Virtual power plants get a road map

GRID: Clean energy advocates and solar companies partner to draft model utility rules and legislation to help states deploy virtual power plants, which could reduce the cost of the clean energy transition by maximizing the benefits of solar, storage, and other distributed energy technologies. (Canary Media)

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ALSO:

• U.S. power consumption is set to reach record highs this year and next, driven by data centers, manufacturing, and electrification of buildings and transportation, the Energy Information Administration says. (Reuters)
• California and Texas lead the country on deployed grid-scale battery storage, accounting for 72% of systems in the U.S. (Reuters)
• PJM Interconnection’s struggle to bring new generation online fans concern about the grid operator’s planning abilities as more fossil fuel generators set retirement dates. (Heatmap)

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POLITICS:

• Vice President Kamala Harris highlighted how the Inflation Reduction Act  juiced clean energy and domestic oil and gas production during last night’s presidential debate as former President Trump brought up the Keystone Pipeline’s cancellation and Harris’ former opposition to fracking. (E&E News)
• When asked about climate change, Harris brought up Trump’s climate denial and clean energy investment under the Biden administration, while Trump pivoted to promising tariffs to protect the electric vehicle and other industries from foreign competition. (Grist, The Hill)

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SOLAR: The Biden administration has been stuck playing “whac-a-mole” with Chinese solar companies, industry insiders say, as they deliberately overproduce components and shift manufacturing to other countries to avoid U.S. tariffs. (The Guardian)

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CLIMATE: As G20 leaders meet today to discuss the global response to climate change, advocates say member countries, including the U.S., are ignoring their commitments to phase out fossil fuels. (The Guardian)

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CLEAN ENERGY: A federal green bank aims to channel $500 million to community financial institutions to fund solar arrays, renewable energy apprenticeships, electrified public transit, and more in rural areas, with priority for projects in Appalachia. (Grist)

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OIL & GAS: Experts say the lack of communication to neighboring residents about a fire at a large Louisiana refinery is an example of the embedded culture of secrecy around chemical plants and refineries in “Cancer Alley.” (Guardian)

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COAL:

• A federal rule requiring coal plants to cut carbon emissions by 90% within a decade poses an existential threat to a large polluting coal plant in southern Ohio whose previous owner uprooted the entire town 20 years ago to avoid pollution controls. (The Guardian)
• The owner of the country’s last coal-powered steamship, which operates in Lake Michigan, is using a $600,000 federal grant to study emissions-free fuel options. (Interlochen Public Radio)

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