50 States of Solar Q1 2023 Quarterly Report Executive Summary

The purpose of this report is to provide state lawmakers and regulators, electric utilities, the solar industry, and other stakeholders with timely, accurate, and unbiased updates on state actions to study, adopt, implement, amend, or discontinue policies associated with distributed solar photovoltaics (PV). This report catalogues proposed and enacted legislative, regulatory policy, and rate design changes affecting the value proposition of distributed solar PV during the most recent quarter, with an emphasis on the residential sector. The 50 States of Solar series provides regular quarterly updates of solar policy developments, keeping stakeholders informed and up to date.

In the first …

Energy Security is National Security

Energy security is national security. One cannot exist without the other, and a lack of either can have serious ramifications. For evidence of this, look no further than Europe, where Germany is reeling from the twin blows of ill-conceived domestic energy policies and wholesale energy dependence on its chief geopolitical adversary: Russia. The German case is but one example of the many pitfalls a nation faces when it fails to secure its energy supply. American policymakers would do well to take this cautionary tale to heart – and soon – as the Biden administration’s plans to force a complete energy …

Carbon Confidence in Climate Finance: CarbonCount 2.0

First developed in 2013 by the climate investment firm HASI, CarbonCount is a decision tool that evaluates investments in U.S.-based carbon-free energy, energy efficiency, and climate resilience projects to determine how efficiently they reduce CO2 equivalent emissions per $1,000 of investment. CarbonCount scores reflect a quantitative impact assessment of the avoided emissions of a project by integrating forward-looking project assumptions, emissions factors, and capital investment.

HASI recently released a new and improved CarbonCount 2.0 to give a more precise assessment of avoided emissions via newly available locational marginal emissions (LME) factors that reflect the grid composition specific to each project’s …

Advancing the Growth of the U.S. Wind Industry: Federal Incentives, Funding, and Partnership Opportunities

Wind power is a burgeoning power source in the U.S. electricity portfolio, supplying more than 10% of U.S. electricity generation. The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Wind Energy Technologies Offce (WETO) focuses on enabling industry growth and U.S. competitiveness by supporting early-stage research on technologies that enhance energy affordability, reliability, and resilience and strengthen U.S. energy security, economic growth, and environmental quality.

Outlined are the primary federal incentives for developing and investing in wind power, resources for funding wind power, and opportunities to partner with DOE and other federal agencies on efforts to move the U.S. wind energy industry forward.…

Distribution System Investments to Enable Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Electrification

To meet its climate goals, New York will need to electrify the majority of its medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, which include tractor trailers, delivery buses, refuse trucks, and large pickup trucks and vans. Distribution system and site upgrades will be necessary to support higher load on the grid and accommodate installation of charging stations. Currently, the costs of these upgrades fall largely on individual fleet owners, which may hinder electrification. One way to support rapid vehicle electrification would be to socialize more of these costs through a vehicle make-ready program.

On behalf of the Environmental Defense Fund, Synapse calculated the …

Zero-Emission Zones in the City: Don’t Wait to Start with Freight!

Though less than 4% of vehicles on the road are trucks, it is estimated that they are responsible for 27% of road transport’s CO2 emissions. As urbanisation grows, absolute numbers of population as well as population density are continuing to rise in cities. Consequently, urban commercial transport is also increasing, exacerbating congestion and harmful emissions. Action is needed to improve strategies for transport and to reduce transport related emissions: air pollution, noise pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

As cities around the world seek to reduce their carbon footprint, many are pursuing zero-emission zones (ZEZs) and other measures for mass transit …

The Digitalization Imperative: The Power of Process Automation in Utility Energy Programs

One of the most paradigm-shifting aspects of the clean energy transition is the proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs). These include rooftop solar arrays, batteries, electric vehicles (EVs), controllable loads such as electric water heaters and HVAC systems, and other energy resources installed at homes and businesses.

Utility customers increasingly want DERs because these resources can help reduce their electric bills, lower their carbon footprints and even create potential income streams. Furthermore, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s recent Order 2222 allows DER owners to sell power and services in wholesale electricity markets through aggregation service providers. In effect, DERs are …

Meeting the Demands of the Future: The Critical Importance of Advanced Forecasting for Retail Electricity Providers

Retailers have access to the same tools for managing their exposure to market volatility. They can hedge against price increases by locking in futures contracts, and they can tune their positions with options and swaps. What competing retailers often don’t have is the same access to accurate demand forecasting. The accuracy of these predictions can determine the profitability of one retailer, or the collapse of another. With the increased complexities of the energy transition, retailers regularly face the existential threat of getting their predictions horribly wrong.

With accurate demand forecasts in place, retailers will gain a competitive advantage in acquiring …

Transportation Taxes and Energy Transitions: Alternative Policy Designs for Funding US Road Infrastructure and Pricing Externalities

In this working paper, the authors use an economic model of the US household vehicle market to estimate the effects of three alternative revenue policies for funding transportation infrastructure construction and maintenance.

Federal and state tax policies designed to fund the construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure rely almost exclusively on excise taxes levied on petroleum products. But as the United States and the world seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, boosting fuel economy and electric vehicle (EV) sales will reduce the demand for petroleum and associated public revenues. In this analysis, we use an economic model of the US …

Big Opportunities in the US Energy Transition

The energy transition is very real, and this reality is accelerating. The convergence of climate and environmental concerns, legislation, and advances in technology are creating a new energy environment that is building towards a sustainable, reliable, safe, and affordable energy future.

Recent energy transition developments include the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 with over $360 billion for energy investment and an additional US federal government commitment of $US 900 million to build out an EV charging station network as new energy storage technologies coming online. From these developments at the federal government level, we see the …