On June 10, 2015, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) issued a proposal to allow small-scale distributed energy resources (DERs), such as rooftop solar, storage, and electric vehicles, to be aggregated and bid into the grid. If approved, California would become the first state to integrate and manage small-scale DERs in a fashion similar to larger utility-scale renewable resources.
On June 8, 2015, Governor David Ige signed a law increasing Hawaii’s renewable portfolio standard from 40% renewable energy in 2030 to 100% renewable energy by 2045. Hawaii is the first state in the United States to adopt a 100% renewable portfolio standard.
On May 22, 2015, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a report analyzing the impact of the final draft Clean Power Plan that was submitted to the White House in May. Its findings predict a major increase in coal plant retirements.
On April 21, 2015, the U.S. Congress passed a modest energy efficiency bill with bipartisan support. The bill—which was passed by voice votes in both chambers of Congress—is expected to be signed by President Obama.
Though the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has not yet approved any Small Modular Reactor (SMR) designs, there are several companies in the United States that are investing heavily in SMR technology. NuScale Power LLC (owned by Fluor Corp.) is arguably the farthest along in the process of developing the technology and is expected to submit its SMR design to the NRC for approval sometime in 2016. Earlier this year, Westinghouse Electric Company announced that the NRC provided safety approval for the company’s testing approach for its SMR design. According to Jeff Benjamin, Westinghouse senior vice president, New Plants and Major Projects, the NCR approval “… confirms the technical maturity of the Westinghouse SMR concept design.”
The production of condensate is set to continue its rapid pace of production. Concurrently, domestic demand has declined due to constrained demand from refineries [1]. In particular, lease condensate may be particularly susceptible to this oversupply/decreased demand condition. Although lease condensate is a byproduct of natural gas drilling, it is considered crude oil by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Department of Commerce and thus banned from export. This prevents creating an export market for all of the supply, something that is occurring with other NGLs such as butane. Low oil prices further hurt the near-term business case for natural gas exploration and development, including condensate.
GTM Research and Solar Electric Industries Association (SEIA) report that 1.2 GW of residential solar was installed in the U.S. market in 2014. SolarCity was the market leader, installing 34% of all new capacity.
The introduction of third-party leases has helped rapid growth of rooftop solar but may be hindering home sales in California and other states. Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory (LBNL) found host-owned solar PV actually adds value to homes ($3-$4/watt); however, leased solar appears to introduce complexity in home resale. Before finalizing a sale, a homeowner with a solar lease may be required to either buy out the lease contract or find buyers willing and able to assume lease terms with sometimes stringent credit qualifications. Real estate professionals report a growing number of sales falling apart because of disputes over solar leases.
After 40 years in service (the initial license period), nuclear reactors can receive a 20-year operational extension through an established NRC license renewal process. Of the 99 operating reactors in the United States, 75 (representing approximately 69,000 MW of capacity) have been granted the 20-year extension to operate for a total of 60 years, 17 reactors are currently undergoing a license renewal review by the NRC (a process that lasts approximately 30 months), and seven more are expected to file for a license extension in the next few years.
In recent months, several utilities have announced major infrastructure investments to encourage development of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure. The investments are designed to promote the adoption of EVs by reducing range anxiety or the concern that battery power will run out before reaching a destination.
On January 29, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released the Energy Infrastructure Report with data through December 2014. The report shows natural gas, wind, and solar represented more than 95% of the new utility-scale capacity installed in the United States in 2014. Natural gas was the primary source of new generation with wind and solar ranking second and third, respectively.
In February 2014, a diverse group of Minnesota leaders began a collaborative process to define Minnesota’s 21st century energy system. The goal is to identify a new regulatory environment that will resolve the fundamental misalignment between the traditional utility model, technology advancements, and public policy goals. e21 participants recently completed Phase I of the effort by developing several recommendations that, if adopted, would offer customers more choices on how and where their energy is produced and reward utilities for the achievement of agreed-upon performance goals.
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