News & Events
New Berkeley Lab study analyzes the financial performance of Connecticut solar leasing program that targets low- and moderate-income customers
Policymakers are increasingly interested in how to expand access to rooftop photovoltaic systems.
Are We Underestimating the Potential for Wind Energy Cost Reductions…and also the Uncertainty?
Prices for wind energy have hit rock bottom as the market has expanded, driven by technology innovation, industry maturation, and macroeconomic factors.
New Berkeley Lab Report Looks at How Low- and Moderate-Income Solar Programs are Evaluated
Over 40 programs seek to bring solar to low-income households, but with varying levels of evaluation
Eleven Remote and Island Communities Join Berkeley Lab in First Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project
Remote and island communities face high energy costs and vulnerable energy infrastructures, and are at increased risk of natural disasters and climate change impacts. Sustainable solutions that emphasize holistic energy planning are of paramount importance, yet advancing energy transition plans for these small communities is often difficult due to limited resources or capacity.
Experts’ Predictions for Future Wind Energy Costs Drop Significantly
Berkeley Lab-led study shows expected cost declines of 17%-35% by 2035 and 37%-49% by 2050
Halfway to Zero: Progress towards a Carbon-Free Power Sector
We are pleased to announce the publication of a new report that documents past progress in power-sector decarbonization. Sharply reducing carbon emissions is imperative to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
U.S. Power Sector is Halfway to Zero Carbon Emissions
New Berkeley Lab study reviews progress towards a carbon-free power sector
New Berkeley Lab report on solar-adopter income trends
A new report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory highlights income, demographic, and other socio-economic trends among U.S. residential rooftop solar adopters.
March 25, 2021 Calling All Resources for Utility Procurements
Rapid technology changes are driving renewed interest in all-source competitive solicitations by electric utilities. This type of procurement allows all potential resources — utility-scale and distributed energy resources (DERs), whether owned by utilities, customers or third parties — to compete to meet a utility’s needs.
Wind Energy Development Delivers Significant Revenue To Local School Coffers, Driving Capital Spending, Berkeley Lab Study Finds
Student-Teacher ratios, an important student outcome, show small to non-existent increases, though, with also no apparent change in test scores
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT
The Electricity Markets and Policy Department (EMP) has an opening for a Program Manager 3.
In this role, you will manage, lead, develop and conduct research and technical assistance activities in areas such as utility regulation and business models, performance-based regulation, evolving utility commercial opportunities, rate making, and rate design within the EMP Department. Your work will require you to interact with research scientists, project team members, and external customers to achieve program success.
Berkeley Lab releases new user-friendly publicly-available pro-forma utility financial model tool
The Standardized Utility Pro-forma Financial Analysis (SUPRA) tool provides regulators, policymakers, utilities, and third-party development organizations in island and remote communities with a relatively simple and publicly accessible financial analysis tool to better assess island utility opportunities to manage, mitigate, and/or improve its financial situation, and quantify the financial impacts from pursuing changes to its regulatory and business model.
Berkeley Lab publishes its 2021 RPS Status Update: Early Release
We are pleased to announce the release of Berkeley Lab’s U.S. Renewables Portfolio Standards 2021 Status Update: Early Release.
Berkeley Lab’s annual status report on U.S. renewables portfolio standards (RPS) provides an overview of key trends associated with state RPS policies. The report, published in slide-deck form along with accompanying data files, describes recent legislative revisions, key policy design features, compliance with interim targets, past and projected impacts on renewables development, and compliance costs.
Pair of New Berkeley Lab Reports Explore the Economic Impacts of Widespread, Long Duration Power Interruptions
A number of widespread, long duration (WLD) power interruptions have recently occurred in the United States—most notably in Texas, Oregon, California, and Puerto Rico. Berkeley Lab is pleased to announce the release of a pair of new reports that explore the economic impacts of these types of events.
JOB ANNOUNCEMENT: Graduate Student Research Assistant
The Electricity Markets and Policy Department (EMP, https://emp.lbl.gov) at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is seeking a Graduate Student Research Assistant (GSRA) for Summer 2021 on a 100% basis (40h/week) and Fall 2021 on a 25% (10hr/week basis). A GSRA appointment at LBNL qualifies for tuition and fee remissions at UC Berkeley.
Value of Distributed Energy Resources Largely Depends on Three Things: Location, Location, Location
As solar panels cover more rooftops, and buildings with load controls and storage provide more grid services, understanding the value of distributed energy resources (DERs) is increasingly important. Yet few utilities and states consider their value at specific points on the electric system in planning, procurement, and design of DER programs and rates.
New Berkeley Lab technical brief explores trends in revenue decoupling rate impacts
Investments in energy efficiency and distributed generation reduce electric utility retail sales. Since electric utilities have historically collected a large portion of revenues from volumetric energy rates, such reductions in sales can impact the utility’s ability to sufficiently recover non-production costs.
Berkeley Lab report provides a taxonomy of utility commercial opportunities and identifies the key issues that regulators, policy makers, and stakeholders may want to consider in decision-making
Technological advances and a more engaged customer population are pushing utilities and their regulators towards new strategies that promote growth and transformation.
New Berkeley Lab Report Documents Trends in System Impacts, Reliability and Market Value of Solar in the United States
With continued deployment of solar across the United States, assessing the interactions of solar with the power system is increasingly important. Impacts of solar on the bulk power system are obvious in the CAISO system, including changes to the net load, wholesale prices, and the market value of solar. The same impacts are not seen in ISOs with much lower penetrations of solar.
New Framework Released for Weighing Benefits and Costs of Grid Modernization Investments
Utilities throughout the country are investing in modernizing distribution systems that deliver electricity to homes and businesses. That includes a host of technologies, such as those that improve reliability and resilience by automating outage detection and service restoration and managing distributed energy resources (DERs) like rooftop solar and battery storage.