Category Archives: Blog

The Five 2018 Races to Watch for a 100% Renewable Energy Future

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on LinkedIn, and is being republished with permission of the author.    It’s hard to go a day without hearing, reading, or talking about the upcoming midterm elections. Interest is high and opinions are strong, with most of the spotlight shining on the federal level. But critical races are occurring across the…

IBM on the Role of Blockchain for Renewable Energy
A Conversation with Neil Gerber, Global Director of New Energy and Blockchain at IBM

EDITOR’S NOTE: The role of blockchain applications for promoting a modern grid that values flexibility, competition, reliability and resilience will be among the many diverse topics of discussion at ACORE’s inaugural Renewable Energy Grid Forum, taking place on November 8 in San Francisco. For more information and to register, please visit: www.renewablegridforum.org.   Blockchain, the…

Grid Flexible Solar
Key to Unlocking Clean Energy Grid of the Future

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared in the September 2018 issue of Public Utilities Fortnightly. Posting with permission of the publisher. Today’s power grid is evolving. In recent years, a confluence of factors has fundamentally altered how electricity is generated, delivered, and consumed. Prices for utility-scale solar and other renewable resources have plummeted to the…

New Power Plant Regulations Likely Not the End of Coal Bailout Attempts

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) introduced a proposal to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) with a new set of rules that would significantly reduce pollution control requirements for coal-burning power plants. The proposal, officially dubbed the Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule, was unveiled ahead of President Trump’s trip to West Virginia…

TRANSCRIPT: Capital Stacks for a Maturing Sector Panel at REFF Wall Street 2018

On June 19, 2018, ACORE convened a panel of leading investors at the 15th annual REFF Wall Street to discuss how capital stacks for renewable energy are evolving as the sector attracts new investors, absorbs the effects of tax reform, reconciles with the sunset of tax credits and responds to other market and policy changes.…

Unlocking the Value of Integrated Energy Systems
Four Key Takeaways from our Most Recent Member Meeting

Last month, ACORE hosted an executive member meeting in New York City in advance of our annual REFF-Wall Street conference that focused on the pathways to value and finance the integration of renewable energy systems with enabling technologies, a.k.a. “integrated energy systems,” in both utility and commercial applications. Our first panel of the day –…

The Role of Renewables in the Virtuous Circle of Sustainability

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article originally appeared on Deloitte Insights and covers a range of issues that will be discussed at the 2018 Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar: Scaling new heights in Denver, CO August 15-17. Speakers and sessions at the Deloitte Renewable Energy Seminar will focus on advancements in technology, innovation at utilities, and address the…

New IRS Guidance Makes the Future of U.S. Solar Even Brighter

The long-awaited action last Friday by the Treasury Department to finalize important “commence construction” guidance will continue market momentum and drive additional investment and deployment in solar and other renewable energy resources by providing certainty to investors and developers. In a nutshell, projects using solar energy and Section 48 technologies will have options that resemble those…

The American Consumer Will Buy Your Renewably Powered Product
If Only You’ll Tell Them More About It

America’s leading companies have always understood the need to invest in their brands. What’s becoming a more mainstream notion now is that any shrewd brand investment would do well to articulate a commitment to environmental stewardship. Consumers are primed to reward companies for making proactive, public commitments to both overarching sustainability and related renewable energy…

As Money-Losing Coal Plants Eye a Bailout, Solar Forges Ahead

Late last week, news broke that the Trump administration was planning to order grid operators—via “emergency measures” under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy—to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear power plants in the name of national security and reliability. Apart from those who would directly benefit from such unprecedented federal intervention…