoing cost reductions, the rate of decline has slowed for both onshore wind and utility-scale solar.
