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Tag: California


Basic Services, Public Transport

First U.S. zero-emission, hydrogen passenger trains arrive in California

October 16, 2023

Via: Transportation Today News

On Thursday, Caltrans announced Stadler Rail, Inc. will deliver to it the first zero-emission, hydrogen intercity passenger train in North America. The $80 million contract will see Stadler deliver four trainsets to operate primarily between Merced and Sacramento on the […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

Roughly $7B federal loan could offer PG&E ‘cheap money’ to upgrade electric grid in California

July 6, 2023

Via: Utility Dive

PG&E has submitted the first part of an application to the DOE’s Loan Programs Office, Paulo said. There are two parts to the application, she said, the first being a more “generalized application” and the second getting into specific projects. […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

California’s storage portfolio could provide grid benefits of up to $1.6B per year by 2032, report finds

June 20, 2023

Via: Utility Dive

Lumen’s study takes a closer look at the operations, costs and benefits of storage resources in California – largely lithium-ion batteries, but also including thermal energy storage and other battery chemistries. These resources range from 25 kW to 300 MW, […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

NGOs suing California PUC, utilities over net metering update could face ‘fairly steep’ challenge: attorney

May 9, 2023

Via: Utility Dive

In December, the CPUC issued a decision updating the state’s net energy metering tariff, implementing an export compensation rate that is tied to the value of behind-the-meter generation on the grid. The agency estimated that the new framework would save […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

Western Energy Imbalance Market Gains Three Participants, Including First Generation-Only Entity

April 6, 2023

Via: PowerMag

The Western Energy Imbalance Market (WEIM), a real-time energy market operated by the California Independent System Operator (CAISO), has gained three new participants, including its first generation-only entity. CAISO on April 5 announced the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) Desert […]


Public Institutions, Public Works

Creating a culture: How state privacy officers hope to rebuild public trust

February 16, 2023

Via: StateScoop

Agovernment that the public does not trust is collecting more of its data than ever before. Recent landmark data-privacy laws — like the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act — reveal a growing interest […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

California greenlights more than 800 MW of storage and solar to bolster power grid reliability

January 17, 2023

Via: Utility Dive

The CPUC’s 11.5-GW mid-term reliability procurement order sought to meet the state’s grid needs between 2023 and 2026, given the then-planned retirement of the 2.2-GW Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant by 2025, as well as the closure of several natural […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

Solar industry, utilities, ratepayer advocates clash over California net energy metering proposal

November 17, 2022

Via: Utility Dive

Last week, the CPUC issued the latest version of its proposal to change California’s net energy metering tariff, which involves moving to a system of net billing where the retail export compensation rate — what customers are paid for the […]


Other Utilities, Public Utilities

No new gas generating resources for California, state air board declares

November 16, 2022

Via: Power Engineering International

The California Air Resources Board laid out the policies and actions California proposes to take to cut its use of fossil fuels and achieve carbon neutrality by 2045 or earlier. The board said the update to its scoping plan represents […]


Basic Services, Civil Service

How data analytics helped a California police department shave a year off an investigation

October 27, 2022

Via: StateScoop

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of law enforcement cases now include digital evidence as part of the investigation, according to recent industry figures. Yet, it can take days or weeks for investigators to properly process and analyze the digital breadcrumbs on a […]


Public Utilities, Waste Management

California’s New Law to Tackle Plastic at The Source

October 13, 2022

Via: Waste360

California recently passed a law aiming to take the burden of plastic recycling off of consumers. The law transfers responsibility to the plastic producers, however, critics aren’t sure this will solve the problem at hand. With high goals, the law […]


Public Utilities, Waste Management

California’s New Law and EPR Around Plastics Breaks Boundaries

October 5, 2022

Via: Waste360

Producers of single-use plastic packaging and plastic single-use foodservice ware who do business in California must join a producer responsibility organization (PRO) by Jan. 1, 2024 to continue selling, importing, or distributing these materials in that state. The Plastic Pollution […]


Other Utilities, Public Utilities

California needs to move on from net metering, advocates, industry and utility leaders say

September 22, 2022

Via: Utility Dive

Participants in an RE+ panel on ratemaking trends generally agreed that the time for net metering policies has passed in many states. But finding consensus around what should come next could prove challenging. “Here in California, we are in a […]


Other Utilities, Public Utilities

California moves to eliminate gas line extension subsidies starting in 2023 amid building decarbonization push

August 10, 2022

Via: Utility Dive

California’s current gas rules offer a variety of subsidies to a customer, builder or developer who wants to connect to the gas utility system – while the total cost of the gas line extension is initially paid by the applicant, […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

California’s grid operator moves to enhance reliability, economic prospects for utility-scale energy storage

July 12, 2022

Via: Utility Dive

To accommodate the storage needed to ensure grid reliability as renewable energy grows, the operator of California’s electricity system is working to improve how it models energy storage to facilitate market participation and increase payments to storage providers. The California […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

Utilities, solar industry square off as California reopens record in net energy metering process

June 15, 2022

Via: Utility Dive

The CPUC released its proposal to revise California’s current net energy metering program in December, outlining a tariff structure that included an export compensation rate based on the avoided cost values of behind-the-meter systems. However, the proposal drew a lot […]


Basic Services, Emergency Services

Firm picked to provide California’s NG911 emergency alerts

March 1, 2022

Via: StateScoop

The public-safety tech firm Rave Mobile Safety announced Monday that it’s been selected as California’s provider for emergency mass notifications amid a statewide project to upgrade its 911 system. Rave’s cloud-based platform is now available to hundreds of public-safety agencies […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

California utilities’ brazen plan to kill rooftop solar

February 1, 2022

Via: Utility Dive

California has been a national leader in meeting solar energy targets for fighting climate change, but that could change in the near future. A key part of solar’s success has been widespread adoption of rooftop systems by forward-thinking homeowners. Given […]


Public Utilities, Waste Management

EPA Releases Bold National Strategy to Transform U.S. Recycling, California Stands at Forefront

November 24, 2021

Via: Waste360

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the 2021 National Recycling Strategy to tackle recycling challenges facing the nation and to create a stronger, more resilient, and cost-effective municipal solid waste recycling system. This year, California alone has invested $270 […]


Electric Utility, Public Utilities

California turns focus to ensuring grid reliability during 2022, 2023 summer months

November 2, 2021

Via: Utility Dive

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has been implementing multiple measures to help ensure grid reliability during the summer months, following a record-breaking heatwave in the state in 2020 that forced the California Independent System Operator to initiate outages. In […]