HVAC and other industry groups are trying to retain a federal incentive for making commercial buildings more energy efficient after the U.S. Senate eliminated the Section 179D Energy Efficient Commercial Building Deduction in the 940-page domestic policy bill it passed Tuesday morning. “Section 179D … helps HVACR contractors, building owners, and the broader skilled-trades community improve energy efficiency and strengthen America’s built environment,” Air Conditioning Contractors of America said in a letter to congressional leaders last week. The group shared a summary of the letter on its website.  The provision lets owners deduct more than $1 per square foot on their federal taxes for installing LED lights, replacing old HVAC systems and making envelope renovations that improve the efficiency of their buildings. The deduction can increase to more than $5 per square foot if prevailing wage and other labor requirements are met. Supporters say the deduction has grown in value in amendments Congress has made to it since its enactment in 2005.   “Section 179D is no longer a niche benefit — it is a mainstream, high-impact opportunity when making energy-efficient upgrades,” Carey Heyman and Agatha Li of accounting firm CliftonLarsonAllen say in an information page on the provision.  In their article on the program, the accountants said they worked with a company last year that owns a 250,000-square foot Class A office building. The company was able to get a $3-per-square-foot deduction — $750,000 total —  after installing LED lights and upgrading the HVAC system while achieving compliance with prevailing wage standards. “This deduction significantly reduced the firm’s taxable income, offset the capital improvement costs, and increased the building’s appeal to sustainability-conscious tenants,” the accountants said.  In a letter last week to congressional leaders, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association called the deduction the most important of

Dive Brief: South Central Texas cooperative Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative has partnered with distributed energy developer Base Power on a 2-MW virtual power plant that will provide residential customers with electricity in the event of a blackout, while also allowing the utility to use home batteries for price arbitrage and transmission cost management. The battery systems are installed in new homes constructed by Lennar and will be operated directly by GVEC using Base Power’s proprietary software platform. In the future, GVEC and Base Power will work together to qualify the aggregated battery capacity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas’ aggregated distributed energy resource, or ADER, pilot program, Gary Coke, GVEC power supply manager, said in an email. The batteries will be owned by Base Power. Dive Insight: The virtual power plant builds on Base Power’s ongoing collaboration with Lennar to install batteries in new homes. “GVEC has no direct relationship with our members in relation to this program,” Coke said. “The member selects the system as an option on the home and as a part of that selection acknowledges GVEC has the right to control the system, and we compensate Base for the exclusive right to access the batteries.” The program has already begun, with nine battery systems installed for just over 100 kW of capacity and 225 kWh of energy, Coke said. “We expect to reach 20 systems by the end of July.”  GVEC is already operating the installed batteries for transmission cost reduction during the summer and will continue to do so through September, corresponding to ERCOT’s 4CP program managing peak demand. The cooperative will also regularly operate the batteries for price arbitrage during periods of high pricing in the ERCOT market, Coke said. And the utility will work with Base Power to qualify the batteries for ADER. ADER launched in

How regulators can protect hydrogen customers while enabling innovation | Utility Dive Skip to main content An article from Opinion By asking key questions, regulators can distinguish between fruitful and wasteful hydrogen projects. And by taking a holistic view and engaging with others, they can bring stability to the industry. Published July 2, 2025 By Dan Esposito and Mike O’Boyle audioundwerbung via Getty Images Dan Esposito is manager, fuels and chemicals, and Mike O’Boyle is senior director, electricity, at Energy Innovation. Congressional Republicans may terminate the 45V Clean Hydrogen Production Tax Credit, the Trump administration is reportedly discussing canceling several Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs and hydrogen developers are abandoning projects. Yet recent clean hydrogen forecasts suggested rapid near-term growth, with debates raging about where and how to produce and use the molecule. Energy regulators worldwide will have to ride the hydrogen hype rollercoaster. Hydrogen production implicates electricity load growth and natural gas demand, and electric and gas utilities are eyeing hydrogen for power generation and gas delivery services, respectively. Gas utilities are also exploring retrofitting natural gas infrastructure for hydrogen transport or developing and owning purpose-built hydrogen pipelines. Energy Innovation and the Regulatory Energy Transition Accelerator convened nearly 80 regulators from 37 jurisdictions to discuss emerging hydrogen challenges and share experiences. This culminated in a new resource aiming to help regulators understand how hydrogen will interact with regulated networks and prepare to assess the prudence of utilities’ hydrogen proposals. Map of countries with regulators participating in the Energy Innovation – Regulatory Energy Transition Accelerator hydrogen workshops. Permission granted by Energy Innovation Regulators already feel tension on hydrogen: moving too quickly risks a bloated rate base and stranded assets, with underinvestment in more cost-effective technologies for achieving utilities’ goals; however, moving too slowly risks arresting innovation, missing policy goals and forgoing

Texas Railroad Commissioner Wayne Christian announced the launch of the “Delivering Oil and Gas Efficiently (DOGE) Task Force” in a statement posted on the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) website recently. DOGE is described in the statement as “a new internal initiative focused on improving processes, enhancing communication, and strengthening the Railroad Commission of Texas as a responsive, pro-business agency”. The statement noted that the DOGE initiative “is not about cutting personnel – it’s about cutting delays, confusion, and outdated systems”. “The goal is to work alongside agency staff to identify what is working, what needs improving, and where small changes could lead to big wins for both the public and the regulated community,” the RRC statement said. The statement noted that the task force will conduct a top to bottom review of permitting, compliance, communication, and internal processes, with input from both internal teams and industry and public stakeholders. This includes “organizing in-person and virtual town halls”, “standing up a dedicated casework team”, “auditing outdated or duplicative rules”, and “exploring common sense reforms to hearing procedures”, the statement outlined. “As a lifelong conservative, I believe government works best when it’s limited, efficient, and accountable,” Christian said in the statement. “The DOGE Task Force is about making sure our agency runs smarter – not bigger – and that we continue to serve the people of Texas with excellence,” he added. “Texans deserve an agency that reflects the state’s can-do spirit … That means being open to change, listening to the people we serve, and making sure we’re spending time and resources on what really matters,” he continued. “This is about working better together, breaking down silos, and making sure our systems serve the mission, not the other way around,” Christian went on to state. In a separate statement posted on its site last

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has granted V.C. Summer Nuclear Station Unit 1 in Jenkinsville, South Carolina, a 20-year extension to operate through 2062. “V.C. Summer Nuclear Station has provided reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy for our customers in the Palmetto State for more than 40 years”, Dominion Energy chief nuclear officer Eric Carr said in an online statement Tuesday. “With steady population growth and economic development, South Carolina will continue to need a clean and reliable workhorse like V.C. Summer to power our customers’ homes and businesses around the clock well into the future”. The 966-megawatt plant powers customers of Dominion Energy and state-owned Santee Cooper. It can serve nearly 242,000 homes according to Dominion Energy. The facility is a three-loop Westinghouse pressurized water reactor operated with oversight from the NRC. V.C. Summer had been licensed to operate from 1982 to 2022. A renewal awarded 2004 extended its life for 20 years to 2042. The new extension secures operation through August 2062. “To ensure V.C. Summer’s longevity, Dominion Energy regularly performs maintenance and conducts upgrades at the station, including recently replacing the main transformer”, the Richmond, Virginia-based utility said. “Dominion Energy will continue to invest in V.C. Summer to ensure it operates at the highest levels of safety and performance for the life of the station”. Dominion Energy – which provides regulated electricity service to 3.6 million homes and businesses in Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as regulated natural gas service to 500,000 customers in South Carolina – filed a letter of intention in December 2023 on the potential license extension of two other nuclear units. The expression of intent was for Units 2 and 3 of Millstone Power Station (MPS) in Waterford Connecticut, which Dominion Energy says can power 2 million homes. MPS2 and MPS3 hold renewed licenses

Idaho Power Co. has filed a new 20-year plan that favors cleaner electricity to meet surging demand in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. The 2026-45 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) would add about 2.15 gigawatts of renewables-sourced generation: 1,445 megawatts (MW) of solar and 700 MW of wind. The plan also eyes 885 MW of battery energy storage capacity, 611 MW of gas power via coal conversions, 550 MW from natural gas, 344 MW of energy efficiency and 20 MW of incremental demand response. The company expects its peak load to grow by around 1,700 MW over the 20 years, with nearly 1,000 MW in the next five years. “Continued customer growth is driving demand, and the average annual number of metered customers is expected to increase from the December 2024 level of nearly 648,000 to 867,000 in 2045”, the plan states. “Idaho Power’s IRP analysis has shown consistent need for transmission dating back to 2009 and the 2025 IRP again includes transmission as a cost-effective way to facilitate regional energy exchange and provide capacity and energy for Idaho Power customers”, Idaho Power says. The plan targets to start work on the 500-kilovolt (kV) Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line, which would connect the Pacific Northwest and Idaho, in December 2027; the 500-kV Southwest Intertie Project North (SWIP-N) between Idaho and Nevada, with connectivity to the Las Vegas area, in 2028; and the 500-kV Midpoint-Hemingway #2 (Gateway West segment 8) line, in 2028 for phase 1 and in 2030 for phase 2. In other near-term goals, the plan seeks to convert Valmy units 1 and 2 from coal to gas power generation, install 125 MW of solar capacity under the company’s Clean Energy Your Way (CEYW) program and add 250 MW of storage through four-hour batteries under the company’s 2026 Request for Proposal (RFP)