An increasing number of states and hundreds of cities, university systems, businesses, and other entities have set 100% clean energy goals to mitigate the effects of climate change and realize economic, public health, and other societal benefits. For the past…
Up Front: The IREC Blog 
Workforce Development: The Foundation of a Clean Energy Future
Overcoming the Barriers to Energy Storage Interconnection
New DOE-funded Project Will Develop Solutions to the Challenges of Storage Interconnection This article was originally published by North American Clean Energy. The energy storage industry has advanced rapidly, demonstrating the critical role storage technologies have to play in enabling…
Why Improving Local Solar & Storage Codes Brings Us Closer to a Clean Energy Future
Imagine your company designs and installs solar PV systems and energy storage systems. In your current project, you’re designing a freestanding solar array for a customer that will shade a parking lot. While you’ve designed countless PV systems in this…
How IEEE 1547.1-2020 Paves the Way for More Energy Storage & a Smarter Grid
This article originally appeared in Energy Storage News. A newly released standard creates nationally applicable guidance for DER manufacturers on how grid support functions in their products will be tested. This paves the way for U.S. states to adopt more modern…
Validation Is Critical to Making Hosting Capacity Analysis a Clean Energy Game-Changer
A hosting capacity analysis (HCA), is a key grid transparency tool that provides a snapshot in time of the conditions on a utility’s distribution grid that reflect its ability to host additional distributed energy resources (DERs) at specific locations, without…
Navigating Grid Modernization and Unlocking the Grid of the Future
The U.S. electricity grid today operates in a dramatically different context than when it was originally built. Considerable upgrades are needed to meet the changing demands of the modern era, such as the significant expansion of renewable energy, energy storage,…
Forward-thinking states charge ahead on energy storage
Although it may seem straightforward to integrate energy storage into state energy markets, the characteristics that make storage so valuable and attractive also make it challenging to address in policy and regulatory contexts.
2020 Clean Energy States Honor Roll
This year’s Clean Energy States Honor Roll notes states to keep an eye on in the year to come for more promising developments in 2020 and beyond.
Encouraging Interconnection Rules in the Age of Distributed Energy
Interconnection procedures are the rules of the road for the grid. Without common rules and predictable processes, gridlock and costly projects can result. In IREC’s recently released 2019 Model Interconnection Procedures, we take the first steps toward defining a clear interconnection process for energy storage systems to provide a useful starting point for states navigating these issues.
MN Utility Commission Pushes Xcel Energy to Improve Grid Transparency Tools
Over the last three years, IREC has been involved in proceedings before the Minnesota Commission focused on tools to enhance the transparency of Xcel Energy’s distribution grid.