Two approaches to prevent queue-jumping by thermal generation: Grid Strategies LLC and American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) found evidence that priority transmission access offered by three grid operators has yielded generating portfolios “heavily weighted” to thermal resources. #EnergySky

Plan now for faster clean energy support in a future presidential administration, a report says. The authors seek to enable construction of federally supported clean energy projects during a single presidential administration. (My latest for PV Mag USA) #EnergySky pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/11/21/p...

PJM agrees with many of RMI's recommendations for speeding transmission interconnection, and reported interconnection study progress. Even so, a GridLab report found PJM's capacity costs would have been lower with just 10% of queued renewable and storage projects. (My latest for PV Mag) #EnergySky

In Puerto Rico, residential solar and storage growth outpaces utility-scale developments: Puerto Rico has reached 1.3 GW of residential solar and 185,000 residential batteries, while utility-scale solar and storage projects are gearing up. My latest for PV Magazine USA. #EnergySky

In Virginia and New Jersey, solar and storage goals include surplus interconnection: Incoming governors in both states campaigned on broad clean energy platforms, while Advanced Energy United sees underused points of interconnection as the best solar and storage opportunity in Virginia. #EnergySky

Illinois to add 3 GW of batteries, saving consumers $12 billion over 20 years by reducing capacity costs. Transmission improvements to speed renewable deployment are also in the works. #EnergySky

While other utilities are “dabbling” with solar, Florida Power & Light is combining solar and storage as a “workhorse” technology, said Stephen Smith, executive director of @cleanenergy.org--showing what a committed utility can do. My latest for PV Magazine USA. @maggieshober.bsky.social #EnergySky

Geothermal developer Mazama Energy aims for 5¢/kWh power: The company says it has accessed a world-record high temperature geothermal resource, and that hotter underground rocks can enable lower-cost power. (My latest for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

New York utility aims to expand its flexible interconnection pilot: After operating a 15 MW solar plant with flexible interconnection that requires occasional curtailment but not grid upgrades, Avangrid aims to expand flexible interconnection on its distribution grid. My latest for PV Mag #EnergySky

Large-scale renewables have likely reduced electricity prices in recent years, while net energy metering and RPS policies generally increased prices, researchers found. But states with the highest share of renewable generation in 2024 had among the lowest prices. #EnergySky

19 states sue EPA to reinstate $7 billion of Solar for All funding: The lawsuit alleges that EPA’s cancellation of Solar for All grants violated a federal law and a provision of the U.S. Constitution, and asks the court to reinstate the grants. #EnergySky pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/21/1...

Rondo Energy's 100 MWh heat battery powered by 20 MW of onsite solar: Heat batteries for storing industrial process heat can also be powered by low-cost grid electricity generated at sunny and windy hours, the company said. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

PJM grid region needs 16 GW of storage by 2032, says Brattle study: “Hundreds of storage projects are stalled in PJM’s interconnection queue,” said the Energy Storage Coalition. pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/10/15/p... #EnergySky

Court orders FEMA to consider distributed solar and storage for Puerto Rico hurricane recovery. Up to $11 billion in federal funds may still be available. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA)

California required new hardware for dynamic pricing, and manufacturers built it: As California works to launch opt-in dynamic pricing of electricity that favors low-cost renewables, three manufacturers now offer 73 models of a type of price-responsive device. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA)

As bidirectional EV charging grows, a utility group suggests requiring interconnection of bidirectional chargers to enable grid compensation for EV owners while enhancing safety. #EnergySky

California is the first state to enable distributed solar or storage projects to use flexible interconnection, but the hardware required to flexibly control output may not yet be available. #EnergySky

Deploy grid-forming batteries now to avoid costly infrastructure later, says ESIG: Large-scale batteries with grid-forming software can sustain grid reliability as renewables replace synchronous fossil generators, says an ESIG report. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

California requires utilities to offer dynamic pricing that favors low-cost renewables: Solar trade group SEIA said dynamic pricing would reduce renewable curtailment and could in the long term reduce costs for all customers. (My latest for PV Magazine) #EnergySky pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/09/11/c...

Dynamic pricing is superior to virtual power plants, says dynamic pricing pioneer Edward Cazalet. California is pursuing dynamic pricing of electricity to help integrate renewable generation and reduce customer costs. (My interview story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

PJM could fast-track 102 GW of solar and 24 GW of storage at underused points of interconnection, with deployments within 1-2 years, found researchers Umed Paliwal and Amol Phadke. #EnergySky

New Jersey utilities must now explain their votes on matters decided by grid operator PJM. The practical effect may be merely informational, given that most other utilities served by PJM are not subject to such a law, and utilities collectively have only a 20% voting share in PJM votes. #EnergySky

Data center firms could buy utilities and add renewables, says Simon Mahan, executive director of the Southern Renewable Energy Association. We interviewed him to learn more; here are his condensed remarks. @simonmahan.bsky.social

California could move quickly to enable 23 GW of renewables near existing thermal generators, in time for the projects to qualify for tax credits before they expire, says a think tank policy director. Quoted in my latest story for PV Magazine USA is an LA Times opinion piece by @oboylemm.bsky.social

Starving Gazans Need the US Navy’s Help, says retired US Navy admiral James Stavridis in a Bloomberg Opinion piece at lnkd.in/eusXdxum #LetFoodIntoGaza #StopTheHolocaust

Marjorie Taylor Greene calls Israel's Gaza policy "Genocide," per New York Times. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/29/u...

A low-cost high-renewables grid will require much more high-capacity transmission, but the pace of transmission development is not keeping up, says a report from Americans for a Clean Energy Grid prepared by Grid Strategies. (Reconductoring of existing transmission was not considered.) #EnergySky

A GridLab and Telos Energy study suggests that building and connecting clean energy projects now awaiting interconnection could serve near-term demand growth--so keeping old coal and adding new gas aren't needed. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #energysky pv-magazine-usa.com/2025/07/21/c...

Low-cost alternatives to solar-stalling "direct transfer trip" requirements: A utility requirement to use “direct transfer trip” often makes solar projects uneconomical, while the hazards targeted by DTT can be met effectively with far less costly options. (My latest for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

Grid operators plan billions for transmission to meet load and connect renewables. Industry experts discussed the forces driving regional transmission planning, the net benefits of transmission, and the impact of high-capacity transmission projects. #EnergySky

Speeding interconnection through automation: A major U.S. grid operator has shown that interconnection automation is feasible, but there is “much more to do,” said a software executive. Another said that eight transmission planners using his firm’s software can do the work of 80. #EnergySky

Google aims to boost transmission capacity with advanced conductor upgrades (my latest story for PV Magazine USA). Google seeks to help deliver more power to areas where it has data centers. Large solar projects near reconductored lines could benefit. #EnergySky @ctcglobal.bsky.social

US Army: Fighting kings and fascists since 1775--my favorite "No Kings" sign in my hometown.

Flexible transmission allocation would allow Western solar projects to proceed, helping states reduce electricity costs and meet renewables targets, suggests a report. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky @ricoconnell.bsky.social

Grid operator SPP partners with Hitachi to reduce interconnection study times by 80%, addressing SPP’s portion of a national bottleneck of 2,500 GW of solar, wind and storage projects awaiting interconnection. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA)

Tiny solar-plus-battery kits in rural Ghana yield annual savings exceeding one-time hardware cost (My latest story for PV Magazine) #EnergySky @kleinmanenergy.bsky.social

States have an opportunity to influence transmission providers to adopt advanced conductors and other technologies that increase transmission capacity, says a renewables trade group. Added transmission can enable more solar to connect to the grid. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

A Boston hospital’s 572 kW battery is expected to pay for itself in 7 to 10 years. It should earn $80,000 per year by providing energy to help meet peak demand, and save $57,000 per year by reducing the hospital’s own peak usage. (My latest story in PV Magazine USA) @cleanenergygroup.bsky.social

A consulting firm incubated by Google will collaborate with grid operator PJM to streamline interconnection applications--the first step to enable new generators to connect to the transmission grid. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky #PJM #interconnection

California is doubling energy storage capacity every 1.2 years, according to physicist Daniel Snowden-Ifft. (Story by John Fitzgerald Weaver in PV Magazine USA)

Better transmission planning in the Southeast can save billions, largely by enabling access to low-cost clean energy, says a Brattle report prepared for three business groups. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky @simonmahan.bsky.social

Eight states are now pursuing bidirectional, vehicle-to-grid charging of electric vehicles, which can help balance renewable generation. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky #V2G #V2X #bidirectional #EVcharging #vehicletogrid

Reaching 90% renewables in the SPP grid region can maintain stable electricity rates, Brattle finds, in a study requested by SPP and prepared by Brattle. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) Senior author: @jpfeifen.bsky.social

A federal regulator recommends using automation to speed interconnection: A FERC commissioner said that automation software took just ten days to reproduce an interconnection cluster study for renewables projects that had taken two years of human labor to complete. (My latest for PV Magazine USA)

A federal grid planning authority could counter utility incentives to stall transmission, a law professor has proposed. As an alternative, she proposed near-term measures in that direction. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) @shelley-w.bsky.social

Eliminating tax credits would reduce #solar and #wind deployment by half, says Brattle, in a report prepared for ConservAmerica. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA)

Massachusetts will pilot vehicle-grid integration statewide: Owners of an eligible electric vehicle could receive one of 100 free bidirectional chargers plus compensation for participating. The state plans to prepare a V2X guidebook aimed at scaling the pilot program. #EnergySky

Tax "luxury emissions" from private jets, mega-SUVs, yachts, and "multiple mansions," say law professors Shellley Welton and Clint Wallace. One-page abstract is not paywalled.

Consumers will pay billions due to “very slow” interconnection of new generators, nearly all renewables, in the PJM grid, says a study by Grid Strategies. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) #EnergySky

Solar-friendly policies that states can pursue to control the cost of electricity include demand flexibility, advanced conductors and virtual power plants, as well as lesser-known approaches, says RMI. (My latest story for PV Magazine USA) @rockymtninst.bsky.social #EnergySky