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• Solar power and the Great American Eclipse of 2024 A total solar eclipse traversed North America on April 8, 2024, on a path from Mexico, across the U.S. from Dallas to northern New England, and into Canada. No total eclipse has covered such a large extent of the U.S. in recent years (a 2017 eclipse was the first in the U.S. in 26 years); meanwhile, an increasing amount of solar photovoltaic power plants have been built. The "Great North American Eclipse" of 2024 thus provided an opportunity to examine... More
• New England must balance multiple objectives, says grid operator New England must balance multiple objectives as it navigates the clean energy transition, according to the operator of the region's electric grid and wholesale electricity markets.ISO New England, Inc. is the regional transmission organization serving all of New England except northern Maine. ISO-NE administers the regional electric transmission system and wholesale markets for electricity. The region must increasingly balance multiple objectives in light of state policies promoting renewable energy and decarbonization, according to recent remarks by ISO-NE President and Chief Executive... More
• ISO-NE 2024 Regional Electricity Outlook ISO New England Inc., the operator of New England's wholesale electricity markets and transmission system, has published its 2024 Regional Electricity Outlook. The report examines trends affecting supply and demand for electricity, through the ongoing clean energy transition.Specifically, ISO-NE notes the dawn of "a new era in our energy history", as broad decarbonization in the name of climate change becomes public policy. According to the grid operator, "This era will be marked by rapid and significant change. Over the next... More
• Court suspends EIA-862 survey of crypto mining energy use The U.S. Energy Information Administration's efforts to require cryptocurrency miners to report on their electricity use have been suspended by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, following a complaint by Texas crypto miners alleging that EIA exceeded its regulatory authority in requiring the report. Earlier this year, EIA announced a new, mandatory survey of crypto miners. The Form EIA-862 report would cover topics like the nature and scale of equipment installed, electricity consumption, and sources of power. EIA... More
• Will ISO-NE capacity market shift from forward to prompt/seasonal? The operator of New England's transmission grid and wholesale electricity markets has proposed major reforms to its market for capacity. For 18 years, ISO New England has administered a "Forward Capacity Market", featuring annual auctions to procure commitments from energy resources, for a capacity commitment period three years in the future. ISO-NE has now proposed to shift to a "prompt/seasonal" model. If adopted, the reforms will change important elements of New England's electric market systems.According to ISO-NE, its Forward Capacity... More
• EIA Form EIA-862 cryptocurrency mining electricity use survey A federal agency will start requiring commercial cryptocurrency miners to report on their electricity consumption. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has obtained an emergency clearance allowing it to begin collecting data on a monthly basis from February through July 2024. EIA's new Form EIA-862, the "Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities Report", is mandatory for all commercial cryptocurrency mining facilities in the U.S. Failure to file could result in criminal and civil fines and penalties that could exceed $10,000 per violation per day.According... More
• 2022 Maine power outages quantified Maine electricity customers experienced more frequent and longer power outages on average in 2022, compared to the national average, according to recently released federal data.According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. electricity consumers in 2022 experienced one or two outages, averaging about 5.5 total hours of power outage. According to EIA, major incidents like storms are most likely to cause outages with extended durations, while heavily forested states are most likely to experience a higher frequency of outages.EIA tracks reliability... More
• ISO-NE 2022 generation portfolio emissions report New England's electric power generation fleet emitting slightly less carbon dioxide in 2022 relative to 2021, according to the grid operator's 2022 ISO New England Electric Generator Air Emissions Report.ISO New England operates the regional transmission grid and the wholesale market for electricity. In support of this role, ISO-NE tracks the portfolio of generation resources used in the region, as well as the resources' emission characteristics.According to ISO-NE, New England generation emitted 33,382 kilotons of carbon dioxide in 2022, a... More
• US renewable output exceeded coal in 2022 The U.S. generated more electricity from renewable sources than from coal last year, for the first time in history. The nation's portfolio of electric generation resources continues to shift away from coal and oil and towards renewable resources and natural gas.The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tracks statistics on a variety of energy sources and their related infrastructure. According to EIA, the domestic electric power sector generated 4,090 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2022. The greatest share of this... More
• Maine "Solar for All" program proposed for EPA funding The Maine Governor's Energy Office has applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $99.5 million to establish statewide "Solar for All" programs for Maine. If selected for funding by EPA, the programs could create new incentives for residential solar development in Maine with a focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities.The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $7 billion to the EPA, to fund a system of competitive grants to states and other entities to establish or expand "Solar for All" programs... More
• Feds predict winter oil heating cost increase; Maine pursues heat pumps U.S. households that rely primarily on heating oil for heating will spend more this winter on heating compared to last winter, according to a federal projection.The U.S. Energy Information Administration's 2023 Winter Fuels Outlook supplement to its October 2023 Short-Term Energy Outlook includes heating data, projections, and analysis. Based on NOAA data and a 30-year weather trend, EIA projects that this winter will be colder than last winter, driving an increase in demand for heating fuels and energy. For households that... More
• Solar, wind, and natural gas power plant construction costs declined in 2021 Construction costs decreased for several types of new power plants on average in 2021, according to federal data. The Energy Information Administration reports that compared to 2020, average construction costs for natural gas-fired generators fell by 18% in 2021, with average construction costs for solar and wind systems declining by 6% and 5% respectively.Source: U.S. EIA Average U.S. solar project construction costs in 2021 were $1,561 per kilowatt. Crystalline silicon tracking systems, which accounted for 56% of the nation's utility-scale solar capacity... More
• Over 2 million light-duty EVs registered in the US in 2021 The number of light-duty electric vehicles registered in the U.S. reached 2.13 million in 2021, according to federal data. The Energy Information Administration reports a "sharp increase from the less than 100,000 EVs on the roads in 2012". The lagging nature of this data set and continued growth in EV adoption mean that an even greater number of EVs are now registered in the U.S. EIA's annual EV registration data is segmented into two categories: battery-electric vehicles (without any internal combustion... More
• US added record amounts of small solar power in 2022 A recordbreaking amount of small-scale solar electric generating capacity was added to the U.S. grid in 2022, as the nation added more distributed solar than in any prior year according to federal energy data. The U.S. Energy Information Administration tracks the nation's portfolio of electric generation resources. EIA considers solar-power systems with one megawatt (MW) of capacity or less to be "small-scale solar", also called distributed solar or rooftop solar.According to EIA, U.S. small-scale solar capacity has grown consistently year-over-year since... More
• Natural gas pricing drives New England's electricity costs Two factors are the main drivers of wholesale electricity prices in New England, according to the region's grid operator: the cost of natural gas and other fuels used to generate electricity, and the level of consumer demand for power.Fuel costs are a key component of the cost of electricity, and natural gas is the "predominant fuel in New England", used to generate 52% of the power produced in 2022 by New England’s power plants. According to ISO New England Inc.,... More