The U.S. Department of the Treasury and IRS have released final rules on Inflation Reduction Act provisions that aim to expand the reach of the clean energy tax credits. The Act created the new elective pay and transferability credit delivery mechanisms that aim to help enable state, local and Tribal governments; non-profit organizations; and other entities take advantage of clean energy tax credits. Along with final rules on elective pay, the Treasury also issued a separate Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, intended to provide further clarity and flexibility for applicable entities that co-own clean energy projects and would like to utilize elective pay.
In a 13-0 vote on February 28, Los Angeles City Council members asked the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to report back on existing procedures for reviewing and adopting solar and battery storage technologies in commercial and residential properties, with “options to streamline these processes and related matters,” the Office of the City Clerk said. The vote builds on the City’s LA 100 plan and follows the adoption of similar streamlined approval processes in other municipalities, as cities like New York have sought to streamline their approval processes for solar panel installations.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has announced that the state has selected two projects to deliver 1,700 MW of offshore wind generation in its fourth offshore wind solicitation round. Equinor’s Empire Wind 1 project (810 MW) and Eversource and Ørsted’s Sunrise Wind project (924 MW) were awarded contracts. These projects had previously canceled contracts with the state but reached viable power purchase agreements in this latest round.
Battery energy storage systems (BESS) will not be permitted by Solano County for now. On February 27, the Solano County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to extend an emergency moratorium on permits through January 23, 2026. The energy storage units are a key component of Governor Gavin Newsom’s push for California to obtain 100 percent of its electricity from carbon-free sources by 2045. Permits for BESS were temporarily prohibited by Solano County in January, in response to public concerns over their safety.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has approved the Alta Wind Battery Energy Storage System project, which will be located within the existing right-of-way land of the Alta 1 Wind Facility project in Kern County. The BESS is being developed by independent power producer Clearway Energy, as per the BLM National NEPA Register.
Chevron New Energies said it will develop a 5 MW solar-to-hydrogen production project in the Central Valley. The facility will produce low-carbon hydrogen through electrolysis, a process of using electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The project will initially produce 2 tons of hydrogen each day, and the company claims its goal is to eventually create an expansive hydrogen refueling network.
NV Energy will spend about $1.75 billion to build a solar field and convert its last coal plant to natural gas, among other projects. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Friday approved several spending requests sought by NV Energy, including $1.5 billion to develop the Sierra Solar project in northern Nevada. Even as the PUC approved $1.5 billion for Sierra Solar, the commission put guardrails on the project, which NV Energy has said it would develop itself instead of relying on a third party. The PUC capped the Sierra Solar construction costs at $1.5 billion and said NV Energy would need to credit customers with damages if the solar field doesn’t meet its timeline of being complete by April 2027.
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