How solar is saving New England's grid

Presented by Chevron: Your guide to the political forces shaping the energy transformation

Jun 29, 2023 View in browser   By Arianna Skibell Presented by Chevron Solar panels are mounted on a roof in Marshfield, Mass. | Stephan Savoia/AP Photo Rooftop solar is chipping away at the accepted narratives on how to keep the electric grid reliable. The expansion of solar panels on New England roofs is helping keep the lights on during winter, rendering at least one fossil fuel power plant unnecessary, writes Benjamin Storrow. Rooftop solar’s knight-in-shining-armor debut comes amid a growing national debate over the growth of carbon-free power sources like wind and solar and their impact on the nation’s strained electric grid. Grid regulators have warned that as coal and natural gas plants retire in increasing numbers, large swaths of the country could face a heightened risk of blackouts during heat waves and winter storms. But the finding in New England is changing regulators’ view of rooftop solar, which has historically been dismissed as a small, unpredictable source of energy. “I think that the solar finding was just monumental because it’s not something that anyone that I know of had ever considered or put forward as part of the solution,” Philip Bartlett, chair of the Maine Public Utility Commission, told Ben. The influx of solar power also cleared a path for closing the Mystic Generating Station, one of New England’s dirtiest power plants. Customers have been paying a subsidy to keep the plant online after the grid operator said it was necessary to shore up the region’s power supply in cold weather. But now New England’s grid operator says the power plant is no longer needed to prevent blackouts, in part because of rooftop solar installations. That’s good news for the region’s twin goals of cutting planet-warming pollution and keeping the power on during cold, stormy winters. New England’s grid relies heavily on natural gas, which can be a problem in winter when much of the fuel is dedicated to heating homes and other buildings. That has led the region to use carbon-intensive oil as a backup power source. Rooftop solar, however, is easing the need for backup oil. The New England grid operator told federal regulators last week that the new solar, paired with incoming offshore wind power and flat energy demand, has better positioned the region to navigate the next four winters. That’s a stark contrast from recent winters, when the region’s grid struggled to keep up with demand. And it parallels something happening now in Texas, where solar power is helping fill the need for electricity during a devastating heat wave.   It's Thursday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO's Power Switch. I'm your host, Arianna Skibell. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to askibell@eenews.net.   A message from Chevron: At Chevron, we’re striving to lead the way in the energy transition. That means producing renewable fuels to make an impact today and working to develop other fuels for tomorrow – all while working to reduce our carbon intensity. That's energy In progress.   Listen to today’s POLITICO Energy podcast Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: David Ferris breaks down how the U.S. and Europe are responding in different ways to China's dominance in electric vehicles.   A message from Chevron:   Power Centers The U.S. Supreme Court, as photographed Sept. 2, 2021. | Francis Chung/E&E News SCOTUS fallout on race Thursday's Supreme Court decision outlawing consideration of race in college admissions could undercut one of the Biden administration’s major priorities — addressing pollution in predominantly Black communities, writes Pamela King. "This does not mean that race-conscious environmental justice efforts are doomed," George Washington University Law School professor Emily Hammond told Pamela. But she said federal, state and local governments will have to "tightly craft" their policies to meet the court's standards. Mountain Valley construction approved Federal regulators have authorized the developers of the Mountain Valley pipeline to resume construction on the 303-mile natural gas projects, writes Miranda Willson. The approval, which comes weeks after Congress ordered federal agencies to approve it, clears the way for the project to be completed after years of delays. Farm lobby under fire The European Union’s largest farming lobby is taking heat from critics who say it doesn't represent the interests of smaller farmers, write Susannah Savage and Thin Lei Win. “It is nearly always the representation of a certain type of agriculture,” said Thomas Waitz, an Austrian ecological farmer who represents the Greens Party in the European Parliament. “And these are the big farms.” In Other News This is climate change: Heat and smoke are smothering most of the U.S., putting lives at risk. Heating up: Inmates are dying in stifling Texas prisons, but the state rarely acknowledges heat as a cause of death.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.     Subscriber Zone A showcase of some of our best subscriber content. Tourists stroll through a meadow of sunflowers in China's Hebei province last year as wind turbines spin in the background. | Andy Wong/AP Photo China is on track to double its wind and solar power capacity by the end of 2025, five years earlier than the country's original target. A proposed plan could cut billions of dollars off the debt of Puerto Rico’s government-owned utility and end its arduous bankruptcy, but there’s a major problem: Most people hate it. General Motors, America’s largest automaker, will start selling systems that enable owners of its electric vehicles to export power to homes and the electric grid. That's it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.   STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.       A message from Chevron: To meet society’s energy demands, we’re scaling up our operations while scaling down our portfolio carbon intensity. We’re investing in the fuels of tomorrow, while also staying focused on developing lower carbon alternatives to meet the needs of today. That means producing things like renewable diesel and renewable natural gas to fuel existing engines and help reduce the lifecycle carbon intensity of the transportation industry. Meeting today’s energy needs, while forging new paths to the future - in ways that are affordable, reliable and ever cleaner. That’s energy In progress.     Follow us on Twitter Arianna Skibell @ariannaskibell   Follow us

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