Why Texas builds, and everyone else waits
When it comes to developing, owning, and operating utility-scale renewable energy projects, there is the ERCOT standard- and then there is everybody else, writes contributor Sabah Bayatli, president of OCI Energy.
7 min read
Flexible interconnection promises speed to power for utilities, data center developers | Q&A with Camus Energy
Camus Energy’s FlexConnect software promises to shave three to five years off typical interconnection wait times utilizing flexible operating limits within existing infrastructure.
7 min read
The U.S. is sitting on a gold mine of untapped hydropower potential
Researchers at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory found that non-powered dams in the U.S. could generate 15.2 terawatt-hours of electricity annually.
3 min read
This is CITAP: Accelerating transmission permitting | Factor This Policycast
This episode of the Factor This Policycast, the latest in a series presented in partnership with Advanced Energy United, focuses on how the CITAP program is accelerating transmission permitting and explores why community engagement plays a critical role in developing grid-to-grid projects.
6 min read
Insights from the Wildfire & Weather Emergency Response Summit at DTECH Reliability & Resilience
Utilities are addressing newly addressing novel and severe wildfire risks through a variety of proactive strategies, mny of which emphasize data-driven approaches.
8 min read
A fantasy flight of fancy | Factor This Brief
The U.S. solar market continues to boom, an ERCOT storage project is energized in just six weeks, Suniva plans to build a second solar cell facility, OCI and Arava break ground in Texas, a nuclear startup raises another $50M, and more Soluna clean computing power comes online.
13 min read
How dank are your weeds? Inside a Portland utility’s novel wildfire prevention plan
Portland General Electric is launching a “first of its kind” wildfire research program that involves measuring the moisture levels in live plants to learn how vegetation conditions can influence wildfire risk.
6 min read
A strategic retreat | Factor This Brief
The U.N. concedes the planet will miss critical climate targets, East Point Energy starts up storage in ERCOT, MN8 teams with Eos Energy and Google on an innovative project, NeoGenyx breaks ground on a renewable natural gas endeavor, and Cypress Creek reaches commercial operations on a Microsoft solar site in Washington.
10 min read
How are utilities using AI to rewrite planning playbooks?
Utilities of all types and sizes are deploying AI to impact short-term planning efforts in ways that create long-term value.
7 min read
China’s solar gambit pays off — This Week in Cleantech
On this episode of the This Week in Cleantech podcast, Tim McDonnell of Semafor discusses how solar has overtaken coal as China’s top power source for the first time, after a massive buildout.
Why is a Trump donor profiting from offshore wind cancellations? — This Week in Cleantech
On this episode of the This Week in Cleantech podcast, Evan Halper from The Washington Post breaks down new drama surrounding the Trump administration’s settlement requiring RWE to abandon offshore wind leases in exchange for $1.2 billion.
The largest US solar manufacturer is changing fronts in its patent war
First Solar is recalibrating its patent enforcement strategy, withdrawing its Section 337 complaint, and continuing lawsuits against solar manufacturers.
3 min read
Beyond cannibalization: Structuring hybrid renewables for bankable returns
The European renewable energy industry is pivoting to hybridization- combining wind and solar assets with battery energy storage- to improve capture rates and restore revenue quality.
5 min read
Are utility-scale wind and solar decreasing property values? It probably depends on where you live
A study by Ball State University’s Center for Business and Economic Research found no significant negative impact of utility-scale solar and wind projects on Indiana home values.
5 min read
Are AI-powered robots the future of solar construction?
Burns & McDonnell and Gritt have deployed AI-powered robotics technology to assist with construction at a utility-scale solar project in McLean County, Illinois.
5 min read
Rescuers pull trapped workers from a hydropower tunnel 9 days after Nepal floods
Rescuers in Nepal pulled two workers alive from an underground tunnel at a hydropower plant Friday, raising hopes of reaching dozens of others believed to be trapped nine days after deadly floods swept away villages and submerged the Himalayan region in mud and debris.
2 min read
BC Hydro relocates mystery island of Williston Reservoir
Canadian utility BC Hydro has relocated an island roughly the size of two football fields that was initially spotted about 100 kilometers from the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in British Columbia, Ontario.
4 min read
If you spot any new islands in its reservoirs, please let BC Hydro know
A vegetated island the size of two football fields may or may not still be floating around in a massive man-made lake in northern British Columbia, Canada. And nobody is quite sure how it wound up there- or where it went.
3 min read
Nepal floods expose risks to hydropower in a warming Himalayas
Rescuers in Nepal are searching for hundreds of workers trapped in tunnels at hydropower sites after catastrophic flooding, with over 950 dead.
7 min read
DOE takes a swing at expediting ‘rigorous and expensive’ US hydro licensing
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hydropower and Hydrokinetic Office (H2O) has awarded $5.5 million in total funding to 11 U.S. National Laboratory projects that are meant to help expedite and reduce the cost of licensing and relicensing American hydropower facilities.
5 min read
Wave energy testing site opens off Oregon, a green energy milestone in the Trump administration
The first large site in the continental U.S. for testing technologies that generate electricity from ocean waves is now open after securing a key green-energy approval from the Trump administration.
4 min read
ComEd drives utility affordability with flexible DER interconnections
ComEd is collaborating with developers to fast-track flexible interconnections for DERs in order to enhance grid capacity.
5 min read
Manufacturers expand U.S. operations to meet unrelenting grid demand
Leading original equipment manufacturers are stepping up to meet increasing electricity demand in the US, announcing sizable investments to expand domestic production of critical grid infrastructure, including transformers, circuit breakers, and high-voltage cables.
8 min read
How much could new transmission save customers? About $15.3 billion, study finds
A new study finds interregional transmission, when combined with robust regional transmission, provides customer savings reaching up to $15.3 billion until 2050.
3 min read
Announcing the winners of the 2026 Utility Resilience Awards at DTECH Reliability & Resilience
The DTECH Utility Resilience Awards were created to honor the people and projects that have helped transform resilience from a backroom engineering goal into the defining frontline challenge of the energy industry.
4 min read
How autonomous BVLOS drones and physical AI are transforming grid reliability with Trevor Perrott
How are autonomous, long-range drone platforms and Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations transforming grid monitoring across massive service territories? And what does it actually take to deploy and scale these capabilities?
1 min read