November 8, 2024
NetZero Insider
Rhode Island Voters Approve Funding for OSW Port Infrastructure
The Port of Davisville
R.I. Ports Coalition

Rhode Island voters overwhelmingly approved a ballot proposal to dedicate $53 million in bonds to several environmental infrastructure projects, including $15 million for the Port of Davisville.

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The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is developing a monitoring system to identify how floating offshore wind technologies will impact marine life.
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
CEC Floats $38M for Offshore Wind R&D
California’s floating offshore wind industry is getting a boost from $30 million in research and development funds from the state Energy Commission’s EPIC program.
RTO Insider
Shutterstock
MISO Prelim Regional Resource Assessment Calls for 343 GW by 2043
MISO members will likely have to add 343 GW of installed capacity by 2043 to meet policy goals while maintaining resource adequacy, the RTO said in preliminary results from its annual Regional Resource Assessment.
RTO Insider
AEP is banking on its 765-kV expertise to produce future dividends.
Matt Weldon
AEP CEO: Transmission Provides Foundation for Growth
Newly minted American Electric Power CEO Bill Fehrman is promising to “embrace large load opportunities,” leverage its expertise in 765-kV transmission and deliver more positive regulatory outcomes.
ERO Insider
The standards are intended to satisfy the second milestone of FERC's Order 901 relating to inverter-based resources like solar and wind generation.
BLM
NERC Submits IBR Standards to FERC
NERC submitted five reliability standards to FERC this week as the first tranche of rules governing inverter-based resources mandated in an order last year.
RTO Insider
Duke Energy CEO Lynn Good
Duke Energy
Duke Reports on Hurricanes’ Impact, SMR Plans in Q3 Earnings
Duke Energy reported third-quarter earnings of $1.226 billion ($1.60/share), a dip of about 15% from the same period in 2023, as its utility territories were hit by three hurricanes.
BPA Execs Lay out Markets+ Benefits, Risks, Reasons
BPA's biggest risks in joining SPP’s Markets+ come down to footprint size and the limited transmission connectivity between the Northwest and Southwest entities most inclined to join the market, agency executives said.
Trump’s Victory and its Implications for FERC, Power Markets
Change is coming to FERC after Tuesday's election, but the policies the agency oversees are rarely top of mind during campaigns, so it is unclear how much will be different.
ERO Insider
Parts 2 and 3 of the ITCS include recommendations for prudent additions to transfer capability across North America's transmission planning regions based on the projected resource mix in 2033.
NERC
NERC Releases Final ITCS Draft Installments
NERC released the final draft installments of the ITCS this week, identifying 35 GW of prudent transfer capability additions.
Entergy to Pay SERC $141K for Standard Violations
FERC approved a settlement between Entergy and SERC Reliability that will see the utility pay $141,000 for violating NERC's reliability standards.
CISA Releases International Strategic Plan
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said building international partnerships is key to combating global cyber threats.
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Shutterstock
What Will Trump’s Victory Mean for US Energy Policy?
Energy industry leaders and analysts discussed what's ahead for the clean energy transition after former President Donald Trump’s victory.
Clean Energy Sectors Brace for Impact of Trump 2.0
Several clean energy industries were clear losers after former President Trump's reelection, and offshore wind and EV company stocks took hits the day after the election.
Wash. Voters Resoundingly Reject Cap-and-Invest Repeal Attempt
Washington voters showed overwhelming support for the state’s fledging cap-and-invest system when they firmly rejected a ballot measure that sought to repeal the program.
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From left: BPA's Andy Meyers, Nita Zimmerman, Doug Marker, Matt Hayes, Todd Kochheiser, Mai Truong, Michelle Manary and Libby Kirby.
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Rising Tensions Evident at BPA Day-ahead Markets Workshop
A polite discussion at a BPA day-ahead market participation workshop ended on a testy note as critics of the staff leaning in favor of SPP’s Markets+ urged the agency to rethink its position and consider once again delaying a market decision.
ISO-NE Open Board Meeting Sparsely Attended Because of Labor Dispute
An ongoing labor dispute at the hotel hosting ISO-NE’s annual open board meeting drove sparse attendance and harsh criticism from members of consumer and climate advocacy groups.
SPP State Commissioners Win Reelection Bids
South Dakota’s Kristie Fiegen and North Dakota’s Randy Christmann have been reelected to their respective states' regulatory commissions, ensuring their future involvement on SPP’s Regional State Committee.
Former ERCOT Market Monitor Joins SPP’s MMU
Former ERCOT Monitor Carrie Bivens has been named vice president of SPP’s Market Monitoring Unit, replacing her predecessor after he took an executive position with the Texas grid operator.
Debating the difference between organized and vertically integrated retail markets at the Southeast Renewable Energy conference were (from left) moderator Daniel Nugent, Norton Rose Fulbright; Jaxon Tolbert, Southeastern Wind Coalition; Juliano Freitas, Invenergy; Monika Gerhart, Gulf States Renewable Energy Industries Association; and David Mindham, EDP Renewables.
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SE Renewable Energy Conference: Will the Southeast Rise Again?
The Southeast’s traditionally risk-averse vertically integrated utilities are now embracing the clean energy transition, driven by economic development in the form of new industry and data centers.
South Fork Wind
Eversource Exit from OSW Drives Q3 Loss
Eversource Energy’s exit from the offshore wind business drove a $118 million loss in the third quarter of 2024, offsetting increased revenue from its electric and gas distribution business relative to 2023, the company told investors.
ERO Insider
A photo released by the FBI shows Philippi taking the drone that he planned to use to destroy a substation for a test flight. The shirt he is wearing reads "Toten fur Wotan," a German phrase meaning "Death for Odin."
FBI
Feds Accuse Tenn. Man of Substation Attack Plot
The FBI accused a Tennessee man of attempting to damage an electric substation using a drone loaded with explosives.
Panelists Discuss Electric, Election Security Intersections
Panelists at GridSecCon agreed that keeping the electric grid secure and reliable is a top priority to ensuring the safety of the upcoming elections.
Weather-security Connections Highlighted at GridSecCon
Speakers at this week's GridSecCon conference discussed the sometimes overlooked connections between weather and grid security.
GridSecCon Speakers Cite Threats, Opportunities of AI
Speakers at NERC's annual grid security conference noted that new technology provides opportunities both for threats to the grid as well as for its defenders.
Iranian soldiers march in Tehran in 2022.
Shutterstock
Agencies Describe a Year of Iran Cyber Attacks
Multiple security agencies in the U.S. and overseas said Iran has been actively targeting U.S. critical infrastructure, including the energy sector, for more than a year.
Six of the 38 Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships awards announced Oct. 18, highlighting the benefits in cost savings and reduced power outages in remote and disadvantaged communities.
DOE
New IIJA Funding Targets Grid Resilience and Demand Growth
The U.S. Department of Energy announced almost $2 billion in new funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act aimed at improving grid reliability and resilience.
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A map produced by the Department of Energy showing   for the Interagency Working Group on Energy Communities to focus on.
DOE
RFF Report Evaluates Biden Effort to Help Coal Communities
Resources for the Future released a report evaluating the Interagency Working Group on Energy Communities, a Biden administration effort to coordinate federal help to communities that lost jobs and other economic benefits from retiring coal plants and mines.
State Funds Support Microgrids on California’s Tribal Lands
Energy projects designed to accelerate decarbonization and strengthen reliability in vulnerable communities are receiving significant investment from a California Energy Commission program.
Ørsted Values Latest Revolution Wind Setback at $175M
A one-in-a-thousand problem with a key foundation component is the latest setback in U.S. waters for Ørsted and is blamed for its latest nine-digit cost impairment.
Wash. Gov. Approves Controversial Wind Farm
Gov. Jay Inslee approved a revised plan for the largest wind turbine farm in Washington, stretching across 24 miles in the Horse Heaven Hills in the southeastern part of the state.
Duke Energy
NCUC Approves Latest Duke ‘Carbon Plan’ to Expand Renewable, Nuclear and Gas Generation
The NCUC approved Duke Energy's second Carbon Plan and Integrated Resource Plan, authorizing procurements of renewable energy, nuclear and demand response, while calling for its 8,000 MW of coal to be retired in 2036.
PSEG's Hope Creek and Salem nuclear plants
Peretz Partensky, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Data Center Opportunity is Strong, Expanding, PSEG CEO Says
On top of its 350 MW of current data center load, PSEG has received formal applications for nearly 400 MW of new data center load and inquiries on over 1,200 MW in data center feasibility studies in new business.