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01.27.21 1

Grocery stores can save on power bills by running their refrigeration systems more intelligently, software startup Axiom Cloud contends.

A Defunct Energy Hardware Startup Is Reborn as Software-Centric Axiom Cloud

Providing thermal storage for grocery stores didn’t work out for Axiom, but its energy management software proved valuable on its own.

by Julian Spector

01.27.21 Grid Edge 2

Utilities are using ConnectDER's meter collar device to smooth solar installation costs and capture grid data. (Credit: ConnectDER)

Con Edison Tests ConnectDER as a Utility Touchpoint for Distributed Energy

Can a meter socket plug-in device bridge the rooftop solar (and battery, and EV charger) gap between utilities and customers?

by Jeff St. John

01.26.21 Energy 12

The Sierra Club's definition of what utilities must do to reduce carbon emissions is very different from how utilities have set their own targets.

New Report Shows Gap Between Utility Carbon Pledges and Climate Change Imperatives

The Sierra Club says utility pledges “greenwash” coal and natural gas. Utilities point to the costs of massive fossil plant shutdowns.

by Jeff St. John

01.26.21 Grid Edge 0

Span's smart electrical panel now offers Alexa voice control as part of $20 million investment round. (Credit: Span)

Span’s $20M Round Adds Alexa Integration to Its Smart Home Electrical Panel

Tesla alum’s startup adds voice control for batteries, EV chargers and household loads.

by Jeff St. John

01.25.21 Energy 2

Corporate giants are seeking federal policies to expand wholesale energy markets and harmonize decarbonization policies nationwide. (Credit: Google)

What the Biggest Corporate Energy Buyers Want From Federal Clean Energy Policy

Companies including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Walmart, Disney and Mcdonald’s lay out their policy priorities.

by Jeff St. John

01.22.21 7

EVgo is seeking public markets to finance the growth of its existing network of EV fast-charging stations across the United States. (Credit: EVgo)

EVgo Seeks $2.6B Public Market Valuation in SPAC Reverse Merger

The LS Power subsidiary is the second major EV charger company in the U.S. seeking public capital to meet rocketing demand.

by Jeff St. John

01.22.21 Grid Edge 16

Booming rooftop solar installations are pushing utilities and solar inverter makers to integrate flexible export controls into grid operations.

Australia Looks to Smart Inverters to Cram More PV Into World’s Top Solar Market

South Australia tests a flexible-exports scheme this year in a bid to add rooftop solar to the grid.

by Jason Deign

01.21.21 Energy 13

New FERC chair Richard Glick, pictured with fellow FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, will bring Democratic leadership to a federal agency core to President Biden's clean energy agenda. (Credit: FERC)

President Biden Names Richard Glick as FERC Chair

A new leadership role for a key Democratic opponent to Republican-supported policies at a vital federal agency.

by Jeff St. John

01.20.21 Energy 16

President Joe Biden has moved quickly on the earliest steps of his climate and energy plans in his first day in office.

Inauguration of President Biden Kicks Energy and Climate Agenda Into Action

Hours after being sworn in, Joe Biden resubmits U.S. to Paris Agreement and lays the groundwork for a major climate-change mitigation push.

by Jeff St. John, Julian Spector, Emma Foehringer Merchant

01.19.21 Grid Edge 5

California agencies face a tight deadline to take steps to prevent more rolling blackouts this summer.

Final Analysis of California’s August Blackouts Yields Few Surprises and a Tight Deadline for Solutions

Quick supply and demand-side actions could forestall future rolling blackouts, but how to get there is open to debate.

by Jeff St. John

01.19.21 Wind 1

Mainstream has worked on a number of offshore wind projects, including the 3 GW Hornsea project in the U.K., later sold to Ørsted. (Credit: Ørsted)

Aker Horizons Buys Up Mainstream Renewable Power

The Norwegian firm acquires a 75 percent stake in Mainstream Renewable Power, an Irish developer.

by Jason Deign

01.19.21 Energy Storage 5

Spain's Ebro river, the source of a reservoir that's the target of two competing pumped-hydro storage project proposals.

The Stretch of River Holding Spain’s Pumped Hydro Future

Two projects are vying to make Spain a European pumped hydro leader by 2030.

by Jason Deign

01.18.21 Energy Storage 5

Swell will link batteries in 6,000 different homes to create a decentralized power plant for the local utility.

Hawaii Will Power Its Clean Grid With 6,000 Home Batteries Installed by Swell Energy

Swell’s largest contract yet comes after lining up $450 million to aggregate residential solar-battery systems to help the grid.

by Julian Spector

01.15.21 Grid Edge 5

California regulators are directing $200 million in utility funding to build microgrids that can power communities during fire-prevention blackouts.

California Sets $200M Budget for ‘Complex, Multi-Property Microgrid’ Projects

Utility funding for community resilience against fire-prevention outages doesn’t go far enough, microgrid groups argue.

by Jeff St. John

01.15.21 Grid Edge 2

Rise Light & Power plans to bury transmission lines under the Hudson River to bring renewable power to New York City with minimal disruption to the landscape.

New York City’s Biggest Power Producer Aims to Import Renewable Energy From Upstate

The Ravenswood plant owners look farther afield to supply clean electricity to the metropolis.

by Julian Spector

01.14.21 2

A Vibrant Cleantech Startup Ecosystem Takes Root in India

India’s enormous talent pool is being tapped to tackle some of the country’s greatest challenges, including how to provide reliable clean power.

by Julia Pyper

01.14.21 Grid Optimization 18

Why ‘Too Much’ Wind and Solar Is a Feature, Not a Bug

On this week’s Interchange episode, we look at the different ways renewable energy oversupply can be harnessed.

by Stephen Lacey

01.13.21 Wind 0

New York's biggest round of offshore wind contracts yet anchor Gov. Andrew Cuomo's latest green investment plan.

New York’s Latest Clean Energy Push Includes 2.5GW of Offshore Wind Contracts for Equinor and BP

The largest U.S. offshore wind contract to date is a centerpiece of Gov. Cuomo’s new call for expanded clean energy investment.

by Jeff St. John

01.13.21 Grid Edge 1

Pearl Street Technologies is applying integrated-circuit modeling techniques to planning a more optimal transmission grid.

Pearl Street Technologies: A New Way to Optimize the Transmission Grid

Carnegie Mellon spinout raises funds for integrated-circuit modeling tech adapted to model renewables-rich power grids.

by Jeff St. John

01.12.21 Grid Edge 7

Proterra has expanded from making electric buses to providing batteries, drivetrains and charging stations to a widening range of heavy-duty electric vehicles. (Credit: Proterra)

Proterra Set To Take Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Business Public via SPAC Transaction

Proterra makes EV transit buses, plus drivetrains, batteries and charging systems for growing heavy-duty electric transport market.

by Jeff St. John

01.12.21 Grid Edge 8

Transmission upgrade costs are barring wind and solar projects from interconnecting to the grid, despite growing demand for clean energy.

Report: Renewables Are Suffering From Broken US Transmission Policy

Interconnection backlogs and excessive upgrade costs require ground-up reform to solve, grid advocates say.

by Jeff St. John

01.11.21 Grid Edge 9

Schneider Electric's Energy Center brings an integrated circuit panel for distributed energy-equipped homes to market. (Credit: Schneider Electric)

Schneider Electric Unveils the Energy Center for Distributed-Energy-Enabled Homes

Integrated service for solar, batteries, EV chargers and whole-home energy controls is starting to go mainstream.

by Jeff St. John

01.08.21 Grid Edge 6

New Jersey's first large-scale smart meter deployment comes on condition of giving customers access to data.

New Jersey Approves PSE&G’s $778M Smart Meter Rollout

The state’s first big AMI deployment comes with a demand from the regulator to share data and value with customers.

by Jeff St. John

01.08.21 Energy Storage 42

The existing Puu Opae reservoir could become part of a novel solar powered grid storage system on Kauai. (Photo courtesy of KIUC)

Kauai to Hit 80% Renewable Power With Solar-Charged Hydro Storage

A pathbreaking project from AES will combine solar generation, batteries and multiple reservoirs and hydro generators.

by Julian Spector

01.08.21 Grid Edge 25

Cross-country transmission networks could drive down costs, reduce technology challenges, to reaching zero-carbon electricity, new study says.

MIT Study: Transmission Is Key to a Low-Cost, Decarbonized US Grid

Modeling shows a nationwide transmission network could tap existing solar, wind and battery tech to reach zero-carbon power.

by Jeff St. John

How Cheap and Abundant Can Clean Power Get?

Climate Fintech Startup Atmos Financial Puts Savings to Work for Clean Energy

Could Chile’s Auction Help Save CSP From Oblivion?

What the Coming Wave of Distributed Energy Resources Means for the US Grid

Extreme Weather Keeps Maxing Out the Grid

A Wartime Plan for Electrifying America

An Island’s Path to 100% Renewables

Greentech Media Chronicled Clean Energy Before It Was Cool

Are Batteries at a Turning Point?

Vestas Ventures Makes First Investment With Stake in Wooden Tower Start-Up

Vestas Launches World’s Largest Turbines as 'Big 3' Competition Ramps Up

BP, RWE and EnBW Win Big in UK Offshore Wind Leasing Round

How Cheap and Abundant Can Clean Power Get?

Climate Fintech Startup Atmos Financial Puts Savings to Work for Clean Energy

Could Chile’s Auction Help Save CSP From Oblivion?

Grid Edge

A Defunct Energy Hardware Startup Is Reborn as Software-Centric Axiom Cloud

Con Edison Tests ConnectDER as a Utility Touchpoint for Distributed Energy

New Report Shows Gap Between Utility Carbon Pledges and Climate Change Imperatives

Span’s $20M Round Adds Alexa Integration to Its Smart Home Electrical Panel

What the Biggest Corporate Energy Buyers Want From Federal Clean Energy Policy

EVgo Seeks $2.6B Public Market Valuation in SPAC Reverse Merger

Australia Looks to Smart Inverters to Cram More PV Into World’s Top Solar Market

President Biden Names Richard Glick as FERC Chair

Inauguration of President Biden Kicks Energy and Climate Agenda Into Action

Final Analysis of California’s August Blackouts Yields Few Surprises and a Tight Deadline for Solutions

Aker Horizons Buys Up Mainstream Renewable Power

The Stretch of River Holding Spain’s Pumped Hydro Future

Hawaii Will Power Its Clean Grid With 6,000 Home Batteries Installed by Swell Energy

California Sets $200M Budget for ‘Complex, Multi-Property Microgrid’ Projects

New York City’s Biggest Power Producer Aims to Import Renewable Energy From Upstate

A Vibrant Cleantech Startup Ecosystem Takes Root in India

Why ‘Too Much’ Wind and Solar Is a Feature, Not a Bug

New York’s Latest Clean Energy Push Includes 2.5GW of Offshore Wind Contracts for Equinor and BP

Pearl Street Technologies: A New Way to Optimize the Transmission Grid

Proterra Set To Take Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Business Public via SPAC Transaction

Report: Renewables Are Suffering From Broken US Transmission Policy

Schneider Electric Unveils the Energy Center for Distributed-Energy-Enabled Homes

New Jersey Approves PSE&G’s $778M Smart Meter Rollout

Kauai to Hit 80% Renewable Power With Solar-Charged Hydro Storage

MIT Study: Transmission Is Key to a Low-Cost, Decarbonized US Grid