Focus
Regional Western electricity market closer to reality following California vote
Utility Dive – September 15
California lawmakers on Saturday, September 13, approved Assembly Bill 825, a bill paving the way for a new, independent organization to oversee the existing Western Energy Imbalance Market and the pending Extended Day-Ahead Market (EDAM), marking an important step toward the regionalization of energy markets among Western states. California Energy Commission analysis concluded that joining EDAM could save Californians more than $1 billion a year and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 58% in the state. The bill was part of a package of energy proposals that passed at the last minute and now heads to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is expected to sign the bills. The package also included measures related to the state’s wildfire fund, virtual power plants, and reauthorizing the state’s cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions.
News
California commits $225M to offshore wind port development
OffshoreWind – September 15
The California Legislature has allocated $225.7 million in the current budget bill to upgrade port infrastructure to support the development of offshore wind off the state’s coast. The legislature voted to approve Proposition 4 funding for offshore wind port development in the Senate Bill 105 budget bill.
U.S. adds 17.9 GW solar PV in first half of 2025; SEIA predicts installation slowdown
PV-Tech – September 9
The U.S. has installed 17.92 GW of new solar capacity in the first half of the year, with quarter-on-quarter declines in capacity additions for the utility-scale and residential sectors, according to a new report from the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and Wood Mackenzie. The rate of new capacity additions has also slowed notably, with 7.5 GW of new capacity added in the second quarter of this year, down 28% from the previous quarter, and down 24% from the same period of the previous year.
Projects
California’s first solar-covered canal is now fully online
Canary Media – September 10
A novel solar power project just went online in California’s Central Valley, with panels that span across canals in the vast agricultural region. The 1.6 MW installation, called Project Nexus, was fully completed late last month. The $20 million state-funded pilot has turned stretches of the Turlock Irrigation District’s canals into hubs of clean electricity generation in a remote area where hundreds of crops are grown. Proponents of this emerging approach say it can provide overlapping benefits.
Interior Department asks federal court to cancel permit for Maryland offshore wind farm
Reuters – September 12
The U.S. Department of Interior asked a federal judge to cancel the 2024 approval of a wind farm off the coast of Maryland, saying the former administration had underestimated threats it would cause to search and rescue operations and commercial fisheries, according to court documents filed on Friday. If approved by the court, the motion would invalidate a years-long federal process that permitted US Wind's Maryland Offshore Wind Project.
EDP closes stake sale in solar-plus-storage portfolio in California
Renewables Now – September 10
Portuguese electric utility group EDP Energias de Portugal SA has finalized the sale of a 49% stake in a California solar-plus-storage portfolio for an enterprise value of around $ 704.6 million. The portfolio is comprised of two operating solar parks, with a combined capacity of 300 MWac and a 92 MW BESS facility. The solar duo was put into operation during the last quarter of 2024, while the storage plant is yet to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Catalyze, CS Energy complete four-project community solar portfolio in New York
Solar Power World – September 16
Catalyze has completed four community solar projects in central and western New York, developed in partnership with CS Energy. The four projects total 27 MW. Construction access and laydown areas were carefully managed so that farmland could return to its pre-existing condition, allowing landowners to continue farming outside the solar arrays.
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