Russ Bates

A bipartisan permitting reform bill was released on Monday. The proposed legislation supports FERC's authority to approve transmission lines and paves the way to require interregional transmission planning. If passed, the law would also require planners to consider advanced conductors and reconductoring in order to maximize current transmission capabilities. Read more about the new bill and the industry response in the article below. ⬇️ #FERC #Transmission #USEnergy #KinectSolar

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Thanks to PJM Interconnection teams for this insightful #RTEP report showcasing your strategy towards: ➡ optimizing infrastructure investment ➡ fostering transmission and #interconnection planning ➡ strengthening regional planning to benefit consumers #powergrids Manu Asthana

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Starting your 2025 sales plan for major overhead and underground HV and EHV transmission projects? Look here, but remember routing and permitting lead times for some of these projects have been over 10 years. We need better policy and technical solutions to expedite the build out. Federal policies break down quickly on a state by state and local basis. We engineers should offer solutions built around technologies like underground, super conductors, advanced (composite core) conductors , DLR, rigorous FERC 881 compliance and compact designs (like BOLD). More capacity from existing rights-of-way is a megatrend and the solution for our immediate transmission needs. Do you agree? Thanks. Mike #pdi2 #innovation #transmission

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The Midwest grid operator, known as MISO, anticipates a stable summer for the region’s electric grid, projecting a probable peak demand of around 123 gigawatts (GW) and total available generation capacity of approximately 143 GW. While MISO expects sufficient capacity for normal summer conditions, it has cautioned emergency measures may be needed if there are periods of extreme conditions. #electricity #resiliency #summerheat

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EDF Renewables North America and Enbridge Commission 749 MWp Fox Squirrel Solar Farm EDF Renewables and Enbridge Inc., a leading North American energy infrastructure company, have announced the full commissioning of the Fox Squirrel Solar Farm in central Ohio. The project, now connected to the PJM grid, comprises three phases: Fox Squirrel 1 (194 MWp), Fox Squirrel 2 (325 MWp), and Fox Squirrel 3 (230 MWp), delivering a total capacity of 749 MWp. Largest Land-Based Project for EDF Renewables North America Fox Squirrel Solar is EDF Renewables North America’s largest land-based renewable energy project. Featuring 1.4 million photovoltaic panels and 159 inverters, the project employed 650 workers who installed approximately 10,000 panels daily, […] Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dyqy4Pea #solarenergy #alternativeenergy #solarpv #pvsolar #photovoltaic #cleanenergy #cleantech #climatechange #america #edfrenewables #enbridge #energyinfrastructure #northamerica #solarfarm

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Interesting read on near term electricity reliability planning - growth of intermittent capacity; asset shifts; growing cyber-threats; sector-coupling gas & grid; inter-regional capacity markets and demand growth. A lot to digest. In my view, district energy systems fit perfectly in the mix to support cities, communities and campuses as the energy transition unfolds. https://lnkd.in/eFQr9uGs

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Investing in transmission isn't just about powering homes today — it's about ensuring affordability, strengthening grid reliability and paving the way for the energy needs of tomorrow. MISO projects its latest portfolio can create $83 billion in net benefit over 40 years across the Midwest. Read more from Utility Dive's Ethan Howland: https://lnkd.in/g_z4GmD5

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AMPYR Energy USA has announced the signing of long-term power purchase agreements for two projects totalling 195MWp of utility scale solar energy generation in South Carolina. https://renews.biz/97190/ #solarpower #USA #renewableenergy

The RenewEconomy article below questions why electric distribution utility revenues are rising despite declining grid usage, driven by high solar PV adoption. Energeia’s analysis (linked in the comments) shows that factors beyond utilization affect costs, and that increased Customer Energy Resources (CER) penetration can actually drive higher utility expenses. However, as we demonstrated in a webinar commented below, Australian regulatory regime fails to incentivize least-cost solutions, whether through CER or traditional capital expenditure. Notably, Ross Garnaut, lead author of Australia’s two major climate change reviews in 2007 and 2011, also came to this same conclusion in 2011, stating, “The regulatory regime provides excessive incentives for investment whether or not it is wanted by consumers,” a bias that persists today. To ensure a cost-effective transition, policy and regulatory frameworks must evolve, preventing overinvestment by networks and protecting consumers from unnecessary costs. #EnergyTransition #SolarAdoption #UtilityRegulation #GridModernization 

Much anticipated FERC rules push for more efficient long term grid planning to connect 2,400 GW of stalled clean energy projects U.S. grid region map: NREL #cleanenergy #renwableenergy #transmission

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Great article from Sara Baldwin. Power Demand Reduction (DR) on the consumer side is a critical component to balancing our growing grid power needs. But we must go beyond traditional DR that curtails power and give the customers a means to reduce their own peak power behind-the-meter. Affordable, high-power energy storage is the key.

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2024 has been marked with a downturn in the solar industry, with companies shutting down, laying off employees or restructuring its business. Here, PV Tech runs down its top 10 stories of the past 12 months. #solar

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Exciting transmission news in the Midwest! MISO advanced its second portfolio of Long Range Transmission Planning projects, which would create a 765-kV backbone across the region. The grid operator expects the lines to produce net benefits of $23.1 billion over 20 years and $83.2 billion over 40 years across the Midwest ⚡ Next steps: -MISO committees to review this fall -Board vote expected in mid-December If approved, the projects will come online from 2032 to 2034. "Not only will more transmission help tap new, economic resources, but result in electricity bills that are more reasonable than if we had a balkanized energy grid." -Beth Soholt, Clean Grid Alliance Executive Director More via Utility Dive ⤵ https://lnkd.in/eW-h_Pvn

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We recently completed a report for the Solar United Neighbors on the Benefits of Residential Solar in Colorado. The purpose of this report is to aid decision makers in evaluating the positive impact of residential net metered solar in the State of Colorado. The basis of this analysis is to study the direct, indirect, and induced impacts of small scale residential solar on the state’s total economic output, job creation, wages, environment, and public health. https://lnkd.in/gGKvyKiV

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PJM Interconnection's recent power market auction has yielded a dramatic increase in capacity prices, jumping over 800% from $28.92 to $269.92 per MW-day. This surge is set to raise power bills across PJM's 13-state region, potentially boosting costs by 29% starting mid-2025. The auction secured 135,684 MW for June, 2025 through May, 2026, with a mix dominated by gas and nuclear power. Critics argue that PJM's failure to plan for a diverse and affordable energy grid has led to this crisis, highlighting the urgent need for better infrastructure and more clean energy resources to stabilize costs. For more information, read here: https://ow.ly/IhSp50SR8bZ

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Cleanleaf Energy Secures O&M Contracts for 350 MW Solar Projects in Georgia and Pennsylvania Cleanleaf Energy, previously known as Borrego O&M, has announced new agreements to provide operations and maintenance (O&M) services for utility-scale solar projects totaling 350 MW in Georgia and Pennsylvania. These projects, owned by Heelstone Renewable Energy, include four sites in Georgia and one in Pennsylvania. Heelstone Renewable Energy, established in 2012 with initial projects in North Carolina, expanded into California by 2016. In 2019, Heelstone received an investment from Ares Infrastructure and Power to support its utility-scale solar projects across the United States. In January 2024, Qualitas Energy acquired Heelstone, which had a portfolio of 20 GW of solar and […] Read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/dft4yc6C #solarenergy #alternativeenergy #solarpv #pvsolar #photovoltaic #cleanenergy #cleantech #climatechange #middleeast #africa #india #asiapacific #asia #america #cleanleafenergy #northamerica #renewableenergy #solarprojects

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Instead of forcing large customers to pick from solar projects that lost in the competitive bidding process, we want to allow customers to arrange their own solar projects, then enlist Duke as the go-between — essentially how the green tariff operates now. John Burns our General Counsel: “Our proposal is to keep doing that up to 250 MW a year and make those megawatts supplemental to the targets in the Carbon Plan and the interconnection constraint. That gives the customer an argument as to why they are accelerating or adding megawatts that the utility otherwise would not have added in that year.” https://lnkd.in/eJHGk_bt

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🚨 Major shift in transmission planning! FERC's Order 1920 is here, and it's shaking up the grid game. With a focus on alternative transmission technologies

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