The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection took possession of Pacific Gas & Electric electrical equipment as part of the investigation of the Zogg Fire in Shasta County, PG&E said in an Oct. 9 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The fire began on Sep… Read MoreQuick Bites: Energy News Roundup
Top Stories
- CAISO, State Agencies Pin Down Causes of August Blackouts
- CEC 'Cleaning Up' Solar and Battery Storage Rules With an Eye to Limiting Exports
- CPUC Nixes BPA Northwest 'Conservation Transfer' Pilot Proposal
- Tri-State to Begin Partial-Requirements Contracts in 2021, Reduce Rates by 2023
- Supreme Court Takes Climate Torts Case
The consensus is broad, especially in California, that anthropomorphic climate change is a serious problem, but at what point does it become a blanket excuse to cover for a lack of adequate planning? Read MoreHas Climate Change Become a Blanket Excuse for Poor Energy Planning?
Wholesale energy prices decreased in the second quarter of 2020, according to a California Independent System Operator Department of Market Monitoring report. Read MoreCAISO Report: Energy Prices Down in Q2
State energy regulators are crafting building-code revisions for solar-photovoltaic and battery energy storage systems, and will try to encourage certain multifamily and commercial building customers with PV systems to use or store more of their self-generated electricity on-site, rather tha… Read MoreCEC 'Cleaning Up' Solar and Battery Storage Rules With an Eye to Limiting Exports
The California Energy Commission on Oct. 7 introduced potential energy-efficiency code revisions that would reduce peak electricity demand in the state and avoid tens of thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent per year. Read MoreCEC Reveals Potential Energy-Efficiency Code Revisions
Pacific Gas & Electric will "crowdsource" potential safety risks in high-fire-threat areas using a mobile phone application, the California Public Utilities Commission decided this week. Read MorePotential PG&E Safety Violations Can Be 'Crowdsourced,' CPUC Decides
The California Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 24 rejected a proposal for a small-scale pilot project to prove out the concept of "conservation transfer" from the Pacific Northwest to California, although one commissioner said the parties should try again. Read MoreCPUC Nixes BPA Northwest 'Conservation Transfer' Pilot Proposal
In the latest Energy West podcast, Clearing Up's Dan Catchpole and California Energy Markets' Jason Fordney talk about California's call for thousands of megawatts of new generation, the coal-fired Colstrip power plant's new lease on life, what it is going to take to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant open, and the latest legal challenge to Washington's new carbon emissions cap-and-invest program.
We want to hear from you on energy issues and to share your thoughts with our readership. Read moreVoices From Behind the Meter
I want to commend you for writing what is simply the best article about the transmission issues in [Colorado's San Luis] Valley yet. Read moreKudos for CEM Transmission Story
Climate change-induced extreme heat, a failure to meet planning targets and certain practices in the day-ahead electricity market were the main factors in the rolling blackouts in California in mid-August, a new multiagency report says. Read MoreCAISO, State Agencies Pin Down Causes of August Blackouts
Two community choice aggregators have signed resource-adequacy contracts for battery energy storage from a facility under development in Northern California. Read MoreRCEA, VCE Ink Storage Resource-Adequacy Contracts
The Clean Power Alliance board of directors at its Oct. 1 meeting signed power contracts that will bring additional solar and new battery storage to the community choice aggregator's long-term renewables portfolio. Read MoreCPA Signs New Solar, Storage Contracts
Wholesale electricity market prices were highly competitive in the California Independent System Operator in the second quarter due to favorable market conditions, and lower electricity load and natural gas prices pushed down costs compared with the prior quarter, CAISO's market monitor said… Read MoreCAISO Monitor Says Second-Quarter Markets Competitive
Dry conditions during the state's 2020 water year translated into a dramatic cut in hydroelectric generation sent to the California Independent System Operator grid, according to recent reports. Read MoreSmall Snowpack Dries Up CAISO Hydro
Only one out of every five clean-energy workers who lost their jobs in the U.S. between March and May have returned to work, according to an Oct. 7 analysis of clean-energy sector employment data. Read MoreClean-Energy Jobs Recover, but Lag Behind Other Industries
Increased opportunities for self-generation and the promise of rate reductions within the next few years are the latest offerings Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association is making available to its utility members. Read MoreTri-State to Begin Partial-Requirements Contracts in 2021, Reduce Rates by 2023
Record-breaking temperatures throughout the western U.S. and discrepancies between forecast and actual load, combined with severely limited electricity markets, led NV Energy on Aug. 18 and 19 to issue two energy conservation requests, the utility told regulators in an Oct. 5 filing. Read MoreNV Energy Explains What Led to August Conservation Requests
The Colorado Public Utilities Commission, under a mandate in the state's climate action plan, on Oct. 7 opened an investigative proceeding into greenhouse gas emissions from the retail natural gas industry. Read MoreColorado Regulators to Investigate Retail Natural Gas Emissions
Utah regulators on Oct. 6 concluded six days of hearings and public comment on proposed changes to the compensation rate PacifiCorp subsidiary Rocky Mountain Power currently pays rooftop solar customers for power exported to the grid. Read MoreUtah PSC to Decide New Export Rate Versus Return to Net Metering
Proponents of a carbon capture, utilization and sequestration project proposed for one of the West's largest remaining coal-fired power plants say the project could make a New Mexico town into a world leader in the technology while boosting employment and tax revenues. The plant's operator, … Read MoreDOE, Stakeholders Bullish on San Juan CCUS; Current Operator Has Questions
The Supreme Court on Oct. 2 agreed to hear an appeal touching on whether climate torts litigation can be heard in state courts. Read MoreSupreme Court Takes Climate Torts Case