Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 as a decentralized currency that could be transmitted through a peer-to-peer network and recorded on a ledger known as a “blockchain.” Like any new and emerging industry, cryptocurrencies have been subject to a high level of public, regulatory and legislative scrutiny.Continue Reading Bitcoin, Blockchain and Transmission System Capacity ─ A Renewable Solution?
Communities interested in cleaner energy, as well as greater control over their electric supply and reliability, are increasingly turning to microgrids — miniature power systems that serve an individual facility or area with electricity, either on its own or in concert with a larger power grid. Typically, a microgrid consists of energy generation and energy storage that can power a building or community and can be disconnected from the energy grid.Continue Reading Microgrids: Placing Energy in the Hands of the Consumer
In an order issued on February 11, 2021, the New York State Public Service Commission (“Commission”) established a “host community benefit program” through which owners of large-scale renewable energy facilities (25 MW+) would pay $500/MW (for solar) or $1,000/MW (for wind) each year for the first 10 years of project operation to be distributed equally among all residential utility customers residing in the municipality where the facility would be located. See Case 20-E-0249, In the Matter of a Renewable Energy Facility Host Community Benefit Program, Order Adopting a Host Community Benefit Program (issued Feb. 11, 2021) (“Host Community Benefit Program Order”). Such benefits would complement—not replace—the numerous other benefits that renewable projects bring to local communities through payment in lieu of taxes (“PILOT”) agreements and other community agreements that fund local programs and initiatives.
Continue Reading New York State Public Service Commission Establishes Host Community Benefit Program
The waning hours of the 2019 New York State legislative session saw both houses pass an extraordinary piece of legislation. The Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (“Act”) requires the State to achieve a carbon-free electricity system by 2040 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions 85% below 1990 levels by 2050. The Act creates and empowers
Throughout the first four years of New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision (“REV”) initiative, the precise role of energy storage has been unclear. There was no energy storage goal, only sparse incentives were available to spur development, the regulatory framework remained under construction, and the relatively nascent storage applications did not seem to fit within currently existing market mechanisms.
New York is now paving the way for a robust storage industry. In December 2018, the Public Service Commission (“Commission”) adopted an energy storage goal of 3,000 MW by 2030, with an interim target of 1,500 MW by 2025 (the “Storage Order”). To jumpstart the program, the Commission ordered Consolidated Edison to competitively procure and deploy 300 MW of energy storage by 2022, and the remaining utilities to each procure 10 MW of energy storage in their respective service territories.
Continue Reading New York Transforms Energy Storage Economics
New York State (“NYS” or “State”) is launching a second round of request for proposals (“RFPs”) for large-scale renewable projects. According to NYS Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”), the State is seeking to accelerate progress to achieve the lofty goals set in the Clean Energy Standard initiative that went into effect in August of 2016. As we have previously reported, the Clean Energy Standard mandates that renewable energy supply 50 percent of the State’s electricity needs by 2030. Large-scale renewable projects, such as utility-scale solar and wind, have been expected to carry a huge load in bridging the gap between the mandated 50 percent and the roughly 23 percent that was produced by renewables in 2016.
Continue Reading New York State Seeks Proposals for Large-Scale Renewable Projects