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What to do about PG&E? Cities and others offer ideas

Plenty of people, it seems, have plans for PG&E Corp. Even before the California utility giant filed for bankruptcy facing $30 billion in potential liabilities from wildfires, state regulators began studying whether it needed to be reformed, restructured or even taken over by the government. They asked interested parties -- city officials, unions, consumer groups and trade associations -- to chime in.




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Energy minister says South Africa will commit to more renewable power

South Africa plans to expand use of renewable power as the coal-dependent nation expects traditional, centralized generation plants to “disappear,” Energy Minister Jeff Radebe said.




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Unintended fallout of Trump steel duty: solar manufacturers buying abroad

The Trump administration imposed a tariff on steel imports last year to get companies to buy more American metal. In some ways, the duty has the U.S. solar business doing the exact opposite.




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UK local authority to produce all electricity from solar

Two large-scale solar farms are set to make Warrington Borough Council the first local authority in the UK to produce all its own electricity from clean energy.




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Solar EPCs ranked by Wiki-Solar puts First Solar on top

The list of the world’s top solar EPC contractors was released in late February by Wiki-Solar.org. The list ranks the solar developers by number of projects and total installed capacity and reflects about the 30 percent of the market. Wiki-Solar.org says the list shows how the less volatile markets have favored domestic power plant builders. In particular, contractors from India and the US are rising up the ranking. Europeans have, with a few notable exceptions, found it harder to hold their position.




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Utility-linked group seeks to dismantle net metering in Michigan

Nonprofit advocacy groups linked to DTE Energy are waging a public campaign to significantly reduce the amount customers are paid for their solar power, in line with the utility’s request before Michigan regulators.




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4 creative ways cities are transitioning to a clean energy future

Mayors from cities across the U.S. are stepping up and committing to broad and inspirational action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonize local energy systems. This leadership is especially critical given lack of federal climate action, but translating a mayoral commitment to reality can be a challenge.




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Trump said to again seek deep cuts in renewable energy funding

The Trump administration is again seeking severe cuts to the U.S. Energy Department division charged with renewable energy and energy efficiency research, according to a department official familiar with the plan.




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Wind-solar pairing cuts equipment costs while ramping up output

A trailblazing wind-solar hybrid project in western Minnesota could be a preview of what’s to come as renewable developers look for new ways to bolster projects.




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San Francisco mulls creating its own 100 percent renewables-focused utility from PG&E wreckage

What happens when a famously left-leaning city dives into the buttoned-down business of electric utilities? San Francisco may soon find out.




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Powering the future… thanks to your neighbor’s renewable energy

Distributed Energy Resources (DER), such as residential solar panels, are not only changing the way energy systems operate, they also present an opportunity to change the way local communities operate by giving consumers the ability to sell excess energy, generated by microgrids or renewable set-ups, to their neighbors – it’s the new energy paradigm.




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World’s largest utility joins EWF’s energy blockchain ecosystem

Last week, the Energy Web Foundation (EWF) announced it had officially signed more than 100 affiliates in an effort to become the world’s largest blockchain ecosystem.




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North Carolina’s solar power output grew 36 percent in 2018

Annual solar energy production in North Carolina jumped 36 percent in 2018, according to the latest government data – firmly placing North Carolina as the No. 2 solar-producing state in the nation.




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NextEra, Con Ed warn patent dispute could roil US solar sector

Two of America’s biggest solar-farm owners are warning that a patent dispute between panel makers could roil a sector already shaken by President Donald Trump’s import tariffs.




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Phasing out coal in Denmark via bioenergy-based CHP

Denmark in many ways is the poster child for the generation mix of the future. It led the way for decades in wind generation. It has continued to set ever-more ambitious targets for renewable penetration. And it has shown in the real world how to make a grid work that includes a heavy presence of renewable assets. Along the way, though, it has faced many challenges.




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Three ways utilities can partner with smart renewable cities to deliver on their objectives

Cities and renewable electricity have, respectively, become the habitat and energy of choice globally. The two are increasingly inseparable. Urbanization and electrification trends have turned cities and the grid into leading platforms for human activity, presenting unique opportunities for today’s utilities to partner with municipalities to achieve their smart city goals.




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Can the US government stop utilities from attempting to kill solar in Montana?

In the years since its passage, Section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) has provided one of the few options for small producers of renewable energy to access electric generation markets controlled by monopoly utilities. The law requires a monopoly utility to purchase the output of certain small power producers known as “qualifying facilities” (QFs) at the utility’s “avoided cost”—that is, the cost the utility would incur to generate or purchase power in the absence of the purchase from the QF.




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Vermont utility launches vision for 100 percent renewable energy by 2030

This weekend at its “Earth Day Every Day Fair,” Green Mountain Power announced an energy vision to have a 100 percent carbon free energy supply by 2025 and 100 percent renewable energy by 2030. The utility said the move is among the most aggressive carbon targets for a utility of GMP’s size in the country.




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DTECH asks experts to share what they know about the future of energy delivery

Utilities and other energy experts convene each year at DISTRIBUTECH International (DTECH) to discuss the future of energy and this week Clarion Energy, organizer of the event, announced that the call for abstracts for the 2020 event is open.




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Iowa pork producers stall utility efforts to upend solar net metering

In their push to upend the economics of rooftop solar, Iowa’s major electric utilities are up against an opponent as politically potent as they are: the state’s pork producers.




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Machine learning, AI aiding Sempra utilities in solar energy management on the grid

This week Sempra Energy subsidiary PXiSE Energy Solutions announced that Sempra-owned development company Infraestructura Energetica Nova (IEnova) would be using its software at the 110-MW Pima Solar facility located in Mexico to help manage the integration of renewable power to the electric grid.





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Enel joins Boston’s Greentown Labs to scout for clean energy startups

This week, Enel S.p.A. announced the opening of its newest Innovation Hub in Boston at Greentown Labs, the largest cleantech startup incubator in the United States. The Hub will provide Enel, one of the world’s leading power companies, access to Greentown Labs’ startup community and innovation expertise.




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Hydrogen: key to a zero-carbon future, or a costly distraction?

The U.K.’s push for a low-carbon economy has some notable successes, but the hardest part of the battle has barely started.




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EU corporates want renewable energy but bureaucracy and regulations are holding them back

This week energy developer BayWa r.e. published its Energy Report 2019, which surveyed 1,200 European corporations about their attitudes toward renewable energy.




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Ameren tests software that could unlock future ‘transactive energy marketplace’

Ameren is preparing to test a Canadian company’s software that could someday help usher in a radically different business model for the utility.




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CellCube to bring grid scale vanadium battery to South Australia

Renewables firm Pangea Energy and vanadium battery producer CellCube have signed on to build a 50MW storage system alongside a solar farm in South Australia.




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Xcel Energy sets course for coal-free, renewable-heavy future

This week, Xcel Energy announced plans to retire its last two coal plants in the Upper Midwest a decade earlier than scheduled. The acceleration of the coal closures is part of the company’s clean energy transition that includes expanding wind and solar, using natural gas and operating its Monticello nuclear plant until at least 2040.





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Alabama Municipal Electric Authority signs 100-MW solar PPA

Today, Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and Lightsource BP announced the development of a 100-MW (AC) solar energy project in Montgomery County, Alabama. Lightsource BP will finance, develop, build, own, and operate the solar facility and will deliver energy to AMEA under a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA). The project, situated 15 miles from AMEA’s headquarters in Montgomery, will supply clean energy to AMEA’s 11 Member utilities located across the state and will generate enough electricity to power more than 20,000 homes.




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PJM looks to plug ‘leaks’ sprouting from patchwork of state carbon policies

The nation’s largest electric grid operator is grappling with how to prevent state climate policies from merely pushing emissions — and costs — across state lines.




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DC Solar scammers serve as cautionary tale for solar investors

Jeff Carpoff had a lot to celebrate as friends and business associates gathered at his company’s Christmas party last year.




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Hydrogen is the fuel of the future. For real this time, IEA Says

Hydrogen, which has been touted as the fuel of the future much of the past five decades, may finally be on the verge of converting its potential to reality.




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Women are missing out on the clean energy job boom in America

While the industry is welcoming more women leaders, its rank-and-file workforce is still a lot like those at fossil-fuel companies: white and dominated by men. The lack of gender diversity is being driven by manufacturing jobs, and that means women are now missing out on the biggest jobs boom America has to offer.




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India wins trade dispute with US over solar-panel incentives

A series of U.S. renewable energy incentives violated international trade rules, according to the World Trade Organization, threatening to stoke tensions between the two countries as President Donald Trump prepares to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday.




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Utility partners with climate experts on new carbon emission goals

Community stakeholders and climate experts from the University of Arizona are helping Tucson Electric Power to build an energy portfolio that supports reliable, affordable and increasingly sustainable service over the next 15 years.




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Wednesday webcast to reveal what's new about POWERGEN 2019 in NOLA

Clarion Energy’s Teresa Hansen, vice president of global content, for a webcast Wednesday  will be making some important announcements regarding this year’s event in New Orleans. Hansen also will offer key details on content, the exhibit floor and resources available to attendees.




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Envisioning the future of hydropower: What do you see?

On Tuesday, July 23 at the HydroVision International keynote, Vice President Marla Barnes asked the audience to close their eyes and envision their next vacation. “Are you sitting on a beach? Are you packing your family into the car for a wild adventure? What do you see,” she asked.




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Small Missouri utility proposes big pivot to clean energy in latest resource plan

Missouri’s smallest investor-owned utility is charting a dramatically different course two years after being acquired by new owners.




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How the tech giants are fueling a solar revolution

From the way we shop to the way we socialize, the internet affects nearly everything we do these days. This dramatic change in our way of life has been fueled by a handful of large tech companies, companies that are increasingly going all in on solar.




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Sunverge raises $11 million for utility distributed energy resource controls

The round was led by Ecosystem Integrity Fund with participation from Equinor Energy Ventures and Evergy Ventures




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In battle to break up utilities, Arizona steps to the front line

Of all the efforts to break up utility monopolies in the U.S., the one unfolding in Arizona may be the most important to watch.




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On the brink of blackouts, Texas makes case for power plant boom

It may be time to start building power plants in Texas again.




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Net zero carbon emissions ‘impossible’ without hydrogen says UK energy alliance

The UK’s North West Hydrogen Alliance (NWHA) is calling for government investment in hydrogen projects to meet ambitious carbon reductions targets in Britain.




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BNEF finds that hydrogen’s plunging price could boost its role in a carbon-free future

The cost of producing hydrogen gas with renewables is likely to plummet in the coming decades, making one of the most radical technologies for reducing greenhouse gases economical.




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Covering Climate Now signs on more than 170 news outlets

MORE THAN 170 NEWS OUTLETS from around the world have now signed up for Covering Climate Now, a project co-founded by CJR and The Nation aimed at strengthening the media’s focus on the climate crisis.




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Renewable energy takes center stage at POWERGEN ASIA and Asian Utility Week

In a region of the world where coal is still king, there is room for renewables. This was a takeaway from the Ministerial Address and Joint Opening Keynote at POWERGEN Asia and Asian Utility Week. The two annual events kicked off Tuesday, Sept. 3, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.




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Democratic presidential hopefuls take on climate change, tout goals

Even as they touted ambitious proposals to reduce carbon emissions to a national audience, Democratic candidates for president tried to balance the boldness of their plans with the need for simplifying a complex scientific problem to make it palatable to voters.




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Pickup trucks outsell cars for the first time, and it may not be temporary

The Ford F-150, Ram 1500, and Chevy Silverado have been the best-selling light vehicles in America for a long time, but for the first time ever, the pickup truck segment as a whole outsold the car segment in the month of April, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. The difference was by a large margin, too, with pickups outselling cars by more than...




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5 things to know about Uconnect 5

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Uconnect 5 is the latest update to one of the few native infotainment systems that is preferable to smartphone connections. Improvements to the system include five times faster processing power, larger touchscreens with three times better resolution, over-the-air updates for seamless patches to the system, and an...