U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman, who represents California’s north coast, has sent a letter to federal regulators asking that they “urgently place” a senior official in the state to respond to tribal needs as wind power is developed offshore. He sent the letter as the U.S. offshore wind industry begins to take shape and as tribal communities in California and Oregon express frustration with what they say is a lack of consultation on proposals that affect culturally significant waters and land. BOEM said that while it does not publicly comment on congressional correspondence, it will continue to refine the way it engages with tribes.
The United States has officially exceeded five million solar installations, just eight years after the country reached one million installations in 2016. According to data released by the Solar Energy Industries Association and Wood Mackenzie, over half of all U.S. solar installations have come online since the start of 2020 and over 25 percent have come online since the Inflation Reduction Act became law just 20 months ago.
The days of diesel fumes choking the air for hundreds of Bay Area students appear to be in the rearview, thanks to a partnership deal struck by Oakland Unified School District. Oakland Unified announced that it is the first school district in the nation to use a fully electric bus fleet after partnering with electric bus startup Zum. The new school buses act like “virtual power plants” or VPPs, giving roughly 2.1 GwH of energy back to the grid by charging overnight and running on electric batteries at high usage times.
The New York state Public Service Commission has adopted a statewide ‘Solar for All’ program that aims to spur development of solar and retail energy storage projects, Governor Kathy Hochul’s office announced. The program pools credits associated with renewable generation and distributes those credits on the bills of the utility-managed Energy Affordability Program customers.
In the past few months, various bills seeking to reverse or amend California’s regulatory push against rooftop solar have faltered in the state capitol. The exception, so far, is Senate Bill 1374, which passed the Senate on May 20. The proposed bill would amend the November California Public Utility Commission decision that prevents schools, farms, apartment buildings, and other types of customers from using the solar power they generate to offset their power purchases from the state’s three major utilities.
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) has selected private equity firm Lotus Infrastructure Global Operations and Southern California Edison to jointly build and own a roughly $503 million transmission project. Among other elements, the project includes a 30-mile, 500-kV transmission line that CAISO expects will be operating by 2034, according to the grid operator’s most recent annual transmission plan.
Sunrun has connected over 16,200 solar-plus-storage systems from its California customers into a network, creating what it says is the largest virtual power plant in the United States. In 2023, Sunrun supplied Pacific Gas and Electric Company with up to 32 MW of power during evening peak summer hours from 8,500 customer batteries.
The Baldy Mesa solar + storage project in Southern California is now connected to the grid. The 150 MW solar/75 MW storage project will support Amazon’s operations. Project developer AES will own the facility.
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