California Court Upholds NEM 3.0, Dealing Blow to Rooftop Solar: "The appellate court’s decision maintains the “Net Billing Tariff,” which transitioned the market away from NEM 2.0 and cut export credits by approximately 75% to 80%. In its ruling, the court deferred to the CPUC in its assessment of the costs and benefits of distributed generation." PV MAGAZINE
NEM 3.0 Decision – 1st Appellate District Affirms Original Opinion in Center for Biological Diversity v. Public Utilities Commission: "On March 9, 2026, the First Appellate District affirmed in full the CPUC’s D.22-12-026 decision in Center for Biological Diversity v. Public Utilities Commission (Case No. A167721). The First Appellate District original opinion affirming the CPUC decision was appealed to the California Supreme Court, which issued an opinion in August 2025 not on the questions specific to the CPUC’s action on NEM 3.0’s net billing tariff and related matters (See CPUC D. 22-12-056; See Proceeding Docket for R. 20-08-020), but on how appellate courts are to apply the judicial review standards found in Public Utilities Code §§ 1757 and 1757.1 to the CPUC." EPIC ENERGY
Solar Panel Reimbursements to Remain Low Under California Appeals Court Ruling: "Three appeals court judges ruled that the California Public Utilities Commission was justified in reducing the rate utilities pay customers for excess energy the customers’ solar panels generate." CAL MATTERS
Arevon Secures $920 Million for New California Energy Storage Project: "Renewable energy developer Arevon Energy announced that it has secured $920 million in financing for its large-scale battery facility in California, Nighthawk Energy Storage Project. The new project, currently under construction in Poway, California, is expected to become operational this year. According to Arevon, with a capacity of 300 MW, the facility will be capable of powering 385,000 homes for up to four hours during peak demand periods." ESG TODAY
Balcony Solar is Taking State Legislatures by Storm: "A proposal in California — a potentially massive market as the state with the second-highest electricity prices and largest state economy in the nation — is in committee. Stryker anticipates that still more lawmakers will announce legislation for the up-and-coming tech this year." GRIST
California's Data Centers Should be Models of Affordable, Clean Energy: "Requiring facilities to install on-site generation and storage that can be dispatched by the California independent system operator, and to actively reduce demand when the grid is stressed can support the state’s goals for reliable and affordable electricity. Data centers should also be incentivized to rely entirely on zero carbon energy resources to power their facilities." CAL MATTERS
Why Data Centers Will Create Electricity Abundance: "The price of electricity is bound to come down. Innovation across every possible source of electricity – large and small scale nuclear, natural gas, solar, geothermal (a big wild card), novel solutions such as linear motors and other advances we can’t possibly predict – ensures that the days of grossly overpriced electricity are numbered." CALIFORNIA POLICY CENTER
California's High Gas Prices Are About More Than the Conflict in Iran: "Currently, the few remaining California refineries are undergoing maintenance and switching to the state’s summer-blend gasoline, which brings on a seasonal price increase. Some state lawmakers have proposed a temporary pause in California’s gas tax to ease pump price increases. Higher prices result from numerous factors, including refinery maintenance, reduced output, and higher production costs for summer-blend fuel. Summer-blend gasoline is formulated with a lower Reid Vapor Pressure to reduce evaporation at higher temperatures, a requirement to combat air pollution in California’s summer months. Other states begin making the switch to summer-blend gasoline closer to May 1, while California refineries start much earlier because some areas require summer-blend fuel on April 1." INSTITUTE for ENERGY RESEARCH
California Passed a Law to Curb Spikes in Gas Prices – Why Isn't It Using Those Powers Now? "Economists say California’s biggest challenge may be infrastructure. Valero plans to close its Benicia refinery, which produces about 10% of the state’s gasoline, next month. In an analysis posted last year, Stanford economist Neale Mahoney and [Ryan] Cummings said California could offset lost refinery production with gasoline imports – if permitting allows refineries like Benicia to convert to fuel import terminals." CAL MATTERS
California's New Governor Must Hold Down Clean Energy Costs, Drive Innovation: "...the new governor should extend Diablo Canyon’s operation. It’s California’s largest source of carbon-free electricity, and it works. End the outdated ban on small modular reactors. Nuclear is clean, stable and here." CAL MATTERS
California Gas Utilities Say Research Supports Up to 5 Percent Hydrogen Blending: "Southern California Gas Co., San Diego Gas & Electric and Southwest Gas filed a petition for modification in February asking the CPUC to remove the requirement for projects demonstrating the 0.1-percent to 5-percent blends. Pacific Gas & Electric did not join the other three utilities in the petition." CALIFORNIA ENERGY MARKETS
California Oil Reserves May Exceed Texas Oil Reserves: "California has perhaps up to 30 billion barrels of oil in reserve according to industry experts. These massive oil deposits could make California a world-class oil producer and energy independent. Unfortunately, misguided Net-zero Policies have hamstrung California’s energy production. Texas has about 20 billion or so barrels of oil in reserve with new discoveries made quite often. Texas is a strong fiscally responsible low-debt state, while California is in deep debt despite the highest taxes in the USA. California is also first nationwide in unemployment, with oil industry workers now among those without jobs.." TUCO'S CHILD
Geothermal – Clean Energy for People Who Like to Drill: "Southern California Edison, the huge public utility, signed a contract for 320 megawatts of geothermal power from Fervo Energy’s Cape Station project in Utah. Even California’s long-term capital is helping. Fervo’s $462 million Series E funding round last December included returning investor California’s CalSTRS, the world’s largest educator‑only pension fund and America’s second‑largest public pension fund." WASHINGTON MONTHLY
Justice Department Says Defense Production Act Orders Could Override State Barriers to Oil: "The U.S. Department of Justice issued a legal opinion concluding that a presidential order on energy production issued under the Defense Production Act could preempt conflicting state laws under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. The U.S. Department of Energy requested the opinion in connection with Sable Offshore Corp.’s ongoing efforts to restart offshore oil production from the Santa Ynez Unit." CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
Trump Administration Invokes Emergency Powers to Restart Oil Operations Off California Coast: "Energy Secretary Chris Wright on Friday took action to hit back at two of the Trump administration’s top antagonists: Oil supply disruptions brought on by the war in Iran and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Wright issued an order paving the way for a company operating off the California coast to restart an oil pipeline that state officials have kept offline since 2015. The Energy Department framed it as a way to ease reliance on oil imports through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for oil tanker traffic that the war has choked off." POLITICO
SCE Could Return $63.2M to Ratepayers Following 2023 Overcollection: "The decision would also require SCE to return about $71,000 in 'unrealized revenue' associated with four public-safety power shutoffs that occurred in 2023. SCE determined that had the four shutoffs not been implemented, customers would have used 912 MWh during those times, and calculated that it would have earned about $71,000 from electricity sales. This was recorded in a balancing account and was later discovered when the accounts were reviewed. Under current regulations, SCE must return that amount to customers because utilities aren’t allowed to recover revenue lost when power is shut off during PSPS events." CALIFORNIA ENERGY MARKETS
Shouting CEQA Reform From the Rooftops: "We could soon find out how Californians really feel about CEQA. Voters are on track to consider a CalChamber-backed ballot measure in November that aims to modernize the 55-year-old California Environmental Quality Act to speed up the construction of essential housing, clean energy, transportation, water infrastructure and other projects. The measure, titled the Building an Affordable California Act, cleared a signature threshold last month to appear on ballots and is gaining momentum, including an endorsement last week from Assemblymember Buffy Wicks, the former Housing Committee Chair and accomplished CEQA brawler." THE CURRENT
This Public Power Movement is Raising a Billion Dollar Question: "California has more than 20 publicly-owned electric utilities. But we haven’t seen a successful municipalization since Sacramento took ownership of its poles and wires in the 1940s. Today’s utilities are more complex than they were back in the day. A modern municipalization would involve not just poles and wires, but also stranded costs, bond obligations, wildfire liabilities, and protections for the customers outside the city who remain with the investor-owned utility." ENERGY AT HAAS
Washington, California, and Quebec Collaborate on Linking Carbon Markets: "Washington, California and Québec could start operating a linked carbon emissions trading market as soon as 2027, depending on how fast linkage process steps and regulatory changes are completed in each jurisdiction..." UTILITY DIVE
Why a Microgrid Didn't Pencil Out in this California Advanced Energy Community: "Ultimately, the microgrid didn’t make financial sense, said Therese Peffer, associate director, California Institute for Energy & Environment. The microgrid cost came in too high because PG&E’s estimated costs were unexpected, the battery shed in a proposed tight space was expensive–including sound mitigation and air conditioning–and some costs were unknown." MICROGRID KNOWLEDGE
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11
Mar
WEDNESDAY AGGREGATE: Demand Response Bridge Funding; CalCCA on PCIA Reform; New PG&E Data Center in Gilroy