Department of Defense

U.S. Military Prequalifies Four-Company Consortium for Solar Bids

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pre-qualified a four-company team led by TransGen Energy to bid for solar projects at U.S. military installations throughout the United States and its territories. TransGen Energy is serving as prime contractor for the TransGen Solar Team. The team will deliver solar projects under PPAs with the U.S. Department of Defense. Another team member is ConEdison Solutions and will oversee and operate each installed solar facility. The third partner, Quanta Solar Solutions and they will install the awarded solar sites.

Embracing Disruption

Developing a leadership role for utilities in alternative technologies.

Faced with aging assets, rising operating costs, growing regulatory risks, and flat demand growth, utilities are challenged to remain competitive in an evolving energy market. The answer might be for utilities to establish a leadership position and pursue a more flexible mission.

Security and the States

The regulator’s role in promoting cybersecurity for the smart grid.

State commissions can select from a toolkit of regulatory approaches to promote desired utility cybersecurity behavior. One approach is to allow the industry to selfregulate, and another approach is to leave the job to the federal government. But sofar, neither the industry nor the federal government have developed and implemented adequate standards for securing the smart grid. States can play a constructive role—albeit perhaps not in the form of traditional regulation.