ENERGY & WATER

Where: Madison, WI

The EV charger requirements:

• 1% of parking spaces in new multifamily residential are required to have EV chargers
• 10% of the spaces must be wired for future chargers
• By 2041, at least 10% of spaces must have chargers and half must be wired
• Existing parking lots, when at least 10,000 square feet are repaved, also must meet the above standards
• Parking spaces for EV chargers are required for schools, hotels, hospitals, office buildings and other public and private lots where people park for 6+ hours at a time
• Exceptions: restaurants, retail and service businesses, warehouses and factories.

Government Technology | Madison, Wis., to Require EV Chargers in New Parking Lots

The researchers: University of Texas at Austin, along with DuPont

How does this new deal mechanism work? An electron microscopy technique to identify membrane thickness that can make desalination more cost effective and accessible.

Texas Standard | An New Desalination Approach Could Help Texas Conserve Scarce Water Resources

Meet  Splitvolt which works from existing 240 volt plugs, like for your dryer.

The Splitvolt will allow charging when your dryer is not in use.

It’s compatible with compatible with third-party chargers & works with EVs from Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Tesla, Volkswagen, and Volvo.

Kelly Blue Book | Startup Offers Fast EV Charger That Requires No Installation

Harris County Commissioner Garcia is proposing solar, wind and battery back up for when Harris County Commissioner decide how to purchase their power in 2023.

Is this new for the Energy Capital? No, Since July 2020, the city of Houston says it uses 100% renewable energy

Houston Chronicle | ‘It just makes sense’: Harris County turns to renewable energy to power its buildings

Where: Nebraska

The legislation: LB 409 (2021 | NE)

This bills calls for a study to determine if new transmission lines, longer than 200 miles, are necessary & creates the Electric Transmission Line Study Committee of the Legislature

So what gives? What do the legislators want to know?

• more information on routing lines
• more information on the property rights impacted
• more information on the impact to consumers through rate increases

What will the next wave in clean energy need? smart meter/smart home data like rooftop solar, in-home energy storage systems, electric vehicles and smart home technologies like app-controlled lighting and smart thermostats

How does this translate to regulation and legislation?

• A need for policy leadership
• Creation of regulations governing the intersection of smart homes and smart grids
• Clear rules/laws surrounding data ownership and security between consumer devices and utilities
• Utility data such as the value of distributed energy resources for critical grid services, including voltage regulation, frequency stabilization, energy arbitrage, peak demand reduction and ramping reserves
• Incentives for utilities to tackle this data

That’s a lot, what are the 3 big buckets of data? data ownership, data access and grid security

Pecan Street Inc via Forbes | Regulating Consumer Data Will Catalyze Clean Energy Deployments

The State: Colorado

The legislation: SB20-150 (2021 | CO)

What are we talking about renewable gas?

• compel utilities to capture and consume gas to produce electricity
• by tapping into energy generated from the methane emissions of coal mines, natural coalbeds, landfills, wastewater treatment plants and agricultural operations

Environmentalist opposition says biogas isn’t all that because it promotes the growth of polluting industries like factory farming

Route Fifty | Colorado Lawmakers Eye Renewable Natural Gas Mandate

Which other states are looking to Floria as a model for power reliability? Oklahoma

What is Florida doing to ensure power reliability since hurricane Wilma in 2005?

• Received regulatory approval for large scale resiliency upgrades to systems
• Hardening main power lines that serve police and fire stations, hospitals and 911 centers
• Annually review of 15,000 miles of line
• Annually trimming vegetation
• Installing more than 172,000 smart devices that automatically detect faults, reroute power or provide the utility with additional situational awareness
• Pilot program to explore cost-effective ways of moving lines underground 
  • Underground lines are significantly more reliable (50% or more)

The Oklahoman via Governing | Oklahoma Looks to Florida to Improve Its Power Reliability

The EV, electric vehicle, is being pushed by the largest public utility in the U.S., the Tennessee Valley Authority.

Here’s the info:

• Estimating that at least 200,000 EVs will be operating in its 7-state region by 2028
• Their partners in the EV push:
  • state and local governments
  • power companies
  • car manufacturers
  • service stations
  • environmentalists to promote that EV adoptions means cleaner air, climate action, and economic benefits for local communities
• TVA is revamping its rates so that new power rates improve the price of fast-charging stations 
• looking at ways to promote or even add and operate more rapid-charging stations

Chattanooga Times Press Press | Tennessee Utility Aims for 200,000 Electric Vehicles by 2028

The State: California

The energy options California is considering to protect itself from blackouts and brownouts:

• Lithium storage (battery storage) of solar energy
  • as grid resources to form “virtual power plants” that bring together hundreds or thousands of batteries
  • as residential energy back up
• Incentivizing energy conservation

What do stakeholders, like California Solar and Storage Assn. say?

• must simplify the process of applying for clean energy subsidies
• maintain “net metering” compensation program
• change the system to allow households, with batteries, to export electricity to the grid during emergencies
• speed up local government approval processes 

LA Times via Governing | California Looks for Ways to Alleviate Coming Energy Squeeze