November 27, 2024

With less than two months on the clock, the Biden administration’s Department of Energy continues to get out as much funding as possible.

DOE last week announced $2.2 billion in funding commitments to two hydrogen hubs: the HyVelocity hub on the Gulf Coast, and the Midwest Alliance for Clean Hydrogen hub in the Midwest, Elaine Goodman reports. That marks five funding agreements out of the seven hubs selected in October 2023 to receive a combined total of up to $7 billion through the IIJA. 

And this week, DOE’s Loan Programs Office announced three conditional loans totaling more than $11 billion, K Kaufmann writes. The awardees are Invenergy’s Grain Belt Express, a Rivian electric vehicle factory, and commercial solar developer Sunwealth, which intends to aggregate up to 1,000 solar and storage systems into VPPs. 

K was also in Baltimore for the Chesapeake Solar and Storage Association’s Solar Focus conference. Panelists discussed the incoming Trump administration’s impact and high capacity prices in PJM. 

Prices in a different RTO were also a topic at the New England-Canada Business Council’s Executive Energy Conference in Boston, that of ISO-NE. Jon Lamson heard energy leaders from the U.S. and Canada grapple with the challenges of balancing decarbonization and affordability, as well as the political developments in both countries. 

Here’s what else we had this past week: 

• AEU Report Shows Major Economic Benefits from Quicker Queues 

• CARB Clean Vehicle Incentives Down Sharply for 2024/25 

• Corporate Solar Development Continues to Grow 

• Developers Seek Deadline Extension in NJ Storage Plan 

• Kairos Power Cleared to Build Demonstration SMRs 

• NJ Scrutinizes Solar Net Metering Strategy 

• Report Outlines Scope, Challenges of Clean Energy Siting in New England 

We’ll be back again next week, but fair warning: Because of the holiday, it may be a short one. Happy Thanksgiving!