Energy Markets & Policy at Berkeley Lab

Former Berkeley Lab Scientist John Clarke Wins 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics The Nobel Prize committee honored former Berkeley Lab scientist John Clarke for research in quantum tunneling in electric circuits.

🏅 Former Berkeley Lab senior scientist John Clarke has won the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physics. His research on quantum tunneling in electric circuits paved the way for today’s quantum computers and sensors. 🧠 This brings LBNL’s Nobel count to 17!

@nobelprize.bsky.social
@uofcalifornia.bsky.social

Clockwise from top left: Thasneem Frousnoon, Laura Cook, Marta Cerruti, Jacob Rapp, Heejung Cho, and Jaya Tripathi.

We are chuffed to have 6 postdocs representing #TeamBioSci in the 8th annual @berkeleylab.lbl.gov  Research SLAM tomorrow, Thurs Sept 18 @ 3 PM PDT! Lab staff can attend live on the Hill or tune in virtually and cast votes for the People's Choice Award. Everyone else, watch this space for updates!

💡 New Transmission Paper alert 💡
“Electric transmission value and its drivers in United States power markets” just went live in Nature Communications! Kudos especially to Julie Mulvaney Kemp for getting this work to the finish line.

doi.org/10.1038/s414...

🔌 New Journal Article Alert 🔌

Backup power or bill savings? How electricity tariffs impact residential solar-plus-storage usage in the United States

I'm happy to announce has recently been published, open-access, in Utilities Policy 👇

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

The Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (i2X™) enables simpler, faster, and fairer interconnection of new energy resources on distribution and transmission systems while enhancing the reliability, resiliency, and security of electric grids. Learn more at emp.lbl.gov/interconnect....

Join a free i2X webinar to discuss innovations in allocating interconnection-related costs for distribution upgrades among beneficiaries for economic efficiency. September 29.

With panelists from @Mass_DPU, @NMPRC1, @New_Leaf_Energy, and @Current_Energy_.

Register at lbnl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

🧪 🥼 🥽 Looking for tools to answer questions related to energy and infrastructure security? Now's your chance to apply for an investigator role at Berkeley Lab's @jgi.doe.gov.

Apply today! ⬇️
Deadline: September 9
Please share!

Inside the AI race: can data centres ever truly be green? Energy demand for training machines and running apps is driving a surge of investment into fossil fuels

"Innovation is often limited by infrastructure, but the rapid growth of #AI data centers presents a unique opportunity to build next-gen energy systems from the ground up," says @berkeleylabemp.bsky.social's Arman Shehabi (via @financialtimes.com)

Major clean power plant serving L.A. goes fully online in Kern County An immense solar-plus-storage power plant in the desert is now pumping out inexpensive clean electricity at full bore.

The huge new Eland solar + storage plant is now online, serving @ladwp.com.

It is one of hundreds of “hybrid” clean power plants in the U.S., according to our research at emp.lbl.gov/hybrid.

www.latimes.com/environment/...

Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange Homepage for the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange

Brought to you by the Interconnection Innovation Exchange (i2X) from the Office of Electricity | U.S. Department of Energy. Learn more at www.energy.gov/i2X.

Join us August 21 for an i2X webinar on how closer alignment between distributed energy interconnection and long-term grid planning can improve economic efficiency and reduce costs. Panelists include Eversource, NC Utilities Commission, and the NY PSC.

Register here: lbnl.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

“Regulatory sandboxes” allow utilities to test and scale innovations in a structured environment. Learn how they are being applied to advanced grid technologies on a free @BerkeleyLab webinar. August 13, 2pm Eastern/ 11 am Pacific. Register at naruc-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi....

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Regulatory Sandboxes and Utility Adoption of Advanced Grid Technologies. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Advanced grid technologies can help meet many challenges emerging on the grid, but traditional frameworks for evaluating utility investments may be limiting their adoption. Regulatory sandboxes are be...

Join @BerkeleyLab and state experts for a public webinar on August 13th, at 2pm Eastern / 11am Pacific. Register at naruc-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi....

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Electricity supported this work. <end>

Learn more about how these mechanisms create an ongoing laboratory to test innovative ideas for advanced grid technologies, respond to changing grid needs, and document impacts, benefits, and lessons learned. Download the @BerkeleyLab report at emp.lbl.gov/publications.... 5/x

Sandboxes are flexible approaches that can adapt to customer needs, create a culture of innovation at utilities and commissions, increase collaboration and elicit ideas, and scale technologies and programs that improve grid reliability, resilience, and affordability. 4/x

A dozen jurisdictions across the U.S. are using sandbox-type mechanisms to trial advanced grid technologies like dynamic line rating and smart distribution circuits, new customer programs, and resilience and cybersecurity strategies. 3/x

We categorize four types of innovation mechanisms—regulatory sandboxes as well as complementary approaches, such as funding opportunities, pilot processes, and rate cases and rulemakings that include innovation initiatives. 2/x

Advanced grid technologies don’t easily scale under traditional regulatory approaches. “Regulatory sandboxes” allow utilities to test innovations in a structured environment and rapidly scale successful approaches. Our new report talks about how to do that. <THREAD> 💡🔌

Who Benefits from Rooftop Solar—and How Much?, with Madeline Yozwiak In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Madeline Yozwiak, a PhD candidate at Indiana University Bloomington, about the potential of residential rooftop solar technology to address the gro

One in four US households face energy insecurity. Research by Madeline Yozwiak, done in partnership with @berkeleylabemp.bsky.social suggests that rooftop solar panels could improve energy affordability. Yozwiak discusses the findings on Resources Radio.
Listen now: on.soundcloud.com/4sGg1V2TZmAY...

This webinar on grid reslience planning for severe storms is starting NOW! Register and join.

Berkeley Lab Helps Utilities Understand Power Outage Costs Tools confirm the need for significant investments to make the U.S. power grid more reliable and secure

From short blips to long blackouts, we're crunching the numbers on power outages. 🧮💡 Our researchers developed tools to estimate the cost of widespread outages. The goal? Help utilities invest smarter—so fewer people lose power. ⬇️

@berkeleylabemp.bsky.social

The Energy Innovator Fellowship is looking for recent grads to help advance solutions at critical energy organizations. Help us spread the word about this (paid!) opportunity.

Learn more: bit.ly/3SVv2de #ExperienceORISE #Energy @berkeleylab.lbl.gov

Energy Dept. Unveils Supercomputer That Merges With A.I.

The new supercomputer, which uses NVIDIA chips tailored for A.I. calculations, could be the Energy Department's biggest resource for tasks like training A.I. models, says @berkeleylab.lbl.gov's Jonathan Carter. @energygov.bsky.social

Grid Resilience Planning for Severe Storms in the East and Southeast: Join us on June 16, 2–5 pm ET, for an interactive webinar on grid resilience planning. Experts will discuss planning for severe storms and hurricanes and answer questions from participants.
Register: lbnl.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

The Energy Innovator Fellowship is looking for recent grads to help advance solutions at critical energy organizations. Help us spread the word about this (paid!) opportunity.

Learn more: bit.ly/3SVv2de #ExperienceORISE #Energy @berkeleylab.lbl.gov

Oregon and Washington vowed to pioneer green energy—but almost every other state is beating them Despite being known as liberal bastions, the Pacific Northwest states have added only 1 renewable project over the last 10 years.

Our @josephrand.bsky.social is quoted on how the interconnection process is going in the Pacific Northwest.

www.fastcompany.com/91339696/ore...

Enhanced Geothermal Systems: A Promising Source of Round-the-Clock Energy A Q&A with Geothermal Systems Program Lead Eva Schill, who discusses the potential of Enhanced

Our geothermal #energy experts are studying how to make the most of new tech to stimulate activity that exists in natural #geothermal systems-hoping to help advance affordable & readily available geothermal-electricity generation.
newscenter.lbl.gov/2025/04/10/e...

@eesaberkeleylab.bsky.social

Renewing The Mandate To Safeguard The Energy Grid The US power grid is highly susceptible to cyberattacks, EMP, natural disasters, and physical threats, all of which could have disastrous results.

Research by @berkeleylab.lbl.gov for @energygov.bsky.social shows that data centers' power consumption has tripled in the last ten years and may triple again by 2028.

Researcher @josephrand.bsky.social from @berkeleylabemp.bsky.social was named one of the Top 50 Data Changemakers in the Energy Sector for 2025 by Chief Data Officer Magazine! His report on U.S. interconnection queues earned him this honor. Congrats, Joe! 🌟
⬇️
eta.lbl.gov/news/berkele...

Another Berkeley Lab report out, this time on electricity rate design + tariffs for large loads (read: data centers)!

eta-publications.lbl.gov/sites/defaul...

#energysky

The comprehensive breakdowns of all the different rate structures utilities are creating for large load data centers thus far: