ARETE

A huge winter storm slammed Texas earlier this week, knocking out power plants and leaving millions of residents without electricity and heat for days, amid freezing conditions. A major part of the problem: The state’s power plants were not prepared for the frigid temperatures that accompanied the storm. Natural gas, coal and nuclear plants which provide the bulk of Texas’ power in the winter were knocked offline, and wind turbines froze, too. https://www.nytimes.com//texas-storm-power-generation-char

Texas’ power grid was seconds and minutes away from a catastrophic failure that could have left Texans in the dark for months. https://www.texastribune.org//18/texas-power-outages-ercot/

Fun Fact: If Bitcoin was a country, it would be in the top 30 energy users worldwide! https://lnkd.in/gqxKeu6

California utilities are expected to spend $15 billion over the next two years to reduce the risk of their live wires sparking blazes after an historic wildfire season. https://www.bloomberg.com//california-utilities-plan-15-bi

U.S. solar generation capacity is soaring and the largest solar project in the U.S. is underway in Texas. https://earth911.com/eco-tech/largest-solar-project-in-us/

Why are empty office buildings still devouring energy? Find out here: https://www.fastcompany.com//empty-office-buildings-are-st

Hundreds of thousands of Californians sat in the dark last summer during the hottest August on record. The scorching heat lingered for days and taxed the state’s power grid, bringing some of the first rotating power outages in nearly two decades. This report explains why: https://www.courthousenews.com/report-explains-why-califor/

Congratulations to all the 2020 Utility Dive award winners! https://www.utilitydive.com//utility-dive-awards-2/589442/

What we learned from the U.S.’s bold plan to make solar cheaper. What worked, and what didn’t, in the Department of Energy’s plan to drastically cut the cost of solar power. https://www.bloomberg.com//what-we-learned-from-the-u-s-s-

The Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility, the world’s largest utility-scale battery energy storage system, is now online. https://www.environmentalleader.com//worlds-largest-utili/

Happy New Years! With 2020 coming to a close, we wanted to reach out and send our best wishes! Despite the ups-and-downs, we hope that 2020 has been a successful year for you and your organization. We can’t thank you enough for the support this year and we’re hoping to serving you in 2021. From our entire team, we want to wish you a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!

Imagine an electric car battery that provides more than 300 miles of range, charges in approximately ten minutes, requires no bulky heating and cooling systems, maintains 80 percent of its charge capacity for 800 cycles (about 240,000 miles), and isn't prone to spontaneous combustion. Such is the promise of the solid-state car battery, a holy grail that automakers and manufacturers are racing to find. Now, Toyota announced it'll have a running prototype with a solid-state battery ready by next year. https://www.motortrend.com//toyota-solid-state-battery-e/&

Utility customers owe up to $40 Billion in unpaid debt due to Covid-19. Who will ultimately be responsible to pay for it? #utilities #covid #risk https://www.utilitydive.com//customers-owe-billion/589525/

Tesla deployed a record 759 MWh of battery storage, while solar installations doubled thanks to the company's decreased installation cost and online order form. As Tesla reports record Q3 solar and storage deployments, Elon Musk promises to reinvent their batteries. https://www.utilitydive.com//musk-promises-to-rein/587520/

Electric vehicles are widely seen as the automobile industry's future, but a battle is unfolding in states across America over who should control the charging stations that could gradually replace fuel pumps. https://www.foxbusiness.com//electric-cars-sparks-fights-c

Facebook deploys its AI to find green energy storage solutions. https://www.engadget.com/facebook-deploys-its-ai-to-find-gr

In California’s Salinas Valley, the small city of Gonzales is planning a $70 million microgrid to provide a business park with round-the-clock reliable power at cheaper than utility rates, and overcome a grid upgrade bottleneck that would otherwise stifle its economic development plans. https://www.greentechmedia.com//california-town-tests-new-

Citing "heightened tensions" between the two nations, the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Thursday warned of the potential for Chinese cyberattacks and recommended owners of critical infrastructure, including the power sector, "disable unnecessary ports, protocols, and services" to limit the threat. https://www.utilitydive.com//utilities-should-ramp/586376/

A risk register is regarded as one of the most important documents and processes in operations management. Understand the fundamentals of a risk register at ARETE's blog! https://arete-inc.com/understanding-the-fundamentals-of-a-/

The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday passed four bipartisan bills aimed at strengthening the cybersecurity posture of the nation's electric grid, including a trio of measures that have broad support from the electric utility industry. https://www.utilitydive.com//House-grid-security-b/586204/

U.S. solar generation continues to grow by 22.2% despite the coronavirus pandemic. #renewableenergy #solar #energy https://www.solarpowerworldonline.com//u-s-solar-generati/

What California's zero emission vehicle order means for the power sector. #energy #power #renewables https://www.utilitydive.com//this-will-change-the-/585793/

It's no secret that the wildfires pose a great threat to California's electric grid. Learn what they are telling us about the shortcomings of the electric grid. https://techxplore.com//2020-09-wildfires-shortcomings-cal

Is the million-mile battery coming? Found out what Elon Musk is saying about it here: https://www.latimes.com//the-million-mile-car-battery-what

A look into 3 ways utilities can help low-income families impacted by COVID-19. https://www.utilitydive.com//3-ways-utilities-can-/583868/