Last Friday, the Department of Energy directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee to open a rulemaking proceeding to provide “full recovery of costs” for power plants that keep 90 days of fuel supplied onsite. DOE officials wrote that the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) would enhance the resilience of the nation’s electric system and “protect the American people from energy outages expected to result from the loss of this fuel-secure generation."

When electrical contractors Todd Hickman and Steve Sgroi first installed solar panels on the roof of Todd’s own home back in 2011, they did it as a kind-of test, to determine whether the technology would be suitable for their residential and commercial customers. Upon seeing the immediate positive impact the system had on lowering not only Todd’s personal electric bill, but also on the environment, they were certain solar made sense.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has followed up on a two year long initiative to take policy action on energy market barriers. As the nation's energy generation and distribution continues to modernize, energy markets must become conducive to innovation. The new rule, adopted on February 15th, opens U.S. wholesale energy markets to energy storage on equal footing with traditional power systems by properly valuing the unique benefits of energy storage.