IREC's regulatory team works behind the scenes in states all across the country. While you might not (usually) hear about our work on the evening news, we're quietly changing the policy landscape in ways that have big benefits for clean energy growth as well as the many benefits that come with it, like cleaner air, quality jobs, and economic growth.
In 2023 and so far in 2024, our work produced clean energy policy improvements in seven states! We contributed to favorable policy changes that enabled the rapid, cost-effective, safe, and reliable integration of large amounts of clean energy on the grid in Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, Virginia, Vermont, California, and Minnesota.
Read on for an overview of these wins! We're excited to highlight some of the different states where our work is making an impact, why these policy developments matter, and what they mean in practical terms for clean energy stakeholders.
- California: Limited Generation Profiles Now Provide a Path for Clean Energy to Support the Grid and Avoid Costly Upgrades
- Maine: Interconnection Rule Updates Support Transparency, Streamlined Review, and Energy Storage Integration
- Minnesota: Improvements to Utility Grid Investment Planning
- New Mexico: Aligning Utilities' Smart Inverter Requirements with Best Practices
- Oregon: Streamlined and Modernized Interconnection Practices for Clean Energy and a Path for Smart Inverters
- Virginia: Fighting Against Unnecessary Utility Requirements Hurting the Mid-Sized Solar Market
- Vermont: Increased Interconnection Data Access, Clarified Storage Rules, and Oversight of Group Study Policies
These seven state policy wins have tangible impacts on how many people can benefit from clean energy, and how efficiently and affordably those projects can be developed. And these are just our most recent wins over our 40+ years of work, IREC's regulatory team has shaped policy in over 40 states.
One of the reasons IREC is highly effective at driving policy change through state regulatory proceedings is because of the mix of policy and engineering expertise we bring to the table. We are relatively unique among clean energy nonprofits in having engineering staff who inform our policy recommendations.
If you value our work to advance a clean energy future, consider making a donation to support our work! Support from individuals like you makes a huge difference in ensuring that we can engage actively in states across the country.
Footnotes
- Level 1 applies to customers with smaller DER systems, with nameplate ratings of 25 kW or less.
