The U.S. Department of the Interior has proposed the first offshore wind energy auction in the Gulf of Maine. The process has potential to advance the development of large-scale offshore wind projects in New England. BOEM's Proposed Sale Notice for ATLW-11 appeared in the Federal Register on May 1, 2024. According to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the proposed "Atlantic Wind Lease Sale 11 (ATLW-11)" would cover about one million acres of the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. BOEM plans to divide this zone into eight lease areas, which i ..read more

The U.S. Department of the Interior has announced a schedule for up to 12 potential offshore wind energy lease sales through 2028, in Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, and territorial waters. According to Interior, the new offshore wind leasing plan features the following schedule: 2024 Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, and Oregon  2025 Gulf of Mexico  2026 Central Atlantic  2027 Gulf of Mexico and New York Bight  2028 California, a U.S. Territory, Gulf of Maine, and Hawaii  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, within the Interior Department, produc ..read more

U.S. hydropower regulators have issued a pilot project license to the Marine Renewable Energy Collaborative of New England (MRECo) for its proposed Bourne tidal hydrokinetic energy project to be located on the Cape Cod Canal in Massachusetts. MRECo describes itself as a nonprofit corporation that educates and involves all stakeholders (Academic, industry, governmental/regulatory, and public interest groups) to promote the sustainable development of renewable energy in New England ocean waters. In 2023, MRECo applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commision for an 8-year pilot project license ..read more

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