By Jeff Deyette, Director of State Policy & Analysis, Clean Energy,
Union of Concerned Scientists Blog

Eight states plus Washington DC and Puerto Rico (not pictured here) have committed to 100% Renewable or Clean Energy Standards. Another 13 states are actively considering similar measures.
One year ago this week, the California legislature passed landmark legislation committing the state’s power providers to supplying 60% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2030 and setting a target of 100% clean, or carbon-free, power by mid century. It was a bold action that significantly raised the bar for other states considering policy action. And over the last 12 months, another six states (bringing the total to eight states) plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have answered the call with various obligations toward 100% clean energy over the next few decades. What’s driving this surge in state-level clean energy leadership? And which states will be the next to step up? Read more here.
ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDED READING
- University of Arizona to fully power campus with wind, solar & storage, Windpower Engineering Development
- University of Arizona commits to 100 percent renewable electricity, Environment America News
Release: Statement by Bronte Payne, 100% Renewable Campuses campaign director with Environment America Research & Policy Center.
- Organic Valley co-op becomes world leader on renewable energy, Co-operative News
The organic farm co-op is now the world’s biggest food company to be 100% powered by clean energy.
- Congressional Staffers Tour DC Solar Landmarks, SEIA News Release
- Report Confirms Wind Technology Advancements Continue to Drive Down the Cost of Wind Energy, Berkeley Lab News Release
- Siemens Gamesa lands new 95 MW Iowa wind project using Hutchinson nacelles, Leavenworth Times. The company announced its first three contracts for the new 4.5-megawatt turbine made in Kansas in June. Those contracts were with EDF Renewables for 30 turbines in Milligan County, Nebraska, 48 turbines for the 241 MW Coyote wind project in Scurry County, Texas, and 48 SG 4.5′s for the 246 MW Oso Grande wind project in New Mexico.
ENERGY NEWS NETWORK ARTICLES
SEIA NEWS RELEASE
Solar Industry Calls on FERC to Enforce PURPA, Increase Competition
The proposal provides utilities with a new framework for offering competitive solicitations based on their integrated resource plans, while also complying with PURPA’s requirement to purchase energy and capacity from small renewable and cogeneration facilities. SEIA’s competitive bidding solution is designed to prevent utility self-dealing while opening the market for new capacity to independent developers.
PACE FINANCING
- Green builders lean on a juggernaut loan program, The Philadelphia Tribune
Developers grappling with the cost of new laws enacted to combat climate change are taking advantage of a little-known finance tool to help pay for green-building requirements. In Omaha, Nebraska, for instance, the Capitol District, a $205 million mixed-use entertainment development, has become the latest milestone in a long-running effort to revitalize the downtown area. The project’s developer, Shamrock Development, tapped a PACE program to pay for LED lighting, heat pumps, low-flow water fixtures, and other building materials and equipment to enhance energy and water efficiency.
- In Chicago, a new financing tool for clean energy and efficiency upgrades, Energy News Network
Advocates see strong potential in Chicago and surrounding areas for property assessed clean energy financing to boost investments.
RECYCLING EV BATTERIES
MORE ON UTAH’S SONNEN & RMP VIRTUAL POWER PLANT
Rocky Mountain Power prepares to operate largest US residential battery demand response project, Utility Dive. “In my opinion, this is the most transformative project we’ve worked on in the United States,” Sonnen CEO Blake Richetta told Utility Dive. That’s coming from a company that has installed more than 40,000 batteries globally and already developed multiple Virtual Power Plants that combine residential energy systems into grid resources. But Richetta, who took the helm at Sonnen earlier this year, said the Utah project stands out for multiple reasons.
Rocky Mountain Power is a division of PacifiCorp, a fully-owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy.
Previously Posted