Environment Minnesota’s Research and Policy Center in September issued a press statement outlining how the state can achieve 100% renewable energy usage. Since 2008, Minnesota as increased its solar electricity production by 550%. The report outlines a multifaceted path that includes a focus on renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency, storage and use of electric vehicles.

Increasingly, utility companies are looking to natural gas power plants as a source of cheap energy to supply electricity to customers, presenting new challenges with peak demand and supply shortages. For the first time, utilities are launching gas demand response programs to help shift usage to off-peak hours, similar to how electric utilities have done in the past.

Tucson Electric Power recently registered a political action committee to oppose a ballot initiative that would set Arizona on the path to achieve 50% of its electricity from renewable sources. The utility argues the ballot initiative would lead to high bills for its customers.

While most energy storage facilities are utility-scale in size, new figures from the Smart Electric Power Alliance conclude that the strongest recent growth in energy storage has been within the residential sector. From 2016 to 2017, energy storage capacity climbed 202% compared to non-residential storage which grew 9% during the same time.

Arizona regulators proposed a plan that would set utilities on the path toward producing 80 percent of their electricity from renewable sources or nuclear power as early as 2050. The plan involves a mix of energy efficiency, use of electric vehicles, energy storage, solar power and biomass.

Nevada regulators have approved a plan submitted by NV Energy to encourage electric vehicle adoption through development of electric vehicle infrastructure. NV Energy will invest $15 million into charging stations that are available to the public.

California utility Pacific Gas & Electric has submitted a request to state regulators to replace three gas power plants with facilities that have energy storage capacity. The proposal would make the largest storage capacity facilities in the world.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced it will fund four to six projects aimed at advancing geothermal technologies, a source of renewable energy that comes from geothermal activity beneath the ground. The projects will be focused on research and development for applying “machine learning” to geothermal operations, promising to greatly reduce costs of this renewable energy source.

Environment Minnesota’s Research and Policy Center issued a statement to the press outlining how the state can achieve the goal of producing 100 percent of its energy with renewable sources. Since 2008, Minnesota as increased its solar electricity production by 550 percent. The report outlines a multifaceted path that includes a focus on renewable energy, as well as energy efficiency, storage and use of electric vehicles.

Minnesota utility company Xcel Energy recently filed its Clean Energy Plan with state regulators that outline the retirement of 660 MW of coal capacity. The utility proposes to replace this generation with 1.8 GW of renewable sources, along with creating energy storage capacity and relying more on gas resources.