[USA] Report: Solar and wind growth slowed in 2022

According to a report released by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) on February 16, 2023, the U.S. wind, solar, and battery storage sectors installed a total of 9.6 GW of utility-scale capacity in Q4 2022.[1] The report, titled Clean Power Quarterly Market Report- Q4 2022, found that issues such as supply chain constraints, delays connecting projects to the grid, unclear trade restrictions, permitting obstacles, and uncertainty regarding the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) slowed project development in 2022. Although Q4 was the best quarter of 2022, it was the lowest fourth quarter for utility-scale clean energy installations since 2019, down 21% from 2021. Annual installations were also below both 2021 and 2020 levels, down 16% and 12%, respectively.

The U.S. added more than 21 GW of wind and solar energy in 2022, below 2021 and 2020 levels. Battery storage had a record year, adding 4 GW of capacity in 2022, surpassing the 3 GW record set in 2021. Land-based wind saw the largest decrease in installations in 2022, with 37% less than in 2021. The report states that this decrease was expected, largely due to the declining value of the production tax credit for wind. The report highlighted that the clean power development pipeline had reached a new high, due in part to the IRA, with 13% more capacity in development queues since Q4 2021 and 135 GW of clean power projects in the late stages of development.  

[1] https://cleanpower.org/news/market-report-2022-q4/

[USA] Sunrun and PG&E announce new VPP to support California grid in the summer

On February 6, 2022, Sunrun, a solar and battery storage provider, announced plans to create a 30 MW virtual power plant (VPP) by enrolling up to 7,500 existing and new residential solar and battery systems in Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) service area.[1] Storage systems that enroll in the Energy Efficiency Summer Reliability Program will be directed to discharge power to the grid every day between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. from August through October, a time when energy needs in California tend to be the highest. Customers will receive a $750 upfront payment and a free smart thermostat for participating. Batteries enrolled in the program will keep enough energy to meet customers’ needs in the event of a local power outage in their area. All Sunrun solar and battery customers in single-family homes in PG&E’s footprint who are not currently enrolled in other demand response programs are eligible to participate. In addition, the program will provide Sunrun with incremental revenue for managing and delivering VPP services to the grid for one year.

The new VPP is part of several programs and solutions that PG&E has implemented to ensure reliability during extreme heat events. The VPP was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) in January 2023, and the company plans to begin enrolling customers into the program and start dispatches on August 1, 2023.

[1] https://investors.sunrun.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/279/sunrun-and-pge-collaborate-on-residential-battery-powered

[USA] FBI thwarts plot to attack BGE substations

On February 6, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that two suspects had been charged with planning a firearms attack on five Baltimore Gas & Electric (BGE) substations.[1] According to the DOJ, Sarah Beth Clendaniel of Catonsville, Maryland, and Brandon Clint Russell of Orlando, Florida, were arrested on February 3, 2023,  and charged with conspiracy to destroy an energy facility. The two individuals planned to attack several substations across Baltimore, Maryland, to cripple the city’s electricity infrastructure. The planned attack was based on race, and at least one of the suspects is a member of a neo-Nazi group. BGE, an Exelon subsidiary, said it is working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), state and local investigators.

“Attacks on multiple electrical substations in Maryland would have caused suffering to thousands of Americans going about their everyday lives, but the FBI and our partners put a stop to that threat,” said Assistant Director Robert R. Wells of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “According to the criminal complaint, the defendants allegedly were taking specific steps to carry out their plans, including selecting targets and trying to illegally acquire a rifle. The FBI and our partners will hold accountable all those who commit criminal acts that threaten the safety of those in our communities, regardless of their motivations.”

[1] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maryland-woman-and-florida-man-charged-federally-conspiring-destroy-energy-facilities

[USA] ACORE Report: More transmission would have prevented winter outages

According to a report released by the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) on February 8, 2023, adding 1 GW of transmission capacity during Winter Storm Elliott could have saved electricity consumers nearly $100 million over the course of the five-day storm.[1] The report, titled The Value of Transmission During Winter Storm Elliott, analyses the benefits more transmission could have provided during Winter Storm Elliot, which caused record winter electricity demand and rolling blackouts across much of the Central and Eastern U.S. in December 2022. About 1.7 million service disruptions occurred during the peak of Winter Storm Elliott. The report found that congested power lines prevented the region from importing lower-cost electricity when energy use spiked during Winter Storm Elliott. The ACORE report also found that additional transmission into the Duke/Progress utility area in the Carolinas and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) region would have yielded savings of $85 million and $95 million, respectively. In addition, a 1 GW transmission line between the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) and TVA would have also provided $1 billion in savings to Texans during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021.

[1] https://acore.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ACORE-The-Value-of-Transmission-During-Winter-Storm-Elliott.pdf

[USA] ChargePoint and Stem to partner on EV charging and energy storage for DC fast charging

On January 31, 2023, ChargePoint Holdings, an electric vehicle (EV) charging network company, and Stem, a utility- and industrial-scale battery storage and software company, announced an agreement to accelerate EV charging and battery storage for highway corridor DC fast charging and other EV charging applications like fleet charging.[1] According to the press release, by combining EV charging with battery storage and AI-driven energy management, EV site operators can benefit from lower operating costs and added energy resiliency.

ChargePoint will analyze EV charging demand at sites looking to install DC chargers and assess their eligibility for incentive programs like the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program. ChargePoint will work with Stem to determine if a battery energy storage system may reduce the EV site’s operating costs. The companies say they will integrate ChargePoint’s Express Plus advanced fast charging platform with Stem’s on-site energy storage and its Athena platform, which integrates solar, storage, and EV charging management. The agreement has the potential to help reduce an EV site host’s utility bills by reducing demand charges, which can represent a significant portion of EV charging operating costs.[2] EV site hosts can reduce or avoid these costs by utilizing battery storage to mitigate demand peaks. Through energy storage-managed EV charging, customers can protect themselves against the risk of potential utility rate changes.

[1] https://www.chargepoint.com/about/news/chargepoint-and-stem-accelerate-deployment-ev-charging-and-battery-storage-solutions-dc

[2] Currently, public charging utilization is often too low to recover the cost of high-demand charges. A 2017 Rocky Mountain Institute study showed demand charges could be responsible for over 90% of a charging station’s electricity costs. Similarly, a 2019 Great Plains Institute study found that at low utilization rates, demand charges can be responsible for up to 90% of a site host’s monthly electricity bills.

[USA] PG&E projects 32% percent higher gas and electricity bills this winter

On January 31, 2023, Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) warned its customers that the colder-than-normal temperatures mixed with increased costs of natural gas could lead to much higher energy bills this winter.[1] The utility said that compared to the same time last year, residential combined-use gas and electricity bills will be about 32% higher until March. PG&E cited higher demand and tighter supplies in the region. Natural gas prices have been much higher on the West Coast than in the rest of the U.S. since November 2022. Between January 19 and 25, California's average daily prices were five times higher than the U.S. benchmark prices. Residents are using more natural gas for heating during colder weather—customers have used more natural gas this winter than the past five-year historic average. In addition, power plants are utilizing more natural gas to meet electricity demand. However, the company noted that bill increases could be less severe if prices fall and the weather warms unexpectedly.

The utility said it supports the proposal to issue the annual April Climate Credit earlier this year, which would provide residential customers with credits of $91.17. The California Public Utilities Commission is scheduled to vote on February 2, 2023, on the proposal. Separately, more than 300,000 customers who experienced financial hardships during the pandemic will receive an automatic one-time bill credit before February 3, 2023, under the California Arrearage Payment Program.

[1] https://www.pge.com/en_US/about-pge/media-newsroom/news-details.page?pageID=57fb0682-a47e-4431-a678-7319d659e3ff&ts=1675355880012

[USA] Southern states without power due to ice storm

A combination of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic air spilling south from Canada is resulting in a long-duration ice storm across at least eight states. At least seven people have been reported dead since January 30, 2023.[1] Ice storm warnings were in effect across large portions of Texas, western Tennessee, northern Mississippi, and much of Arkansas. Ice accumulated on power lines, utility poles, and tree limbs, leading to power outages. According to PowerOutage.us, more than 437,000 customers were without power in Texas as of the afternoon of February 2.[2] Arkansas had about 82,000 customers without power, followed by Mississippi with 23,000 and Tennessee with 17,000. More than a quarter of all households in Austin, Texas, had lost power as of the afternoon of February 2. Austin Energy said that its crews are working to restore weather-related power outages across the service area.[3] However, based on changing conditions, the utility said it is unable to provide estimates on system-wide restoration.

[1] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/3840856-7-deaths-reported-from-texas-ice-storm-outages-top-400k/

[2] https://poweroutage.us/

[3] https://austinenergy.com/about/news/news-releases/2023/austin-energy-working-to-restore-widespread-local-power-outages

[USA] AlphaStruxure to build microgrid at JFK airport

On January 26, 2023, AlphaStruxure, a Carlyle Group and Schneider Electric joint venture, announced an agreement to design, construct, and operate integrated microgrid infrastructure at the New Terminal One (NTO) at the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.[1] The 11.34 MW microgrid will be built under an “energy-as-a-service” model, and will include about 7.7 MW of rooftop solar, 3.7 MW of fuel cells, and 2 MW/4 MWh of battery storage. It will utilize re-claimed heat to generate chilled water and heat hot water. The microgrid will consist of four power islands that include generation, storage, and automation and control systems. According to the press release, greenhouse gas emissions from the microgrid will be 38% less than grid-provided electricity.

The first gates of the 2.4 million square foot terminal are expected to be open in 2026, with full completion anticipated by 2030. NTO will rely on power from the grid, but if that is cut off, the terminal will still be able to operate through its microgrid, making it one of the first airport hubs in the region that can function off-grid. Carlyle, a private equity firm, is financing the microgrid, while Schneider Electric is providing the microgrid technology, software, and services. The terminal’s developers will pay for the project through an Energy as a Service (EaaS) contract, a long-term agreement ensuring predictable operating costs and guaranteed performance without upfront capital expenditures.

[1] https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alphastruxure-to-design-construct-and-operate-jfks-new-terminal-one-microgrid-creating-the-largest-rooftop-terminal-solar-array-in-the-us-301731016.html

[USA] Tesla to invest $3.6 billion in Nevada Gigafactory

On January 24, 2023, Tesla Inc. unveiled plans for a $3.6 billion expansion of its Gigafactory in Nevada that would nearly triple the company’s U.S. production of battery cells and produce large numbers of electric combination trucks.[1] In 2014, Tesla said that it would invest $3.5 billion in building the world’s first Gigafactory to produce EV batteries near Reno, Nevada. The new expansion will add 3,000 permanent workers to the 11,000 it already hired there. Tesla will add two new factories: a battery cell factory and a high-volume truck factory. Tesla said its new factory would produce 100 GWh of battery cells annually, nearly triple the 37 GWh average annual production of its existing building. The cells will be Tesla’s proprietary 4680 cell, a larger-format battery produced in collaboration with Panasonic Holdings Corp.

[1] https://www.tesla.com/blog/continuing-our-investment-nevada

[USA] Report: Immediate transmission planning for offshore wind could save up to $20 billion

According to a Brattle Group report released on January 24, 2023, federal agencies, states, and grid operators must begin collaborative planning to identify cost-effective transmission solutions to bring offshore power online.[1] The report, titled The Benefit and Urgency of Planned Offshore Transmission, finds that starting a collaborative planning process immediately will reduce costs, reduce environmental and community impacts, increase grid reliability, and help achieve climate and clean energy goals. Leveraging existing studies in the United States and Europe, the study estimates that the benefits of proactive transmission planning for the potential 100 GW of U.S. offshore wind generation developments over the next 2-3 decades include at least $20 billion in transmission cost savings; 60-70% fewer shore crossings and necessary onshore transmissions upgrades; and 50% fewer miles of marine transmission cable installations. Proactive planning would also result in more competition, increased consumer savings, enhanced reliability and resilience, and more investments in the local clean energy economy.

The report comes as the Biden administration has set a 2030 goal of 30 GW of offshore wind deployment as a milestone to 110 GW by 2050. 11 coastal states have already set procurement targets, with figures exceeding 50 GW through 2035 and more than 75 GW by 2045. However, it can take at least a decade to plan and build major new transmission lines as a result of current processes. Because of this, the report urged working immediately to standardize offshore transmission technologies, improve existing planning processes, utilize federal support and funding, and coordinate cross-state. The report was commissioned by industry stakeholders, including the American Clean Power Association (ACP), American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Clean Air Task Force (CATF), GridLab, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

[1] https://cleanpower.org/resources/the-benefit-and-urgency-of-planned-offshore-transmission/

[USA] Report: PJM interconnection costs have grown rapidly

On January 19, 2023, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) released a report analyzing interconnection costs in the PJM Interconnection[1] territory.[2] The report found that interconnection costs have substantially increased in parallel with the tremendous growth of PJM’s interconnection queue in recent years. At the end of 2021, PJM had 259 GW of generation and storage capacity actively seeking grid interconnection, nearly twice as large as PJM’s peak load in recent years (~155 GW). Capacity in the queue includes solar (116 GW), standalone battery storage (42 GW), solar-battery hybrids (32 GW), and wind (39 GW). 2021’s active queue increased by 240% compared to year-end 2019. PJM reformed its interconnection process in 2022 due to the substantial growth of interconnection requests, along with lengthy study timelines and high project withdrawal rates. The ISO adopted a “first-ready, first-served” cluster study approach.

LBNL found that PJM interconnection costs have grown across the board. For example, mean costs for active projects[3] have grown from $29/kW to $240/kW (2017-2019 vs. 2020-2022. The main driver behind these increases has been broader network upgrade costs, which have risen sharply since 2019. Notably, average interconnection costs have been significantly lower for natural gas ($24/kW) than for storage ($335/kW), solar ($253/kW), or wind ($136/kW for onshore, $385/kW for offshore). The PJM brief is the second in a series analyzing interconnection costs in wholesale electricity markets. LBNL released an October 2022 study about the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) containing similar findings. LBNL will publish analyses of New York ISO (NYISO), ISO New England (ISO-NE), and Southern Power Pool (SPP) in the coming months.

[1] PJM serves all or parts of serving all or parts of Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

[2] https://emp.lbl.gov/news/pjm-data-show-substantial-increases

[3] Active projects refers to projects working through the interconnection process.

[USA] RMI launches initiative to promote and support virtual power plants

On January 10, 2023, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), a nonprofit dedicated to accelerating the global energy transformation, announced the formation of the Virtual Power Plant Partnership (VP3).[1] VP3 includes founding members Ford, General Motors, Google Nest, OhmConnect, Olivine, SPAN, SunPower, Sunrun, SwitchDin, and Virtual Peaker. Initial funding for the VP3 was provided by General Motors and Google Nest. VP3 aims to catalyze industry and transform policy to support scaling VPPs in ways that help advance affordable, reliable electric sector decarbonization by overcoming barriers to virtual power plant (VPP) market growth. VPPs coordinate distributed energy resources such as electric vehicles, batteries, and rooftop solar. Initial research by RMI indicates that virtual power plants could reduce peak demand in the U.S. by 60 GW as soon as 2030. VP3 will work to catalog, research, and communicate VPP benefits; develop industry-wide best practices, standards, and roadmaps; and inform and shape policy development.

[1] https://rmi.org/press-release/rmi-launches-virtual-power-plant-partnership-with-support-from-general-motors-google-nest/

[USA] Biden administration releases blueprint for decarbonizing transportation sector

As part of President Biden’s goal to cut greenhouse gas emissions, on January 10, 2023, the Biden administration released the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, which would bring together the Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector by 2050.[1] The blueprint follows a September memorandum of understanding between the four agencies to enable them to accelerate the nation’s affordable and equitable clean transportation future. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act required the agencies to develop the plan by the end of 2022. The blueprint details how the agencies will work together to promote existing technology like battery power to cut emissions from light-duty cars and trucks, as well as research new fuel sources for hard-to-decarbonize sectors.

According to the White House, the plan is the first blueprint for the decarbonization of transportation and exemplifies the whole-of-government approach to addressing climate change. The Biden administration said that decarbonizing the transportation sector, which includes all modes of transportation in the country, would eliminate a third of all domestic greenhouse gases.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/eere/us-national-blueprint-transportation-decarbonization-joint-strategy-transform-transportation

[USA] QCells to invest $2.5 billion to build out U.S. solar supply chain

Qcells announced on January 11, 2023, that it will invest more than $2.5 billion to build a solar supply chain in the U.S., creating 2,500 jobs in Georgia.[1] The announcement, y Qcells’ parent company Hanwha Solutions, an energy services, petrochemical, and real estate development company headquartered in Seoul, marks the largest such investment in U.S. history. In the first quarter of 2023, Qcells will begin building a facility in Bartow County, Georgia that will manufacture 3.3 GW of solar components and panels a year. The company also plans to assemble an additional 2 GW of solar panels at its Dalton, Georgia facility, bringing total solar panel production to 4.1 GW per year by 2023. The company’s Dalton factory was producing 1.7 GW of solar modules each year and is being overhauled to increase output to 3.1 GW. The investment is expected to bring Qcells’ total solar panel production capacity in Georgia to 8.4-gigawatt by 2024.

[1] https://qcells.com/us/stay-in-the-loop/trending-news-detail?newsId=NEW230109100829007

[USA] DOE proposes new energy efficiency standards for distribution transformers

On December 28, 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposed new energy-efficiency standards for three categories of distribution transformers to improve the resiliency of the power grid, lower utility bills, and reduce CO2 emissions.[1] Current efficiency standards apply to liquid-immersed, low-voltage dry-type, and medium-voltage dry-type distribution transformers. The proposed rule would amend the energy conservation standards for all three categories. Under the new standards, almost all transformers produced would feature amorphous steel cores, which are more energy efficient than those made of traditional, grain-oriented electrical steel.

According to the DOE, the proposed standards would reduce CO2 emissions in the U.S. by 340 million metric tons over the next 30 years. The DOE also expects the proposed rule to generate over 10 quads of energy savings and approximately $15 billion in savings to the nation from 30 years of shipments. If adopted within DOE’s proposed timeframe, the new rule will come into effect in 2027. The agency will host a public meeting to solicit stakeholders' feedback on the proposed rulemaking on February 16, 2023.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-proposes-new-efficiency-standards-distribution-transformers

[USA] White House names Willie Phillips as acting chairman of FERC

On January 3, 2023, the White House named Willie Phillips (D) as acting chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Phillips has been a FERC commissioner since December 2021.[1] Phillips is the first black person to lead FERC and the first former state utility regulator to lead the agency since Pat Wood III’s tenure ended in mid-2005. Phillips was chairman of the Public Service Commission of the District of Columbia before he joined FERC. He replaces Richard Glick (D), whose tenure ended at the end of 2022 after Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Joe Manchin (D-WV) declined to hold a nomination hearing for his second term. As a result, FERC now has only four sitting commissioners, two Democratic commissioners, Allison Clements and Willie Phillips, and two Republicans, James Danly and Mark Christie. Commissioner Danly’s term will end on June 30, 2023.

[1] https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/president-biden-names-willie-phillips-acting-chairman

[USA] CPUC lowers net metering rate for rooftop solar

On December 15, 2022, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) unanimously approved revised net metering rules that will reduce the rates paid to new rooftop solar customers.[1] California first adopted net energy metering (NEM) incentives more than 20 years ago, allowing 1.5 million customers to install solar panels. The CPUC first proposed revisions in December 2021 but shelved them based on stakeholder criticisms. Regulators said the newly approved net metering rules, which were initially released in November 2022, were designed to adapt the solar market to the changing grid. “[T]he electric grid is now powered largely by renewable systems, both large and small, and there are even moments when we need to curtail, meaning shut down, clean renewable generation because we have too much on the grid at once,” CPUC President Alice Reynolds said. According to the commission, the aim of the new rules is to shift the use of solar-generated power to the evening hours when demand rises, but solar generation ceases.

The previous NEM framework gave customers a credit at the retail rate for energy that they provide to the grid. The new framework, called net billing, includes a retail export compensation rate that is based on the value that behind-the-meter generation provides to the grid and electrification retail import rates that have high differentials between winter off-peak and summer on-peak rates. The intention is to encourage more customers to install solar paired with storage, which will draw energy during the day and dispatch it at night. Customers installing solar with storage will save about $136 a month on their electricity bill, compared to about only $100 for households with only solar panels. Current net metering customers will not be affected by the new rules.

[1] https://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Published/G000/M499/K921/499921246.PDF

[USA] PJM to request a mid-auction capacity market rule change

During a presentation on the status of PJM’s 2024/2025 Base Residual Auction on December 21, 2022, Stu Bresler, Sr. Vice President of Market Services, stated that the grid operator plans to ask the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve a rule that would allow it to change a capacity auction parameter that led to anomalous results in its auction.[1] In the case of a small locational deliverability area (LDA) like Delmarva Power South, additions of large and/or intermittent units can lead to an increase in the area’s reliability requirement because capacity transfers are needed to account for times when the resources are not available. According to Bresler, when PJM determined how much capacity it would need, it assumed a mix of generators would offer about 1,000 MW in the Delmarva Power South area[2] because they had signed interconnection agreements. However, those generators didn’t bid into the auction, resulting in the LDA being short and the market clearing at an unjustly high price because of the increased reliability requirement.

Through a Section 205 filing[3], PJM plans to ask FERC to approve a rule change that would allow it to lower an area’s reliability requirement during the auction process if generators don’t bid into the auction as expected. PJM intends to ask FERC to make a decision on the proposal within 60 days. The grid operator expects to issue two sets of auction results on January 3, 2022. One set will show the results under existing rules, while the other will show results under the proposed rule. PJM will wait for FERC approval before clearing the auction. Joseph Bowring, President of Monitoring Analytics, PJM’s Independent Market Monitor, expressed his support for PJM’s actions.

[1] https://insidelines.pjm.com/pjm-updates-members-on-2024-2025-capacity-auction-results/

[2] Delmarva Power South covers part of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.

[3] In a Section 205 filing, the gird operator submits a new document containing or affecting a rate, term or condition of a FERC-jurisdictional service or charge with FERC for approval.

[USA] New report finds clean energy investments totaled $40 billion since the IRA passed

According to a new report released by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) on December 14, 2022, over $40 billion of new grid-scale clean energy investments have been announced over the last three months, equal to the entire amount invested in 2021.[1] The Clean Energy Investing in America report covers a period of growth between August 16, 2022, the day the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed, and November 30, 2022. The report found that 20 new grid-scale clean energy manufacturing facilities have been announced in the U.S., which are expected to add 7,000 jobs. Twelve of these facilities are solar manufacturing facilities, a more than a 300% increase in solar module manufacturing capacity in the U.S. In total, 13 GW of clean energy project capacity has been announced.

The ACP report also found that utility companies expect consumer savings of over $2.5 billion. These utilities attributed these savings to federal incentives that make new project investments less expensive. In the press release, ACP interim CEO and Chief Advocacy Officer JC Sandberg urged “the administration and Congress to continue improving trade policies, enacting common sense permitting reform and finalizing effective tax implementation” to ensure the investments reach their full potential.

[1] https://cleanpower.org/news/new-report-clean-energy-industry-sees-massive-investments-since-august/

[USA] DOE announces fusion breakthrough at LLNL

On December 13, 2022, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) announced the achievement of fusion ignition at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) in California.[1] On December 5, 2022, a team at LLNL’s National Ignition Facility (NIF) conducted the first controlled fusion experiment in history to produce more energy from fusion than the laser energy used to drive it. The experiment surpassed the fusion threshold by delivering 2.05 megajoules (MJ) of energy to the target, resulting in 3.15 MJ of fusion energy output. The LLNL’s NIF is the world’s largest and most energetic laser system—roughly the size of a sports stadium. The successful experiment is an essential step toward commercial fusion power. However, in the press release, the DOE acknowledged that many advanced science and technology developments are still needed to achieve simple, affordable fusion energy. The DOE is currently restarting a broad-based, coordinated program in the U.S.

[1] https://www.energy.gov/articles/doe-national-laboratory-makes-history-achieving-fusion-ignition