The Biden administration on April 25 finalized a rule meant to speed up federal permits for major transmission lines, part of a broader push to expand America’s electric grids. Administration officials are increasingly worried that their plans to fight climate change could falter unless the nation can quickly add vast amounts of grid capacity to handle more wind and solar power and to better tolerate extreme weather. Under the new rule, the Energy Department would take over as the lead agency in charge of federal environmental reviews for certain interstate power lines and would aim to issue necessary permits within two years. Currently, the federal approval process can take four years or more and often involves multiple agencies each conducting their own separate reviews.
California is pushing ahead with its energy transition objectives in its latest annual transmission plan, published this month. The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) proposes to invest $6.1 billion in 26 grid improvements to connect new renewable energy projects by 2035, it said. The draft plan will support 38 GW of new solar capacity, including in the Westlands area in the Central Valley and portions of San Bernardino County and Riverside County, as well as southern Nevada and western Arizona. Most of these grid projects involve upgrading existing grid infrastructure, such as installing transformers or stringing new conductors to existing towers. The majority of the grid investments would be used to facilitate 4.7 GW of new floating wind projects, CAISO noted.
New York has declined to award final contracts to three major offshore wind projects, citing an “inability to come to terms” with developers after their wind-turbine supplier, GE Vernova, changed its manufacturing plans. The proposed offshore wind farms represented 4,000 MW of total clean-energy capacity and a large portion of the state’s ambitions to install 9 GW of offshore wind by 2035. The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority said it will look to open another competitive bidding round to fill the hole created by the latest cancellation. The state successfully salvaged two previously endangered projects earlier this year through a fast-tracked auction process — the 924 MW Sunrise Wind project and the 816 MW Empire Wind 1 project — albeit at much higher power prices.
On most days for the past month, renewable energy has powered 100 percent of California’s main grid for at least 15 minutes. That’s largely thanks to solar power, according to an analysis from Mark Z. Jacobson, a Stanford University civil and environmental engineering professor. California installed 2,300 MW of solar in 2023, an increase of 18 percent over 2022. CAISO said the grid broke two records in April for renewable energy supply, but it couldn’t confirm Jacobson’s findings without doing a similar analysis.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $7 billion to 60 recipients under the Solar for All provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act. Per the IRA, the funds must be used to improve low-income households’ access to solar energy. Awarded funds went to community solar projects, initiatives offering loans and grants to low-income households looking to install rooftop solar, and to initiatives aimed at reducing barriers associated with siting, permitting, and interconnection, according to EPA.
Clearway Energy Group has commissioned its Victory Pass and Arica solar-plus-storage plants in Riverside County, adding a total of 463 MW of solar and 186 MW in battery energy storage systems (BESS). The vast power plant complex will be capable of generating enough electricity to power 205,000 homes.
Carlsbad is working with consultants and industry experts to build a solar energy farm on 30 to 40 acres the city owns at the Maerkle Reservoir. The Carlsbad Municipal Water District recently completed a feasibility study and is on track to select a development partner by the end of the year. Up to 8 MW could be generated by the system, said the city’s Senior Engineer Keri Martinez.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and the New York Power Authority began construction of what the state calls its largest onsite solar plus storage project to date: a solar carport canopy at John F. Kennedy International Airport. The solar carport will be erected as a canopy and is expected to generate 12 MW. The project will also include a 7.5 MW BESS.
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