Alison Mickey

Learn how grid congestion impacts power prices and how software from Yes Energy helps companies better understand what's driving market conditions.

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What a great program from GridLab. Taking the plunge into entrepreneurship can be daunting. Don’t let the fear win out. Support like this in the beginning is a great way to help with the transition. Kudos to GridLab

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The ongoing feud between Connecticut utilities and their regulators has spilled over into the state’s efforts to implement performance-based regulation (PBR) for its electric utilities. PBR essentially covers to efforts to better align the profit incentives for utilities, which have regulated monopolies, with state policy goals. PBR mechanisms can be used to better-incentivize affordability, resilience, distributed energy deployment, and electrification. I spoke with a whole bunch of people about what the fight in Connecticut could mean for the state's clean energy transition, and whether it will influence PBR in other states. While the utilities are concerned that they will not be able to recover a reasonable rate of return on their investments in the new proposed framework, consumer and environmental advocates have argued that these concerns are overblown. Read the full story here at RTO Insider LLC https://lnkd.in/eYgeCEWN

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Grid analysts challenge Bonneville Power’s pace in adopting advanced conductors--my latest for PV Magazine USA. As the White House encourages utilities to use advanced conductors to help interconnect new renewable generation, the federally-owned utility Bonneville Power is moving slowly to use the high-capacity conductors, analysts said. Mike O'Boyle, Casey Baker, Michelle Solomon #AdvancedConductors

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On Energy Efficiency Day, we’re focused on making sure that the benefits of the clean energy transition apply to everyone. TRC’s Duane Baldwin talks about how our industry can bring energy efficiency & renewables to households of all income levels, with a focus on equity, fairness & trust. Read the conversation here: https://okt.to/8xOmnu #EnergyEfficiencyDay

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A new analysis examines the 'Regulatory Gap' between utilities and their regulators, which is cause for them to focus on taking the easy route and building local transmission when it would be much more valuable to build large interstate transmission lines. 🛣️ ⚡ This 'Regulatory Gap' exists in Missouri and is partially driven by PISA legislation, which requires grid investment and allows certain recovery of it. Sadly, these grid improvements still aren't addressing reliability and aging infrastructure issues in the lower income or minority neighborhoods, and a large chunk of investment is being put into more affluent neighborhoods. https://lnkd.in/gQiMgztj

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Todd Fryatt of ECA Solar joins Skyler Frazer on the pod this week to discuss safe harboring solar projects and what companies across the solar industry are doing ahead of the Trump Administration taking over in January. CLICK HERE to listen to the podcast (https://lnkd.in/eCeVRvyp)

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Many thanks to former Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Neil Chatterjee, former FERC Chairman and Voltus Chief Regulatory Officer Jon Wellinghoff, and Director of Energy Markets Angel Fernandez Amores for presenting to our NY-based customers and partners a bipartisan perspective on changing grid conditions, the future of energy policy under a new administration, and how NY energy consumers can adapt to these potential changes during our Future of Energy event last week. #virtualpowerplants #distributedenergyresources #demandresponse

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There was major news last week on the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line, which has been delayed by over three years from its initial in-service date. Avangrid (the project developer) has sued NextEra for antitrust violations, alleging that the company has committed "anticompetitive, unfair and deceptive business practices to foreclose competition for the supply of wholesale electricity on the ISO New England marketplaces." NextEra owns several large generation resources in the region and has almost certainly profited from the higher wholesale electricity costs that have resulted from NECEC's delay. The lawsuit includes a long list of accusations, including "overt acts that constitute monopolization, attempted monopolization, civil conspiracy, intentional interference with contract, sham petitioning, dark-money deception, and false and misleading statements." Avangrid alleges damages of at least $350 million, and is seeking three times the damages, plus interest and legal costs. The saga outlines one of the key challenges for transmission development in the region and in the country: incumbent generators can use a wide range of regulatory, legal, and political mechanisms to gum up the development process, potentially delaying or blocking projects. Transmission expansion will be crucial to the clean energy transition, so clean energy advocates would be smart to learn from this fight. I'm curious if the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office will take action on behalf of ratepayers in the state. The delay appears to have cost ratepayers well over $500 million, along with a likely increase in power system emissions. The AGO declined to comment on this, so we'll see where it goes. Check out the full story here at RTO Insider LLC: https://lnkd.in/et8mFMwC

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USEA’s series on how system operators and utilities ensure adequate resources kicks off today with an overview from one of the nation's power system experts https://lnkd.in/d8VvR2fq

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First Unitil proposed a lower price for heat pump users, and now National Grid will be doing the same thing. That will mean close to 1.5 million households with access to discounts for using heat pumps. My latest for the Energy News Network.

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In our second episode from #REPlus24, Ryan Pfaff from EDF Renewables North America discusses the massive growth in energy demand, the geographic distribution of clean energy jobs across the US and what the future of automation might look like for #renewables. Ryan also delves into what customers and developers can do to quicken the pace of projects and bring more clean energy to the grid. Great insights from an industry pro ... and fellow North County native! https://lnkd.in/g5CcfKH9

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The #solarenergy sector in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is growing; LandGate reveals the potential for 11 GW of additional capacity through planned/proposed projects. Beyond 46 existing utility-scale solar farms, hundreds more are in development, signaling unprecedented momentum in clean energy investment. More here: https://lnkd.in/gAHeUA6A

I recently spent time at #ClimateWeekNYC with leaders from across government and industry focused on the climate challenge, energy security and economic development. I was honored to participate in the Clean Energy Superpower Summit, featuring UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband. Secretary Miliband illustrated his vision to drive economic growth and make the UK a Clean Energy Superpower and we at National Grid are proud to help support that goal. This year, we announced a significant step up in energy infrastructure investment – investing around £60 billion in our energy networks over the next five years. This investment will help unlock economic growth, create thousands of new jobs, and enable the increasingly digital, electrified, and decarbonized economies of the future. We invest heavily in both the UK and the US, and we bring expertise and learnings from each country to the other, for example in offshore transmission and HVDC. #CleanEnergy #Energy

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Canary Media with an article on how rural electric cooperatives are tapping into the IRA to fund the shift from fossil to renewable generation. "How $7.3B will help rural co-ops build clean power—and close coal plants This Inflation Reduction Act program is offering 16 rural electric co-ops financing to overcome the up-front costs of shifting from dirty coal to clean power. Rural electric cooperatives, which bring electricity to the most sparsely populated parts of the country, are getting their biggest federal investment since the New Deal — and this time around, the money is going to help fight climate change. Last week, the Biden administration announced $7.3 billion in financing for 16 rural co-ops serving about 5 million households across 23 states. The money will be administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which implemented the Rural Electrification Act, the 1936 law that financed the buildout of the grid in more remote areas of the country. It will also be matched by more than $29 billion in private investments with a goal of building more than 10 gigawatts of clean energy. That’s a big jump from the nearly 16 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity co-ops have today." Read more at https://conta.cc/4d4kLmE #solar #energy #solarenergy #renewables #renewableenerg

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📈 Corporate PPA activity in the ERCOT market has reached 1.8 GW, YTD 2024. Data from the Enerdatics Energy Transition PPA database indicates that ERCOT has seen ~1.8 GW in corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) since the start of 2024, constituting over 60% of the U.S. total. 💡 Tech giant Microsoft leads the way, having secured ~800 MW across three deals. Meanwhile, new entrants such as UnitedHealth Group, Sonoco, and AdventHealth are also stepping up their sustainability efforts. 🏆 Key Suppliers Making Waves: > Regional Leaders: Primergy, Leeward Renewable, Scout Clean Energy > International Players: Orsted, ENGIE 🤝 Positive PPA negotiations in ERCOT are driven by the market's lower land and interconnection costs, which help mitigate higher interest rates and supply chain issues. 🌟 Top Deals to Note: > Microsoft and Primergy Solar: 408 MW from Ash Creek solar project > Hyundai and Matrix Renewables: 147 MW (Hyundai’s first U.S. PPA) > RTX and ENGIE: ~38 MW from Priddy wind project #CorporatePPA #ERCOT #RenewableEnergy #Sustainability #Microsoft #Hyundai #RTX #ENGIE #Orsted #Primergy #LeewardRenewable #ScoutCleanEnergy #UnitedHealthGroup #Sonoco #AdventHealth

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