Author: Mike Fox Published: 1/29/2021 U of Va. Law School News & Media
Open Letter To President Barack Obama July 8,2016 | Contact us at 202-246-4924 or info@positivechangepc.com!
Author: Mike Fox Published: 1/29/2021 U of Va. Law School News & Media
Author: Infocast Staff: published: 1/29/2021 INFOCAST
Join leading renewable executives, major developers, and experienced offtakers in conversations on the most pressing and vital issues facing the industry today. Assess the opportunities emerging that will drive growth, and explore how to capitalize on new business models going forward. Each week, the series introduces hand-picked experts in market assessment, project development, investment and financing for in-depth, lively discussions and best-in-class insights on timely issues.
Register today to capture the latest information on renewables investments in the current climate, and master the technologies and approaches the market favors!
Author: Indeed Staff Published: 1/29/2021 Srectrade,Inc
$37,182 – $135,886 a year
TO APPLY: Please submit your resume and cover letter to careers @srectrade.com with the Subject Line: Manager, Reporting Operations. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
ABOUT US
SRECTrade provides cloud-based services to the clean energy industry with an expertise in managing, transacting, and processing environmental incentives. The Company’s mission is to accelerate the adoption of clean energy assets by providing services and technology that minimize the time, cost, and risk associated with achieving benefits and compliance in energy markets. The Company facilitates the management and transaction of Solar Renewable Energy Credits (SRECs), Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), Alternative Energy Credits (AECs), and Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Credits.
The Company’s clients cover a variety of market participants including electricity and energy suppliers, utilities, clean energy project developers, installation companies, and individual commercial and residential asset owners. Since 2008, SRECTrade has been a domain expert in solar and renewable energy markets, bringing a wealth of knowledge and transparency to some of the fastest growing state markets in the clean energy industry.
ABOUT THE POSITION
We are looking for a process-driven individual to oversee Client Solutions reporting operations. The position will report to the Director, Client Solutions.
We require someone with strong leadership skills to effectively manage the Reporting Operations Team and its workflow; the project management skills to plan and oversee vital monthly and quarterly tasks; and the ability to effectively communicate with multiple teams, clients, partners, and vendors.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Understand, execute, communicate, and improve reporting operational tasks:
Lead the Reporting Operations Team:
REQUIREMENTS
LOCATION
COMPENSATION
WHY YOU SHOULD JOIN US
Founded by graduate students at Stanford University, SRECTrade launched with the mission of bringing efficiency and transparency to the SREC markets. Our services help facilitate the financial return energy asset owners need to make developing and deploying clean energy possible. We are looking for a candidate who can fit into our flexible, hard-working culture where we are motivated by a love for what we do, a sense of responsibility for doing it well, and a feeling of ownership for our contribution to the success of the business and industry.
SRECTrade is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law. The Company believes that diversity and inclusion is critical to our success as a company, and we seek to recruit, develop and retain the most talented people from a diverse candidate pool.
SRECTrade participates in the federal E-Verify program and confirms employment authorization of all newly hired employees through an electronic database maintained by the Social Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security.
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $37,182.00 – $135,886.00 per year
Benefits:
Schedule:
Work Location:
Company’s website:
Benefit Conditions:
Work Remotely:
COVID-19 Precaution(s):
Author: Advanced Energy Economy Published: 1/28/2021 Policy Update
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Author: Infocast Staff 1/28/2021 Email.infocastinc.com
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Author: Jarrett Carter Sr Published: 1/27/2021 HBCU DIGEST
White House Senior Advisor and Morehouse College alumnus Cedric Richmond will lead a planned teleconference with HBCU presidents this Friday. In an email to HBCU presidents from United Negro College Fund Senior Vice President Lodriguez Murray, the call is the first mark of priority engagement with the sector.
(Richmond) will invite other Administration officials to join the line, but he is strongly encouraging 100% participation from our community. Please put this Zoom on your schedule… this is a high priority item!
The White House summons comes a day after President Joe Biden directly referenced HBCU funding as a means to achieving racial parity in culture and industry. From Inside Higher Ed:
“Just imagine how much more creative and innovative we’d be if this nation held the historically Black colleges and universities to the same … funding and resources of public universities to compete for jobs in industries of the future,” Biden said.
“Just ask the first HBCU graduate elected to vice president if that’s true,” he said of Vice President Kamala Harris, a graduate of Howard University.’
The talking points are terrific, but these have to be the beginnings of stronger symbolism and substance than what was established under the Trump Administration. Months after his inauguration and years before a pandemic swept the White House, Trump welcomed a majority of the nation’s HBCU leaders to the Oval Office for a meeting and HBCU executive order signing.
Presidents and HBCU advocates who didn’t like Trump decried the meeting as a photo opp. Four years later, nearly everyone with knowledge and objectivity concedes that the Trump presidency was a successful one for HBCUs and a foundational introduction for HBCU engagement with the highest office in the world.
Here are five questions that HBCU presidents and chancellors could ask to make the meeting productive and forward-leaning for policy partnership into the next four years.
- Where do we stand on reauthorization of the Higher Education Act?
Two weeks ago, the expected chair of the Senate’s education committee publicly acknowledge that this was a primary focus for the committee and potentially for the Senate body. From The 74 Million:
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington is expected to take retired Sen. Lamar Alexander’s spot as chair of the education committee, while Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina is in line to be ranking member.
Murray said in an email to The 74 recently that she will continue to prioritize reauthorization of the Higher Education Act “to make college more affordable, accessible, accountable, and safer while addressing the systemic racism that has plagued our higher education system.”
She said she was also planning to focus on addressing “all the way systemic racism continues to harm students of color.”
Reauthorization will dictate terms on financial aid eligibility and applications, Pell Grant limits, and while close in 2019, the act hasn’t been reauthorized for more than 13 years. HBCU presidents should know if this is a priority for Congress and how Black colleges will be able to benefit from its new construct and protected by the same from new orders such as free community college subsidies, performance-based federal funding standards from College Scorecard information, or Heightened Cash Monitoring rules.
- When will the president meet with the President’s Board of Advisors on HBCUs, and the White House Initiative on HBCUs?
Several current members of the Board are likely to roll off in short term, notably current chairman Johnny Taylor, and former Bennett College President Phyllis Dawkins and former Clark Atlanta University President Ronald Johnson.
Who replaces these members, and how closely will Biden work with the board to establish the agenda for HBCU inclusion in legislative work for education, agriculture, criminal justice, and healthcare?
Possible members to consider could be Emily Dickens, a North Carolina Central University graduate and former general counsel with the Thurgood Marshall College Fund who worked closely with the PBA on key HBCU legislative matters such as federal loan finance restructuring negotiations and agreements.
Questions should also be asked about leadership for the White House Initiative on HBCUs, which under Trump produced more activity in the way of federal data reporting and awareness about government grants than the preceding administration, and will be a major element of new laws aimed at mandating agencies to demonstrate a commitment to HBCU partnership throughout the federal government.
- Will the administration support institutional adjustment time for new Title IX requirements?
If President Biden intends to broaden protections for students, faculty and staff against discrimination, and those who are survivors or who make allegations of sexual assault on campus, will the Department of Education create guidance on reporting, expectations for adjudication and prosecution, and foster articulation agreements between municipal police and campus police for investigations? As HBCUs have been in national news in recent years as short-handed on sexual assault complaints, the White House should be the primary broker for federal resources to bolster capacity in EEO and Title IX compliance offices, police personnel, and monitoring resources on each campus to ensure full cooperation with federal laws and orders.
- Will the White House support penalizing states for harming HBCUs?
States have become very creative over the last decade in withholding money from HBCUs. Some states like Florida and Tennessee use performance-based funding models with changing rules on enrollment, post-graduate employment, and degrees awarded to marginalize HBCU growth, and some states like Maryland duplicate HBCU programs illegally to attract more Black students away from HBCUs.
Will the Biden Administration commit to empowering the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights to examine compliance with existing consent orders and agreements between states and their public HBCUs? Will the office be allowed to produce public reports and censuring documents on states which are non-compliant, or those which have circumvented constitutional discrimination laws? Will the office be allowed to make recommendations to the president to consider executive orders that will withhold federal higher education funding in financial aid, research grants and contracts for states that refuse to fairly fund HBCUs with public funding?
- Will the Department of Education make HBCUs, MSIs part of a national workforce development network with private companies?
If the White House is considering strong pathways to careers and minimizing the burden created by student debt, will the Department of Education expand an Obama-era plan for granting private companies credential granting status and federal financial aid eligibility by incentivizing partnerships with HBCU and Minority-Serving Institutions? A commitment to building African American wealth, racial equity and building capacity at HBCUs can intersect with the federal government rewarding schools and companies that partner to get traditional students and working adults armed with degrees and affordable student debt repayment.
Author: MCGB Staff Published: 1/27/2021 info@mcgreenbank.org
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CLICK ON LINK TO SEE WHITE HOUSE PRESS CONFEREANCE
Author: Staff AABE Published: 1/26/2021 info@aabe.ccsend.com
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Author: Midflare Staff Published: 1/22/2021 Midflare
Midflare was founded in 2009 and is a minority certified renewable energy company based in Atlanta, GA. As a commercial and utility-scale solar project developer, we provide clean electricity to mid-market companies and large energy buyers, as well as utilities. Midflare’s development strategy is to develop solar projects ranging in size from 10- 500 megawatts (MW) to meet the renewable portfolio requirements of utilities and companies at highly competitive prices. We create energy solutions that deliver cost certainty while helping organizations meet their sustainability objectives.
Our Work
Author: Joe Walsh Published: 12/17/2020 Forbes
Regan is not new to the EPA. He previously worked at the agency for nearly a decade during President Bill Clinton and George W. Bush’s administrations, focusing on air quality issues. He later moved to the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund, and he was named secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality in early 2017. Regan’s colleagues told E&E News he helped to revitalize North Carolina’s environmental regulation agency after years of neglect, leading efforts to hem in air and water pollution by energy and chemical companies in the state. He was also involved in Gov. Roy Cooper (D)’s commitment to make North Carolina’s energy grid carbon neutral by 2050. While campaigning, Biden promised to set an almost identical 2050 goal nationwide.
Regan is a native of Goldsboro, North Carolina. He attended North Carolina A&T State University, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in earth and environmental science. He then attended George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he received a Master of Public Administration.[5]
In 2017, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper selected Regan to serve as the secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.[9] During his tenure, he launched the state’s Environmental Justice and Equity Board with a charter to advise the Secretary on how best to advance environmental justice and promote community engagement, particularly across historically underserved and marginalized communities.[10][11] He also worked to develop the state’s Clean Energy Plan, which aims to reduce private sector greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and ultimately move towards carbon neutrality by 2050.[10] The plan also outlines recommendations and goals of accelerating innovations in clean energy technologies, while creating opportunities for rural and urban communities across North Carolina.[10] In addition, Regan oversees the state’s climate change interagency council, which has worked to advance Governor Cooper’s pledge to achieve carbon neutrality by 2020.[4]
In January 2020, Regan secured an agreement with Duke Energy for the largest coal ash contamination cleanup in United States history.[12] The company committed to excavating 80 million tons of ash across seven of nine coal ash deposits. His department also ordered the chemical company Chemours to address and eliminate toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which they were dumping into the Cape Fear River upstream of a major source of drinking water.[6] While generally favored by environmental organizations, Regan has clashed with the environmental movement. In 2018, he approved permits for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, though the project was ultimately cancelled.[6]
On December 17, 2020, members of the Biden presidential transition team told the press that the Regan would be nominated to serve as the next United States Environmental Protection Agency Administrator.[4] If confirmed, Regan would become the first Black man to run the agency and would be responsible for helping to advance the Biden administration’s commitment to combating climate change, promoting green energy innovations, and addressing the effects of environmental racism.[4]
Regan’s nomination was endorsed by the Environmental Protection Network, an organization composed of former EPA appointees and career staff which was created to oppose the Trump administration’s efforts to roll back environmental regulations.[13]
Authors: Staff BBC News Published: 1/20/2021 BBC News
Joe Biden has spent 50 years in politics working towards this moment, but he could never have expected such huge challenges would be facing him on his first day at the helm. What are his priorities?
He’ll get started with a 10-day flurry of executive orders.
These are presidential directives that don’t require congressional approval.
Top of the list are rescinding a controversial travel ban, imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump against countries he viewed as a security threat, and rejoining the Paris climate deal.
Here’s what else we know about what will demand the new president’s immediate attention.
Masking up America
The coronavirus has killed more than 400,000 people in the US – and the pandemic and its wide-ranging impact will be the new administration’s top priority.
Mr Biden has called it “one of the most important battles our administration will face” and has vowed to implement his Covid strategy straight away.
One of his first moves will be executive action requiring social distancing and the wearing of masks on federal property nationwide and by federal employees and contractors.
Still, there’s no guarantee the state governors who’ve so far opposed mask mandates will suddenly change their minds – there appears to be no legal authority that grants a president the power to bring in a nationwide mask rule.
Mr Biden seems to have conceded that point, and says he’ll personally try to persuade governors to come around.
If they’re not receptive, he’s vowed to make calls to mayors and municipal officials to recruit them to the cause. There’s also no word yet on how a mandate will be enforced.
100 million vaccine doses in 100 days
Mr Biden wants to speed up the vaccine rollout with the ultimate goal of vaccinating 100 million people with at least a first dose against Covid in his first 100 days in office.
One part of the acceleration plan is to release all available vaccine doses instead of holding some in reserve for the necessary second jab.
He is also expected to take executive action on efforts to develop and deploy rapid testing and to put in place a national supply chain for equipment, medications and personal protective equipment, or PPE.
Rejoining WHO
On his agenda is a pledge to reverse the decision to have the US leave the World Health Organization (WHO).
Mr Trump announced plans over the summer to pull the country out of the WHO, accusing it of mismanaging Covid after the virus emerged in China and saying it failed to make “greatly needed reforms”.
Relief for renters and homeowners
Mr Biden’s team has said he has immediate plans to extend a moratorium on evictions and on foreclosures on home mortgages – both of which were paused early in the pandemic – as well as the current pause on federal student loan payments and interest.
Mr Biden’s transition team said he plans to direct Cabinet agencies this week to “take immediate action to deliver economic relief to working families”, though they did not offer more detail.
$1.9tn for the US coronavirus economy
Last week, Mr Biden announced a $1.9tn (£1.4tn) stimulus plan for the coronavirus-sapped US economy, saying that “a crisis of deep human suffering is in plain sight and there’s no time to waste”.
If passed by Congress, it would include direct payments of $1,400 to all Americans. He has also included funding to help schools safely reopen, which he wants to happen in the first 100 days.
It’ll be in addition to a long-awaited $900bn stimulus package Congress passed in December, which Mr Biden had called a “down payment” on the larger proposed package.
Republicans lawmakers are likely to object to parts of the bill, which will add more debt to what the US has already spent dealing with the pandemic – and Mr Biden will need bipartisan support for the plan.
Democrats currently control both chambers of Congress, but only by narrow margins.
Ending Trump tax cuts
Covid aid isn’t the only priority on the incoming president’s economic agenda. He has pledged to get rid of Mr Trump’s signature tax cuts as soon as he takes office.
Mr Trump passed the cuts in 2017, early in his presidency, and the Biden team says they unfairly reward the wealthiest Americans and favour corporations over small businesses.
Mr Biden has also said he would swiftly double the taxes that US firms pay on foreign profits – part of his Made in America push – which would come in addition to a rise in corporate taxes.
His tax policy legislation will need to pass Congress.
Back in the Paris Agreement
Another move Mr Biden says he will make on his first day in office is to rejoin the Paris climate agreement, a global accord that includes the goal to keep temperatures below 2.0C (3.6F) above pre-industrial times and “endeavour to limit” them even more, to 1.5C.
His predecessor pulled the US out of the 2015 accord – it became official on 4 November – making it the first nation in the world to do so.
The US will officially be part of the agreement again within 30 days.
Mr Biden has also pledged to “up the ante” and aim for higher standards on climate mitigation measures, and to convene a climate world summit within the first 100 days in office.
Mr Biden has said he wants to work with Congress to enact legislation this year that will allow the US to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.
Cancelling Keystone XL pipeline
In a move that has already sparked alarm with his northern neighbours, Mr Biden is reportedly planning to immediately rescind the cross-border permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, a planned project from the oil sands of Canada’s Alberta province, through Montana and South Dakota, to rejoin an existing pipeline to Texas.
Roll back deregulations
A further agenda item is a U-turn on much of Mr Trump’s legacy of climate and energy deregulation, like the easing of vehicle emissions targets.
Mr Biden has said he will negotiate “rigorous” new emissions limits on cars and heavy-duty vehicles, to conserve 30% of US lands and waters by 2030, to ban new drilling on public lands, and to close the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
The new administration says it plans also to bring in “aggressive” methane pollution limits for oil and gas operations and to ban new oil and gas leasing on public lands and waters.
Scrapping the travel ban
The travel ban, signed by Mr Trump just seven days after taking office in January 2017, will be among the first policies to be discarded.
The ban initially excluded people from seven majority-Muslim countries, but the list was modified following a series of court challenges.
It now restricts citizens of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and North Korea.
A pathway to citizenship
In another major immigration pledge, Mr Biden has said he’ll swiftly send a bill to Congress laying out a pathway to citizenship for over 11 million undocumented immigrants.
“And all of those so-called dreamers, those Daca [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme] kids, they’re going to be immediately certified again to be able to stay in this country and put on a path to citizenship,” he said in late October.
Late in the election, the campaign announced Mr Biden would create a task force to reunite some 545 migrant children separated from their parents at the US southern border.
In December, the Biden team conceded it would need more time to roll back one of Mr Trump’s policies, the Migrant Protection Protocols that force thousands of asylum seekers to wait in Mexico for US immigration court hearings.
Once a “Day One” pledge, officials now say it could take about six months to address.
Ending border wall construction
Mr Biden has vowed to halt construction of a project synonymous with Mr Trump’s presidency – the border wall between the US and Mexico. His campaign had called it “a waste of money” that “diverts critical resources away from the real threats”.
The administration says it will instead divert the federal funds towards efforts like new border screening measures.
The national reckoning with race is the fourth crisis – alongside Covid, the economy and climate – Mr Biden says he must tackle quickly.
Some of those policies – like addressing racial disparities in housing and healthcare – overlap with his other plans.
Mr Biden will sign an executive order on racial equality and call on all US agencies to create a plan to tackle any unequal barriers to opportunity. It will also rescind Mr Trump’s executive order limiting the ability of federal government agencies to implement diversity and inclusion training.
Mr Biden has promised to set up a national police oversight body to assist in reforming police departments in his first 100 days in office, though details of that plan are scarce.
He has said he wants swift passage by Congress of the “Safe Justice Act”, which includes measures on reforming mandatory minimum sentences and increasing funding for community based policing.
He has made commitments to the LGBT community as well, like directing resources towards helping prevent violence against transgender people, ending the ban on transgender people serving in the military, and restoring guidance for transgender students in schools.
One other priority is passing the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to existing federal civil rights laws, though how fast he can pass that legislation remains unclear.
The incoming president says he plans to quickly reach out to US allies to smooth ruffled feathers and promise that “America has your back”, saying the US must “prove to the world that [it] is prepared to lead again – not just with the example of our power but also with the power of our example”.
He has said on his first day in the Oval Office he would reach out to Nato allies with the message “we’re back and you can count on us again”.
Though Mr Trump was not the first president to pressure other North Atlantic Treaty Organisation members to spend more on defence, he threatened at times to withdraw from the alliance that Mr Biden has called the “bulwark of the liberal democratic ideal”.
Author: Illumine Industries Published: 1/13/2021 Utility Dive
Company doubles engineering team headcount in Q4 2020
January 13, 2021 (San Francisco) – Illumine Industries (Illumine-i), a comprehensive design and engineering firm, today announced it has completed the design of its 18,000th residential and commercial solar project. This milestone was achieved in a record five years, the last year marking the most significant growth – nearly 10,000 projects.
“This is an incredibly exciting milestone to achieve in just a few years in such a competitive and growing market,” said Nithish Sairam, CEO, Illumine-i. “Our team of engineers and creative thinkers has attained an extremely high level of trust with our customers and they continue to turn to us for their solar project design needs.”
Technical precision and constructability of solar projects – rooftop, ground mount and carports – is critical to the success of commercial, residential and utility solar projects. Illumine-i is the preferred design partner to more than 300 solar installers, developers and EPCs across the United States and holds a 97% Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) approval rate.
“Illumine-i has consistently performed high quality design and engineering services on our solar sites, unfailingly meeting deadlines and providing rapid technical support when solving challenges discovered during site investigation,” said Andy Hershberger, Director of Virginia Operations for GOT Electric LLC. “Their support is critical as a key technical backstop allowing more of our projects to move forward and keeping our business growing.”
Illumine-i was recently selected by Got Electric for a portfolio of solar projects in Virginia to provide development and electrical engineering support at two school districts totaling 12 sites with cumulative solar of more than 4 megawatts (MW) DC. These projects are the company’s first in Virginia, and they expect additional business in the state due to the “Virginia Clean Economy Act” passed in 2020, through which 16,000MW of solar and onshore wind were allocated, directly expanding net metering in the Commonwealth.
The company also increased its design and engineering team by 100% in Q4 2020 to support the company’s rapid growth. With licensed engineers in every state, Illumine-i also provides structural and electrical review for projects across the U.S.
“No two solar projects are the same, so each of our projects has a dedicated Account Manager whose sole responsibility is ensuring the engineering team is meeting (and exceeding) our client’s requirements on-time and on-budget,” said Kevin Mathew, Project Manager, Illumine-i. “As a result, we are seeing additional requests for our services, most notably for larger commercial and utility-scale projects.”
Illumine-i is also expanding its technology services to support its growing customer base. The company is currently developing an application that is designed to help solar installers save time and money on their projects by cutting down certain indirect costs associated with pre-engineering. Illumine-i expects to announce this new product towards the end of Q1 2021.
“Leveraging the power of technology is a driving factor for Illumine-i,” said Srinath M.R., Process Development Manager, Illumine-i. “This new product, in combination with our existing design and engineering services, will bring financial benefits to our clients by cutting down on manhours and reducing soft costs by 5%-10%.”
About Illumine Industries
Illumine Industries (Illumine-i) is a nationwide design and engineering firm specializing in residential, commercial and utility scale solar PV and energy storage system. The company’s work includes creating engineering designs and calculation packages for RFP responses, permitting & interconnection approval, and construction. Its team of 40+ engineers with a combined 100 years of experience provide value-engineered designs customized to any specific needs at a faster turnaround time and mostly with utmost quality and competitive cost. Find out more here.
PR Contact:
Leah Wilkinson
Wilkinson + Associates for Illumine-i
703-907-0010
Author: Jason Stane and others Published: 1/21/2021 Utility Dive
The following is a contributed article by Jason Stanek, Chairman, Maryland Public Service Commission; Philip L. Bartlett II, Chairman, Maine Public Utilities Commission; Joseph L. Fiordaliso, President, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities; Marissa Paslick Gillet, Chairman, Connecticut Public Utilities Regulatory Authority; Willie L. Phillips, Chairman, Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia; Ted J. Thomas, Chairman, Arkansas Public Service Commission; Rebecca Cameron Valcq, Chair, Public Service Commission of Wisconsin; Hayley Williamson, Chair, Public Utilities Commission of Nevada; Dallas Winslow, Chair, Delaware Public Service Commission; and Carrie K. Zalewski, Chairman, Illinois Commerce Commission.
As chairs of public utility commissions, we begin the new year with optimism as it presents an opportunity to leverage lessons learned last year and move toward strengthening federal-state electricity regulatory relationships and enhancing the cooperation and collaboration between our respective commissions.
Technological advancements, market forces and consumer demands are driving one of the most significant power sector transitions in recent memory. States are adopting aggressive Renewable Portfolio Standards, Clean Energy Standards and greenhouse gas targets, as well as pushing to electrify the transportation sector. Despite new challenges, states are continuing to serve as incubators of innovation, nurturing the development and maturation of energy resources that will satisfy new public policies and meet evolving customer needs.
In recent years, FERC has been helpful in opening doors to advance some new resources, such as energy storage and distributed energy. Likewise, grid operators have taken steps to improve their markets. It is imperative that these doors remain open and that, together, we can effectuate the successful implementation of these policies with regulatory clarity, coordination and cooperation.
The optimal path forward calls for states and FERC to take steps to work in concert to manage their complex and sometimes varied regulatory roles, looking beyond their respective retail and wholesale jurisdictions, and working cooperatively in a coordinated manner, where the actions of one regulator necessarily impact another.
Communication will be key, and it can be facilitated through forums for state and federal regulators to discuss matters of common interest, and to provide clarity and define expectations in advancing policy objectives. The successful FERC-NARUC Collaborative represents one of several possible paths forward that allow state and federal regulators to identify priorities and commit to working toward common goals.
The autonomy and independence of states allows each to be a laboratory of democracy, and to be a vehicle for the expression of the different wills of the people who live in them. However, implementing policies individually on a state-by-state basis is often more costly and less efficient than implementing them on a multi-state basis. Advancing like-minded policies through regional markets has proven to be cost effective in the past, and states should continue to use regional state committees and organizations to develop beneficial policies, and to carry those policy preferences to the ISO/RTO stakeholder process.
Ultimately, success will require leadership. We call on federal and state electricity regulators to explore a forum where pressing policy issues can be discussed in a way that improves coordination and understanding across the jurisdictional lines. Serving and protecting the public interest during this time of transition is paramount and should be a priority for all of us in this new year. We pledge our support for a mutually beneficial process and look forward to the road ahead.
Author: AABE Published: 1/19/2021 Info@ American Association Blacks In Energy
Author: Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus Published: 1/19/2021 SETO
A letter from Dr. Becca Jones-Albertus, director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO).
Dear solar stakeholder,
As we start the new year, I want to share highlights of our work in 2020. I hope these will excite you about what more we can accomplish together in the year to come.
In 2020, we announced $200 million in funding and selected 72 new projects (SETO 2020 and EMPOWERED) that will work to advance a wide array of new technologies. We will share the progress these projects will make and look forward to your applications for our next funding opportunities.
With 2020 being a record for new U.S. solar installations, our focus on how to best integrate solar on the grid becomes even more important. SETO’s systems integration research is working to ensure that solar integration is reliable, affordable, safe, and secure. As part of that work, we initiated the development of a power electronics testbed with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)’s Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems; announced funding for a Grid-Forming Research Consortium; and launched the North American Energy Resilience Model with the DOE electricity, wind, and water offices.
As the solar fleet grows, we are developing a better understanding of the performance and degradation rates of those systems. In 2020, our Photovoltaics (PV) Fleet Performance Data Initiative worked with industry to collect 2.5 gigawatts of data. As we gather even more, NREL is using this data to develop a benchmark that will enable more efficient operation of PV installations and improve performance prediction accuracy for current and future PV power plants.
But that’s not all. Here are some more highlights from our projects last year:
We had some intense competitions last year, too, which you can follow into the new year. We launched the Solar Desalination Prize, and Round 4 of the American-Made Solar Prize is underway. And more than 525 students from 52 collegiate institutions participated in the Solar District Cup Class of 2020. Now 59 teams from 56 institutions in the Class of 2021 are reimagining distributed energy systems, with 21% of the teams at minority-serving institutions.
Finally, we congratulate the three National Lab solar project teams that received research & development (R&D) 100 awards!
Thank you for your interest in our work, and I hope that you continue to stay engaged with us. You can always visit SETO’s website to get up to speed on the latest research.
We look forward to continuing to work to support the growth of solar in 2021 and beyond. Please feel free to reach out with any questions by emailing solar@ee.doe.gov.
Wishing you a happy new year!
Becca
Author: DC Chamber of Commerce Published: 1/19/20221 DCCC
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Author: Elle De La Cancela Published: 1/19/2021 CCAN
Virtual Lobbying 101 Training
Dear Ronald,
Thank you so much for attending our Virtual Lobbying 101 training hosted by CCAN Action Fund and Virginia League of Conservation Voters. With the tools from this event, you hopefully will feel more comfortable speaking on the legislation you are passionate about with our lawmakers this General Assembly Session.
For those of you who didn’t make it or who would like a refresher, you can find our presentation slides here. A video recording of the event is also available here. And we have the information packet with all things Clean Cars here.
We also have some helpful links to resources we mentioned during the webinar. If you are looking to find your legislator, check out the meeting schedule, learn general bill information (use quick links tab), or give written or oral testimony in either the house or the senate, you can do so by clicking the hyperlinks.
And lastly: here are some opportunities to put your skills to good use:
Our events can all be found here.
There will be more opportunities to get involved with other intersectional legislation (think: worker’s rights, land use/housing) throughout this session, so keep an eye on your emails. In the meantime, feel free to shoot us a line with any questions.
We hope to see you at one of our events soon!
In solidarity,
Lauren & Elle
Author: WI Informer Staff Published: 1/15/2021 Washington Informer Newspaper
President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday said his proposed $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package will include more of stimulus checks, with the latest amount of $1,400 intended to offset the relatively small $600 payments that began going out this month.
The direct payments are part of Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which aims to assist those struggling to make ends meet since the global pandemic began nearly a year ago.
The plan, which has to meet congressional approval, is packed with proposals regarding health care, education, labor and cybersecurity.
In addition to an extra $400 per week for unemployed and affected workers, $416 billion has been earmarked for a national vaccination program covering 50 million people and reopening schools in Biden’s first 100 days in office, NBC News reported.
Author: media@cbcfinc.org Published: 1/15/2021 CBCF
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