America is Losing Power Projects When it Needs Them Most: "'Battery cannibalization'—where growing capacity drives down the prices batteries earn—is making it harder to build profitable battery projects. Texas battery revenues crashed 70% from $192/kW in 2023 to $55/kW in 2024, while ancillary service prices fell 90%. California saw similar declines, with revenues falling from $103/kW in 2022 to just $53/kW in 2024." CLEANVIEW
Analysis Finds "Anytime Electricity" From Solar Available as Battery Costs Plummet: "In 2024, Texas, California, Arizona, and Nevada all saw significant utility-scale battery growth, with the U.S. adding 10 GW of utility-scale batteries nationally, an 80% increase over the previous year. This growth is accelerating the integration of solar into the grid." PV MAGAZINE
Bid Optimization - ERCOT & CAISO Market Outlook, Week of December 10, 2025: "Market conditions have been quiet in CAISO as net load levels have been low and congestion has been limited, partially due to more limited winter solar production. The day-ahead market is pricing in more congestion than the real-time market. If this continues, expect lower real-time prices in NP15 relative to higher real-time prices in NP15 (relative to day-ahead pricing thresholds). Operators should focus on energy arbitrage and regulation down to grind out additional revenue for the rest of 2025." ASCEND ANALYTICS
California's Grid Under Pressure – Affordability, AI, and the Future of Electricity Markets: "While large load growth in California is more modest than in some other states such as Texas or Virginia, the state still expects 2.3 gigawatts of new data center demand by 2030." ENERGY GANG
California's Last Nuclear Power Plant Faces Renewed Scrutiny as it Gains Latest Permit: "The commissioners on Thursday were not deciding whether to allow the plant to stay open but were weighing how best to lessen the environmental impacts of its operation. A 2022 state law forced the plant to stay open for five more years past its planned 2025 closure date, which could have led to significant political blowback against the Coastal Commission if it had rejected the permit." CAL MATTERS
California Coastal Commission Votes 9-3 to Extend DCPP Operations to 2030: "This is a big deal. Over the years, the California Coastal Commission has not been a friend of Diablo Canyon Power Plant. Thus, this vote is significant after they tabled the DCPP motion last month. This was a huge team effort involving plant owner PG&E, nuclear power advocates, and concerned political leaders." GREEN NUKE
California Energy Price Data for November 2025: "...Cap & Trade costs overall show a gradual rise as activity on the program’s extension has increased, while LCFS costs had been easing before June as the result of data corrections discussed in previous reports but sharply reversed course under the new regulations." CALIFORNIA CENTER FOR JOBS & THE ECONOMY
California Keeps Losing Tech Jobs: " California’s high cost of energy also means that despite the tech industry’s concentration in the Bay Area, few data centers are planned in the state itself, pushing more of the AI ecosystem to places like Virginia, Oregon, and Texas." APRICITAS ECONOMICS
California Releases Draft Text for Climate Disclosure Regulations: "Entities covered by SB 253 — which mandates emissions reporting from companies generating over $1 billion in revenue — will need to submit their scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by Aug. 10, 2026, according to the proposed rule." UTILITY DIVE
California Support for Crop-Based Biofuels Undermines Clean Fuels Program: "Recent empirical studies—leveraging satellite imagery, econometric techniques, and improved datasets—show that biofuel-induced land-use change is larger and more carbon-intensive than previously understood, with emissions often exceeding those of petroleum-based fuels." BREAKTHROUGH INSTITUTE
Congestion Revenue Rights Enhancements – Issue Paper & Straw Proposal on Product Definition: "With increased renewable generation and battery storage, CAISO’s load shape and generation patterns have shifted. These shifts have changed energy flows and system congestion patterns. Limited product selection may adversely impact market participants’ ability to hedge present congestion risks. The straw proposes three products: peak, midday-peak, and off-peak." CAISO
Crimson Renewable Energy to Pause Production at California Biodiesel Plant: "Biodiesel producer Crimson Renewable Energy plans to pause production at its 37.3 million gal/year plant in Bakersfield, Calif., President and CEO Harry Simpson said on Sunday. After Crimson finishes December production, the company will not produce biodiesel in the first half of 2026, 'because of the continued poor margin environment,' Simpson said. In November, Crimson laid off 'significant numbers of staff' as a result of the decision but also kept a sizeable operations team at the facility so production can be resumed 'with fairly short notice when we get the right market and policy signals,' Simpson said." OPIS
Eclipse Energy's Microbes Can Turn Idle Oil Wells into Hydrogen Factories: "The Houston-based startup, which was spun out of Cemvita, demonstrated the technology at an oilfield in California’s San Joaquin Basin last summer. Now, it’s partnering with oilfield services company Weatherford International to deploy the technology around the world..." TECH CRUNCH
Gavin Newsom Sticks it to California Ratepayers: "In January, Pacific Gas & Electric, California’s largest utility, announced it was terminating power purchase agreements it signed 15 years ago, and the plant would be shuttering and dismantling the plant, which is operated, and partially owned by Houston-based NRG. Those contracts were expected to run through 2039. Ending the contracts, PG&E said, 'will save customers money.' But last week, the California Public Utility Commission rejected the proposed shutdown and ordered the plant to stay open. Why? Shelving the project would threaten the state’s efforts to achieve its renewable energy targets. The agency also said that the transmission and distribution infrastructure that ratepayers have already paid for would be 'stranded.'" ROBERT BRYCE
Geothermal Energy is Attracting More and More Investment: "When it comes to electricity, geothermal makes up less than 1% of the world’s supply. The U.S. is the global leader in terms of geothermal power capacity, with much of it located in California’s steamy Geysers region. It’s no surprise, then, that America is among the countries investing the most in the energy source, topping the chart this year and last." CANARY MEDIA
In Emergencies, Hospitals Are Relying on Microgrids: "Healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente, which owns and operates 40 hospitals and over 600 medical office buildings across the US, has microgrids at a handful of its California locations. The system’s Ontario, California, hospital hosts its largest microgrid with on-site solar, a fuel cell system, and batteries—which can supply the entire electrical load of the hospital for a limited amount of time. And though the hospital does have a diesel generator for backup power, the microgrid would primarily supply power during an outage." TECH BREW
Los Angeles Sues Oil Companies for Well Cleanup and Environmental Damage: "The County of Los Angeles is suing four oil companies for failing to plug and decommission exhausted oil wells in the Inglewood Oil Field. The lawsuit against Sentinel Peak Resources California LLC, Freeport-McMoran Oil & Gas LLC, Plains Resources, Inc., and Chevron alleges that the wells released 'toxic pollutants into the air, land, and water and present unacceptable dangers to human health, safety, and the environment.'" CALIFORNIA ENERGY JOURNAL
Racing Against the Storm – Utilities Accelerate Grid Resilience Efforts: "n 2023, Pacific Gas & Electric released a list of its most challenging technical and operational challenges and urged technology companies to offer solutions and the opportunity to partner with PG&E to develop and implement them. More recently, the utility hosted a three-day Innovation Pitch Fest, where technology companies with solutions to reduce wildfire risk and other challenges could present their ideas and compete for up to $25 million in funding, as well as a pathway to co-develop and scale their solutions into PG&E’s systems." EPRI JOURNAL
Sugar Valley Energy, in Partnership with IVEDCC, Awarded California Jobs First Grant Through the Southern Border Coalition: "California Ethanol + Power and the Imperial Valley Economic Development Corp. announced on Dec. 11 that the planned renewable fuel and energy campus Sugar Valley Energy has been selected to receive a Jobs First Grant through the Southern Border Jobs First Collaborative. The award represents a significant milestone for the project and for Imperial County, one of California’s most economically challenged regions." BIOMASS MAGAZINE
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