The amount of new power generation and energy storage in the transmission interconnection queues across the U.S. continues to rise dramatically, with over 2,000 GW of total generation and storage capacity now seeking connection to the grid, according to new research by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Solar, battery storage, and wind energy account for 95% of all proposed capacity. The overall growth of capacity in the queues occurred despite major slow-downs in two of the largest grid operating regions: CAISO and PJM. Due to the influx of new interconnection requests in 2021, CAISO did not accept new requests in 2022 as they process the backlog.
U.S. residential solar installers are bracing for a slowdown this year as California, the sector's pioneer and biggest market, is days away from slashing a subsidy for panel owners that has underpinned more than a decade of explosive growth. Solar companies say the move threatens California's efforts to decarbonize the grid by 2045 by slowing installations, while state regulators say the reform will shore up power reliability by adding new incentives for homeowners to buy batteries that store clean power on site.
The Biden administration is offering $8 billion to entice the nation's industries, engineers, and planners to figure out how to produce and deliver clean hydrogen. States and businesses recently made their final pitches as they compete for a new program that will create regional networks or "hubs" of hydrogen producers, consumers, and infrastructure. California has a renewables-only plan to use hydrogen to decarbonize transportation, ports, and power plants.
The California Public Utilities Commission recently gave final approval to a $200 million community microgrid development program that will be undertaken by the state's three investor-owned utilities. The Microgrid Incentive Program will focus on bringing community microgrids to disadvantaged and tribal communities vulnerable to power outages.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the construction of a 732-mile high-voltage transmission line across the Western U.S. that will help transport renewable energy. TransWest Express, which is expected to create 1,000 new jobs, will transport electricity generated by North America’s largest onshore wind venture, the 3 GW Chokecherry and Sierra Madre Wind Energy Project, located in Wyoming.
The Clean Power Alliance has approved a 15-year power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy Resources for a 75 MW long-duration standalone energy storage project. The project at NextEra’s Desert Sands Energy Storage facility in Riverside County, will begin storing and discharging energy in June 2026.
Clearway Energy Group has closed financing on two solar and storage projects located on federal land in Riverside County. The Victory Pass and Arica solar projects will have a combined capacity of 463 MW of solar and 186 MW of battery storage. They were the first projects located in areas identified as suitable for renewables as part of BLM's Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan.
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