Latest 50 States of Grid Modernization Report Released

Posted on November 14, 2017 by Anjali Patel

Last week, the North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center (NCCETC) released its third quarter 50 States of Grid Modernization report (Q3 Grid Modernization Report).  Following on NCCETC’s first and second quarter reports, the Q3 Grid Modernization Report notes that during the third quarter of 2017, 33 states plus D.C. engaged in at least one policy or deployment action related to grid modernization, utility business model and rate reform, energy storage, microgrids, and demand response. The States of New York and California and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts were the most active of the group.

The Q3 Grid Modernization Report, among other things summarizes:

  • state studies and investigations into energy storage, grid modernization, demand response and/or rate reform in which some action occurred during the third quarter of 2017 (19 states and D.C.);
  • proposed changes to utility planning processes, state-level market access regulations, and wholesale market rules (15 states and 4 ISO/RTOs), including certain states’ directive to its utilities to consider non-wire alternatives;
  • proposed and implemented reforms of rate designs, regulatory structures, and utility business models (12 states and D.C.), including decoupling mechanisms, time-varying rates, and dedicated tariffs for customers with energy storage systems;
  • developments in grid modernization policies (20 states), including energy storage targets and interconnection standards, rules regarding advanced metering infrastructure, and cost recovery mechanisms;
  • financial incentives at the state (7 states) and federal level, including incentives for energy storage; and
  • deployment of advanced grid technologies (21 states), including projects related to advanced metering infrastructure, smart grid components, microgrids and energy storage.

Relatedly, last month, NCCETC’s released its third quarter 50 States of Solar report (Q3 Solar Report).*  The Q3 Solar Report notes that 41 states and the D.C. engaged in at least one action related to distributed solar policy during the third quarter of 2017.

 

*The Q3 Solar Report’s Executive Summary may be downloaded for free, but there is a charge to access the full report. NCCETC has offered to provide complimentary copies of the full report to “policymakers and regulators (limited to federal and state legislators and staffers, utility commissioners, utility commission staff, state consumer advocate office staff, and state energy office staff) and students (for academic purpose only).” The Executive Summary includes information on whom to contact to obtain a complimentary copy.

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EPA Extends Comment Deadline for Clean Power Plan Rollback, Will Hold Public Hearing

Posted on November 9, 2017 by Amber Martin

On November 8, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice extending the deadline for comment on its proposed rollback of the Clean Power Plan by 32 days.  Interested parties will now have until January 18, 2018, to submit comments.  In the meantime, the agency will convene a public hearing on the proposal in Charleston, West Virginia on November 28 and 29.

In October, EPA announced plans to roll back the regulations, citing its belief that the Clean Power Plan is inconsistent with Section 111 of the Clean Air Act because its emissions guidelines for existing power plants can only realistically be met through generation-shifting, such as replacing fossil fuel generation with renewable resources rather than through use of emissions reductions equipment.

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Federal Agencies Issue Climate Science Special Report

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Jeff Bayne

Last week, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) released a report entitled Climate Science Special Report: Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume I (NCA4).  USGCRP consists of thirteen federal departments and agencies, including the Department of Energy, EPA, the Department of Transportation, NASA, the Department of Defense, and the Department of State.  It is required by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 to develop “a comprehensive and integrated United States research program which will assist the Nation and the world to understand, assess, predict, and respond to human-induced and natural processes of global change.”  The last USGCRP assessment was released in May 2014, making NCA4 the first report issued under the Trump Administration.

NCA4 provides an updated analysis of how climate change is currently affecting the weather and climate of the United States as well as projections of the future impacts of climate change.  The report concludes that “it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century.  For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence.”

The report notes several climate trends that have occurred over the past century and that are expected to continue.  Global average temperature has increased more than 1.2 degrees Celsius for the period of 1986-2016 compared to 1901-1960, and without significant reductions in the emissions of greenhouse gases, temperatures could increase to 5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.  Temperature and precipitation extremes have also become more common in the past century, and this trend is expected to continue as global temperature increases.  At the same time, oceans have become warmer and more acidic, and sea levels have risen by seven to eight inches since 1900.

NCA4 reports that stabilizing global temperatures to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels will require substantial reductions in net CO2 emissions prior to 2040 and likely will require net emissions to become zero or even negative later this century.  Although emission growth rates have slowed in recent years, this trend is not sufficient to limit the increase in global temperatures to below 2 degrees Celsius.

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GAO Report Finds that Climate Change Could Cost the Federal Government Billions; Alaska Governor Establishes State Climate Change Strategy

Posted on November 2, 2017 by Katherine O'Konski

In a September 2017 report, Climate Change: Information on Potential Economic Effects Could Help Guide Federal Efforts to Reduce Fiscal Exposure, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) studied the potential economic effects of climate change in order to help federal decision-makers identify significant climate risks and develop government-wide priorities to manage such risks.  The report concludes that extreme weather and fire events have cost the federal government over $350 billion over the past decade. As climate change causes these extreme events to become more common and more intense, recurring costs to the federal government could reach $35 billion per year by mid-century, and $112 billion per year by late century.

GAO found that federal-level planning is needed because the economic effects of climate change could be unevenly distributed across sectors and regions. For example, the Southeast region may face greater potential economic effects than other parts of the country as a result of coastal property damage as sea levels rise. The report recommends that the appropriate entities within the Executive Office of the President, including the Office of Science and Technology Policy, use information on potential economic effects to help identify significant climate risks and craft appropriate federal responses.

In addition, more localized strategies to combat climate change continue to develop.  On October 31, 2017, Alaska Governor Bill Walker signed Administrative Order 289, establishing the Alaska Climate Change Strategy and Climate Action for Alaska Leadership Team. Recognizing that climate change threatens the availability and quality of Alaska’s resources, the order aims to “creat[e] a vision for Alaska’s future that incorporates long-term climate goals, yet recognizes the need for non-renewable resources to meet current economic and energy requirements during a transition to a renewable energy based future.” To that end, the order announces Alaska’s intent to engage with national and international partners to seek collaborative solutions to climate change that support the goals of the United Nations’ 2015 Paris Agreement.

In particular, the Leadership Team has been charged with identifying measures to:

  • mitigate Alaska’s greenhouse gas emissions;
  • help Alaska’s citizens, environment, and infrastructure adapt to climate change impacts;
  • bolster scientific research, innovation, public outreach, and education related to climate change and mitigation and adaptation strategies; and
  • plan for timely and robust responses to address near-term threats to Alaska’s communities from ocean acidification, coastal erosion, storm impacts, oil and other toxic spills, infrastructure damage, and other climate change impacts.
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2017 Emissions Gap Report Finds that More Action is Needed to Meet Paris Goals

Posted on October 31, 2017 by Anjali Patel

The United Nation’s Environment Programme (UN Environment) has released its 2017 Emissions Gap Report.  In its eighth edition, the report addresses the “gap” between the emissions reductions necessary to achieve the Paris Agreement goals of limiting global warming to under 2º Celsius (as compared to pre-industrial levels), and the reductions that will likely result from the full implementation of the individual country pledges to reduce emissions, also known as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

It finds that the NDCs account for only one third of the reductions necessary to meet the 2º Celsius climate target, and states that “[t]he gap between the reductions needed and the national pledges made in Paris is alarmingly high.”  The press release accompanying the report further states that “[s]hould the United States follow through with its stated intention to leave the Paris Agreement in 2020, the picture could become even bleaker.”

The report finds that “if the emissions gap is not closed by 2030, it is extremely unlikely that the goal of holding global warming to well below 2°C can still be reached.” However, it then proceeds to address a number of ways that gap can be closed, including through:

  • Revising and strengthening the NDCs;
  • Implementing emission reduction initiatives by subnational and non-state actors, e.g. regional and local governments and businesses;
  • Implementing sectoral emission reduction measures, including in the buildings sector through energy efficiency measures and the energy sector through the growth of wind and solar energy, and through measures to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas production/distribution and from coal mining (e.g. by reducing gas leakage, recovering/utilizing vented pipeline gas, implanting pre-mining degasification measures, etc.).  According to the press release: “Much of the potential across the sectors comes from investment solar and wind energy, efficient appliances, efficient passenger cars, afforestation and stopping deforestation. Focusing only on recommended actions in these areas — which have modest or net-negative costs — could cut up to 22 GtCO2e in 2030.”

Relatedly, the 1 Gigaton Coalition also released today a report entitled Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Developing Countries: Contributions to Reducing Global Emissions. The Coalition is supported by the Government of Norway and coordinated by UN Environment.

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