Dive Brief:
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO), California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and California Energy Commission (CEC) released their final root cause analysis report on Wednesday, outlining key factors that led the state to trigger rolling outages last summer.
The conclusion largely mirrored preliminary findings, reporting that an extreme heat wave caused by climate change led to excessive demand, while resource planning targets under a changing power supply have not kept up with supply-demand, and some market practices exacerbated the supply issues.
Renewables and storage advocates said the report is evidence California should be more aggressive in investing in long-term energy storage, to ensure power from intermittent resources such as solar can be available during peak hours.
Dive Brief:
The Des Moines City Council on Monday approved a resolution outlining a series of carbon emission goals, including a 24/7 clean energy by 2035 pledge modeled after Google s round-the-clock energy plan.
Des Moines is already well on its way to 100% clean energy, according to the council resolution; 83% of the city s energy came from clean sources in 2020.
While Des Moines may benefit from factors that enable it to pursue ambitious energy targets, environmental advocates hope the resolution will spur greater aspirations in similarly-positioned communities.
Dive Insight
As of the end of 2020, Des Moines was already well on its way to a clean energy future. Environmental advocates say the city s Jan. 11 climate resolution which may make Des Moines the first city in the nation to achieve 24/7 clean energy sets an example for other communities that may be closing in on their original climate targets.
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Editor’s note: This story is part of the Utility Dive Outlook on 2021, a series on the trends that will shape the industry in 2021. For a look at the business trends affecting other industries, see the Dive Outlook on 2021.
The hydrogen industry has seen a significant acceleration of activity recently, with new projects, pilot studies and commercial partnerships. It has been the subject of significant attention before. This time, the hype may be warranted, analysts say, and 2021 is likely to see even more activity.
December, in particular, was extremely busy for us, said Vinayaka Nakul Prasad, corporate strategy manager for Siemens Energy. In one month, the company launched four projects tied to Siemens Energy s electrolysis or hydrogen gas turbine businesses, dispersed across three continents. But Prasad expects even more to come in 2021.
Dive Brief:
The Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday approved an application by the Arizona Public Service (APS) to create a unique rate schedule for power sold to Nikola to generate hydrogen at a future zero-emissions truck fueling station.
The details of the new rate schedule are not publicly available, but according to a statement by the company the tariff provides Nikola with a competitive electric rate specifically designed for the production, processing, and dispensing of hydrogen.
Hydrogen advocates say the the rate structure could serve as a model for additional hydrogen production facilities in the future. It s a brilliant development, and so needed, said Janice Lin, founder and CEO of the Green Hydrogen Coalition.
Dive Brief:
A December study by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concludes the United States can fully decarbonize its power sector through the use of existing technologies and that tackling decarbonization through a federal policy framework, rather than individual states setting clean energy goals, can help to significantly lower the costs.
The research found that interstate coordination and an expansion of the nation s transmission system could lower the cost of fully decarbonizing the electrical grid by 2040 by 46%, relative to an approach where states pursue individual goals.
A separate study sponsored by Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG), a coalition of energy companies and renewables groups, concluded that a comprehensive approach to building transmission lines to serve Eastern load centers could could save consumers $100 billion on electric bills by 2050.