Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) fans tout bidirectional charging as a way for fleets (or perhaps even individuals) to generate income and defray the cost of going electric. Now Fermata Energy has announced the results of a summer-long pilot project in which a customer-owned EV earned over $4,200 by participating in a utility demand response (DR) program. In May of 2021, startup Electric Frog provided a Nissan LEAF to the Burrillville Wastewater Treatment Facility in Rhode Island. Fermata Energy installed its FE-15 bidirectional charger and proprietary V2X software to manage the charging of the EV and deliver power on call to the building.
ICAST Policy Blog
President Biden's State of the Union
Regarding energy, President Biden’s March 1 State of the Union (SOTU) address is arguably one of the most important recent events from the Executive Branch. It was there that the President said that energy-savings options his Administration supports would save the average American family $500 per year by 2030. Unfortunately, he did not discuss climate change as much as his party would have liked.
The climate discussion revolved around the economy. The President applauded the bipartisan infrastructure law and the funding on its way to States. He discussed a pending bill in Congress focused on accelerating U.S. innovation. Decarbonization, he said, means bringing jobs back to the U.S.
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In a unanimous decision, a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by Salt River Project (SRP) that its activities — and its pricing structure — are protected by various state and federal laws. The judges said there is sufficient evidence that could show the price structure was designed to deter the competitive threat of solar energy systems and to force consumers to exclusively purchase electricity from SRP. The judgment came after a lawsuit by several SRP customers who said the utility discriminates against customers who use solar energy and makes it impossible for them to obtain any viable return on the solar systems they install, “thereby eliminating any competition from solar energy.’’ The ruling makes it clear that all utilities can be subject to anti-trust laws if their policies and practices not approved by the commission result in deterring customers from investing in solar, said Jean Us, director of the energy justice program for the Center for Biological Diversity.
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