December 9
Salt River Project to Build and Own Solar Plant
Top consumer smart energy news hand-selected and brought to you by the Smart Energy Consumer Collaborative.
Member News
Salt River Project (SRP) is building a solar power project that will take advantage of recent changes in federal law that allows public power utilities to use tax benefits that were previously out of reach. SRP’s board of directors recently approved the second phase of the 55-MW Copper Crossing Energy and Research Center in Florence, Arizona. The utility-scale solar project is the first the utility is developing and will own and operate itself.
The Florida Public Service Commission approved Duke Energy’s plan for a fixed bill offering that will be paired with a demand response program, allowing the utility some control over customers’ thermostats during times of peak demand. To enroll in the My Energy Bill+ program, customers must meet several qualifications, including having “a load profile that can be modeled with reasonable predictability.”
California residents can now save money instantly on energy-efficient home upgrades with the new Golden State Rebates program implemented by CLEAResult, the largest energy efficiency solutions provider in North America, under a contract awarded by San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E). The program’s easy-to-use retail coupon portal includes rebates of up to $500 and is available to customers of SDG&E, PG&E, SoCalGas and SCE.
California once again sits atop the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s annual rankings of state energy efficiency efforts, scoring 47 out of a possible 50 points on the strength of its focus on equity and efforts to reduce emissions from the transportation, building, and industrial sectors. California topped the 2020 rankings also, and ACEEE held off on a 2021 assessment due to COVID-19.
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Industry News
The typical EV charging site today has a few chargers that can make do with the power grid that’s already there. But within the decade, demand for charging battery-powered cars and trucks at sites along highways will start to exceed the power draw of sports stadiums – and supplying that kind of power will require major interconnections to utility transmission grids.
Incentive-fueled pilot programs entered a pre-enroll period this week for customers of PG&E, promising access for approximately 1,400 people to vehicle-to-everything (V2X) endeavors that will test EVs as mobile batteries and grid resources. In all, three programs will be launched, each with financial incentives meant to integrate new bidirectional EV charging technology.
As sales of electric vehicles continue to grow, innovative technologies being developed by automakers and industry suppliers promise to increase driving range, a common concern among prospective EV buyers, which has limited the growth in EV sales. These three companies are developing new ways to allow electric vehicles to go further on a single charge without changing battery technology.
A pioneering EV car-sharing service in the Twin Cities saw steady growth during the first half of 2022, exceeding the expectations of backers during the program’s first six months following a relaunch. Evie Community Carshare claimed to be the nation’s first all-electric, renewably powered car-share service when it launched last year.
