Federal Energy Regulators Approve Extreme Cold Weather Reliability Standards

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 16 approved two new extreme cold weather reliability standards aimed at implementing key recommendations from a joint inquiry into 2021’s Winter Storm Uri to prevent a recurrence of the power outages affecting millions of people in Texas and the South Central U.S.

NYPA Report Examines Integrating Dual-Land Use for Agriculture, Solar Energy

The New York Power Authority on Feb. 16 released a report that recommends proven and innovative approaches on integrating dual-land use for agriculture and solar energy production. The report was funded through a $102,000 grant from the American Public Power Association’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments program.

Government Releases Details on Investment Tax Credit for Projects in Low-Income Communities

The U.S. Treasury Department, the U.S. Department of Energy and the Internal Revenue Service on Feb. 13 released details on a program included in the Inflation Reduction Act that offers a boost of up to 20 percentage points to the investment tax credit for solar and wind energy projects in low-income communities.

Senators Urge Department of Energy to Invest in Wide Array of Storage Technologies

The U.S. Department of Energy should ensure that its implementation of funds authorized in Section 40207 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act “advances a diverse portfolio of market-ready technologies that includes both lithium and non-lithium alternative battery chemistries,” a bipartisan group of Senators said in a recent letter to Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm.