Uber and Lyft made progress this week toward establishing the legality of next-generation taxis and ridesharing in California, overcoming some earlier hurdles with government regulation and potentially opening the door for other companies to enter the market. Read more »
Over the past year, BrightSource Energy has touted the importance of using energy storage for its solar power plants. And no wonder. California regulators are looking at approving three of five deals between BrightSource and a utility partly because they will benefit from using energy storage. Read more »
How do you get homeowners to change their mindsets and behaviors and become more energy efficient? A new report on Wednesday says the best policies are to provide incentives at times when homeowners selling or renovating their houses. Read more »
Are people who don’t own homes being left out of the solar energy revolution? A bill making its way through the Legislature in California will expand the public’s access to solar energy by making it easier for renters and others to buy electricity from clean power. Read more »
It was a project that took five years to fight off critics and secure regulatory permits. But now the Sunrise Powerlink — a transmission line to ferry clean power like solar and wind from California’s desert to its southern coastal region — is done and live. Read more »
California’s groundbreaking set of rules on utility customer energy data are facing comment from the smart grid industry this week, and there’s still plenty of confusion over the fine print. In short, CPUC’s rules will need to change to avoid stifling the smart grid-home energy marketplace. Read more »
How will PG&E’s plan to turn off smart meter radios for complaining customers — and charge them extra for service — affect its smart meter plans, and others around the country? Here’s 3 things I’m paying attention to: Read more »
Pacific Gas & Electric has chosen an option for customers who think their smart meter radios might be a health risk: just turn off the radios, and pay the extra charges of having them read manually. Read more »
There’s been a lot of high-fiving among energy storage technology developers about a bill signed into law by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week. However, the bill doesn’t mandate energy storage, which means it’s far from determined which technologies and players will be the big winners. Read more »
The official verdict is out — Pacific Gas & Electric’s smart meter technology has been working properly, but its customer service hasn’t. That’s the conclusion of a state-ordered report released Thursday from independent analysts at the Structure Group. Read more »
