North America News

Latest news and developments from North America region

• Rhode Island to open up to 1 GW offshore wind capacity solicitation

  July 7, 2022
  The Rhode Island governor has signed a Bill that seeks to procure between 600 MW and 1 GW of newly developed offshore wind capacity.

• DOE opens applications for USD2.3 billion programme to modernise grid

  July 6, 2022
  The US Department of Energy (DOE) has opened the application period for the USD2.3 billion Preventing Outages and Enhancing the Resilience of the Electric Grid programme.

• Voltus urges FERC to end opt-out option for demand response aggregations

  July 6, 2022
  Voltus Inc., a demand response aggregator, has urged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to end the opt-out for demand response aggregations that would stop allowing states to block aggregated demand response from participating in wholesale power markets.

• RMP begins construction on USD2.5 billion Gateway South project

  July 6, 2022
  PacifiCorp subsidiary, Rocky Mountain Power (RMP), announced that it has begun construction on the Gateway South transmission line in Carbon County, Wyoming.

• California passes bill to ensure grid reliability

  July 4, 2022
  California’s state legislature has passed the Assembly Bill (AB)-205 Energy) that establishes a new certification process for solar and wind, which have a generating capacity of more than 50 MW; and energy storage systems capable of storing more than 200 MWh of electricity, as the state works towards building the renewable energy projects it needs to ensure grid reliability.

• NKT signs turnkey agreement for CHPE project [free access]

  July 4, 2022
  Danish cable company NKT has signed a turnkey contract for the engineering, production and construction (EPC) of the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE) transmission line in the US, with its project developer CHPE LLC.

• NYES project reaches two major construction milestones

  June 29, 2022
  The electric transmission modernisation project – New York Energy Solution (NYES), has reached two major construction milestones with the rebuild and energisation of the Churchtown switching station in Claverack and the energisation of 22 miles (35.2 km) of the Schodack-to-Claverack portion of the new 55-mile (88-km), 345 kV transmission line from Schodack to Pleasant Valley, New York.

• Vistra claims CAISO’s expedited interconnection rules to impact interconnection queue

  June 28, 2022
  Texas-based energy company Vistra Corporation has submitted its filings to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) stating that the California Independent System Operator’s (CAISO) proposal to offer an expedited interconnection track for emergency resources could harm applicants already in the interconnection queue.

• US government launches federal-state offshore wind partnership

  June 27, 2022
  The US government has announced plans to strengthen the nation’s offshore wind supply chain to achieve the goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, enough to power 10 million homes with clean energy.

• US DOE releases National CIE Strategy to avoid cyber attacks [free access]

  June 27, 2022
  The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) has released its National Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) Strategy to provide a framework for enhancing engineering training, tools, and practices to build resilient clean energy systems designed to withstand cyber threats.

• FERC approves modified cybersecurity standard for critical transmission assets

  June 27, 2022
  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved modifications to the compliance provisions of North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standard CIP-014 covering the nation's most critical electric transmission assets.

• CPUC approves resolution to simplify interconnection process for DER projects

  June 27, 2022
  The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has approved a new resolution that will simplify interconnection processes for distributed energy resources (DER). Under the new system, DER projects wanting to interconnect to California’s grid, will go through a review process that uses ‘integration capacity analysis’.

• Maine PUC approves USD63.6 million funding for 115 kV transmission line in Maine

  June 27, 2022
  The Maine Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has approved Central Maine Power Company's (CMP) request for USD63.6 million in upgrades for Section 80, a 23-mile (36.8-km), 115 kV transmission line between the Coopers Mills substation in Windsor and the Highland substation in Warren, Maine.

• FERC issues two NOPRs to improve BPS reliability [free access]

  June 22, 2022
  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued two notices of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) intended to improve the reliability of the bulk power system (BPS) against the threats of extreme weather.

• FERC approves DER compliance plans by CAISO and NYISO

  June 21, 2022
  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved plans submitted by the California Independent Service Operator (CAISO) and New York Independent Service Operator (NYISO) in July 2021, to comply with FERC Order 2222, a landmark rule requiring regional grid operators to open their wholesale power markets to aggregations of distributed energy resources (DERs).

• NYPSC approves BCA method for system upgrades to meet New York’s decarbonisation goals

  June 21, 2022
  The New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) has approved a new benefit/cost analysis (BCA) method for local electric transmission and distribution system upgrades, which will rely upon capacity expansion modelling when considering projects to meet New York’s 100 per cent zero-emission electricity by 2040.

• FERC proposes new rules to expedite interconnection backlogs

  June 20, 2022
  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) to speed up the current process for connecting new electric generation facilities to the grid by enhancing interconnection procedures, providing more certainty, and avoiding undue discrimination against new generation.

• Basin Electric moves ahead with transmission projects worth USD500 million

  June 20, 2022
  Basin Electric Power Cooperative has announced that it is moving ahead with three transmission projects to address growing energy needs in western North Dakota.

• Georgia Power Company and Georgia PSC reach agreement on resource plans

  June 20, 2022
  A settlement has been reached between Georgia Power Company and the staff of Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC), to retain plans to retire four fossil fuel-fired generating units (at Wansley and Boulevard) by end-August 2022, but halt the plan to build 1,000 MW of battery storage by 2030.

• PJM files proposal with FERC to hasten interconnection study process to clear backlogs

  June 15, 2022
  According to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), PJM Interconnection (PJM) is seeking to overhaul its interconnection study process by moving to a ‘"first-ready, first-served’ model that reviews proposals and assigns upgrade costs in clusters.