After suffering through several years of severe drought, California experienced record rainfall in late-2016 and early-2017, sufficient to fill previously depleted reservoirs. Simultaneously, the state brought on an additional 5.3 GW of solar capacity in 2016, bringing the total to 10.3 GW to go along with 5.7 GW of wind capacity. As a result, renewable […]
RPS Compliance in PJM Markets: More flexibility than meets the eye
The PJM powerpool includes several states with sizeable Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS). The standards—in MD, NJ, OH, PA, IL, DE and DC—require an escalating portion of retail sales be met through qualified renewable energy (RE) generation. Load serving entities in the PJM region comply with their relevant RPS obligations via Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), which […]
A Record Year: 2016 solar capacity build reaches all-time highs
Final numbers from EIA prove what the solar industry had long suspected: 2016 was a record year for solar build in the United States. Driven by plummeting costs and strong policy support in key markets, 13.7 GW of new solar capacity was added in 2016, pushing total U.S capacity to 35.9 GW. The 13.7 […]
Solar Down South: EIA AEO 2017 predicts enormous solar PV builds in the Southeast
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) recently released its Annual Energy Outlook for 2017 (AEO 2017), which provides projections through 2050. One of the more interesting results from this year’s release is the EIA’s reference case projection of an enormous increase in long-term solar PV capacity in the Southeast. Utility-scale solar PV capacity in […]
EVA Special Report: Competition Between Renewables and Natural Gas Escalates
Arlington, Virginia – January 19, 2017 Energy Ventures Analysis (EVA) today published a report analyzing regional dynamics of near-term renewables and gas power capacity additions. The report focuses on a few critical states (Texas, California, Pennsylvania and New York) and evaluates the increasingly prevalent competition between gas and renewable energy (namely, wind and utility-scale solar […]
Expand and Extend: Multiple states double down on their RPS programs, but will obstacles emerge?
Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) now exist in 29 states plus the District of Columbia. Thus far, all states have been able to meet their rising targets, albeit by very different compliance mechanisms. The seeming success of the programs has driven the more recent trend of states extending and expanding their RPS objectives, measures that have […]
The Obvious but Critical Question: What happens to renewable energy under President Trump?
After eight years of steadfast support from the Obama administration, President-elect Trump and the Republican-led Congress appear eager to reduce or wholly eliminate various federal climate change efforts. This will negatively impact renewable energy development, but key support mechanisms will remain in place. Regardless, under the new administration, state-level incentives will emerge as the primary […]
NERC publishes CPP Reliability Assessment based on EVA Modeling Results
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) completed an assessment on the potential risks to reliability resulting from the proposed Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. NERC’s CPP reliability assessment modeled scenarios focused on evaluating generation and transmission adequacy and potential reliability impacts. Energy Ventures Analysis with its stellar AURORAxmp power modeling capabilities was chosen […]