December 16, 2021
GRID Alternatives installing 200 kW of solar in California tribal communities
A donation from a regional foundation will result in 200 kW of solar installed in tribal communities in San Diego County and Bishop, California. The Sempra Foundation has donated more than $350,000 to GRID Alternatives‘ Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund, which will result in arrays installed at single-family homes and apartment buildings in four reservations.
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Grid Alternatives Expands Work in Tribal Communities, Advancing Energy Sovereignty with Renewable Energy.
With Bezos Earth Fund, the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund
will scale up work with tribal communities
GRID Alternatives, a national leader in providing access to clean, affordable renewable energy, received a $12 million multi-year grant from the Bezos Earth Fund to grow the scope and scale of the Tribal Solar Accelerator Fund. The Fund is a tribal-led program that partners with tribal communities across the United States to develop their renewable energy capacity and expand solar job opportunities.
Sunverge energy storage project to be first participant in PJM’s residential VPP market
Sunverge, the provider of an industry-leading distributed energy resource (DER) control, orchestration and aggregation platform, and Delmarva Power, an Exelon Company serving customers in Delaware and Maryland, announced it has entered into an agreement with PJM Interconnection to explore how the Elk Neck Battery Storage Pilot Program will participate in the region’s wholesale market for ancillary services
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Maryland Battery Storage Program Looking to Expand
A battery energy storage project in Maryland is set to launch early in 2022, and the companies involved are exploring how the program can be a part of the region’s ancillary services.
The Elk Neck Battery Storage Pilot Program is a virtual power plant with a planned capacity of .55 megawatts and 2.2 megawatt hours. It is being built by distributed energy resource (DER) company Sunverge and distributed by Delmarva Power, which serves areas of Delaware and Maryland.
Clean Energy and Software Partnership to Ease Fleet Electrification Implementation
A new partnership between Catalyze and Microgrid Labs will combine clean energy transition and software to help simplify fleet electrification services to business and communities across the United States.
The two say that the deal will help streamline the complexities of having an electric fleet as there are often significant technical situations and electrification processes spread across consultants and software and equipment providers. The partnership comes as the electric vehicle market soars and electric fleets grow.
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Biden-Harris Administration Outlines Action Plan to Build Out EV Charging Infrastructure
The Biden-Harris administration published a fact sheet on its electric vehicle charging action plan. It outlines steps federal agencies are taking to support the development and deployment of EV chargers in American communities across the country.
Last month, Biden signed a $1 trillion infrastructure bill into law. Among its provisions is the establishment of a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation, envisioned as a collaboration between the two agencies to “collect input and guidance from industry leaders, manufacturers, workers, and other stakeholders that will ensure the national network provides convenient charging for all.” Projects include increasing public confidence in electric vehicles by building out a convenient, reliable, affordable public charging network and bringing EV charging to rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities.
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What is the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation? US Government's New Electric Vehicles Division
The Biden-Harris-Administration released an Electric Vehicle Charging Action Plan to outline the steps
federal agencies are taking to support developing and deploying chargers in American communities across
the country.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have joined forces to establish a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to focus on deploying electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure.
The three departments will work together to collect input and guidance from industry leaders, manufacturers, workers and stakeholders to ensure that this national network will provide convenient charging for all.
Cost of Batteries, Increased Incentives
Drive Electric Bus Market
Falling costs of batteries and increasing government regulations and incentives will boost the electric bus market in coming years, according to a new report.
Batteries make up 40% of the cost of electric buses, according to the report by ReportLinker, and the average cost of lithium-ion battery packs for large orders has fallen from about $600 a kilowatt hour in 2015 to $150 a kilowatt hour in 2020. That has helped spur the sales of more than 82,000 electric buses last year, and the report says there will be a CAGR of 14.9% through 2026.
The electric bus market exceeded $28 billion in 2020.
$7 million electric school bus rebate through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
New York Power Authority recently partnered with ABM Industries in a $39 million agreement to improve infrastructure for electric buses.