A total solar eclipse traversed North America on April 8, 2024, on a path from Mexico, across the U.S. from Dallas to northern New England, and into Canada. No total eclipse has covered such a large extent of the U.S. in recent years (a 2017 eclipse was the first in the U.S. in 26 years); meanwhile, an increasing amount of solar photovoltaic power plants have been built. The "Great North American Eclipse" of 2024 thus provided an opportunity to examine how a total solar eclipse affects solar power and the broader grid, using New England as an example. According to New England's regional ..read more

New England must balance multiple objectives as it navigates the clean energy transition, according to the operator of the region's electric grid and wholesale electricity markets. ISO New England, Inc. is the regional transmission organization serving all of New England except northern Maine. ISO-NE administers the regional electric transmission system and wholesale markets for electricity.  The region must increasingly balance multiple objectives in light of state policies promoting renewable energy and decarbonization, according to recent remarks by ISO-NE President and Chief Executive ..read more

ISO New England Inc., the operator of New England's wholesale electricity markets and transmission system, has published its 2024 Regional Electricity Outlook. The report examines trends affecting supply and demand for electricity, through the ongoing clean energy transition. Specifically, ISO-NE notes the dawn of "a new era in our energy history", as broad decarbonization in the name of climate change becomes public policy. According to the grid operator, "This era will be marked by rapid and significant change. Over the next 20 years, we expect that renewable resources will displace natural ..read more

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's efforts to require cryptocurrency miners to report on their electricity use have been suspended by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, following a complaint by Texas crypto miners alleging that EIA exceeded its regulatory authority in requiring the report.  Earlier this year, EIA announced a new, mandatory survey of crypto miners. The Form EIA-862 report would cover topics like the nature and scale of equipment installed, electricity consumption, and sources of power. EIA developed the survey and announced it as a ne ..read more

The operator of New England's transmission grid and wholesale electricity markets has proposed major reforms to its market for capacity. For 18 years, ISO New England has administered a "Forward Capacity Market", featuring annual auctions to procure commitments from energy resources, for a capacity commitment period three years in the future. ISO-NE has now proposed to shift to a "prompt/seasonal" model. If adopted, the reforms will change important elements of New England's electric market systems. According to ISO-NE, its Forward Capacity Market "ensures that the New England power syste ..read more

A federal agency will start requiring commercial cryptocurrency miners to report on their electricity consumption. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has obtained an emergency clearance allowing it to begin collecting data on a monthly basis from February through July 2024. EIA's new Form EIA-862, the "Cryptocurrency Mining Facilities Report", is mandatory for all commercial cryptocurrency mining facilities in the U.S. Failure to file could result in criminal and civil fines and penalties that could exceed $10,000 per violation per day. According to EIA, electricity demand from cryptoc ..read more

Maine electricity customers experienced more frequent and longer power outages on average in 2022, compared to the national average, according to recently released federal data. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. electricity consumers in 2022 experienced one or two outages, averaging about 5.5 total hours of power outage. According to EIA, major incidents like storms are most likely to cause outages with extended durations, while heavily forested states are most likely to experience a higher frequency of outages. EIA tracks reliability and outages through two ke ..read more

New England's electric power generation fleet emitting slightly less carbon dioxide in 2022 relative to 2021, according to the grid operator's 2022 ISO New England Electric Generator Air Emissions Report. ISO New England operates the regional transmission grid and the wholesale market for electricity. In support of this role, ISO-NE tracks the portfolio of generation resources used in the region, as well as the resources' emission characteristics. According to ISO-NE, New England generation emitted 33,382 kilotons of carbon dioxide in 2022, a decline of two-tenths of a percent relative to 2021 ..read more

The U.S. generated more electricity from renewable sources than from coal last year, for the first time in history. The nation's portfolio of electric generation resources continues to shift away from coal and oil and towards renewable resources and natural gas. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) tracks statistics on a variety of energy sources and their related infrastructure. According to EIA, the domestic electric power sector generated 4,090 million megawatthours (MWh) of electricity in 2022. The greatest share of this power (39%) came from natural gas in 2022, whose contribu ..read more

The Maine Governor's Energy Office has applied to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for $99.5 million to establish statewide "Solar for All" programs for Maine. If selected for funding by EPA, the programs could create new incentives for residential solar development in Maine with a focus on low-income and disadvantaged communities. The Inflation Reduction Act allocated $7 billion to the EPA, to fund a system of competitive grants to states and other entities to establish or expand "Solar for All" programs that support deployment of solar and energy storage to benefit low-income and dis ..read more