Eversheds Sutherland Coop Law Blog
content top

EPA Proposes Costly New Water Regulations

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed new water regulations which would increase costs and require extensive permitting for power line construction and maintenance.  At a hearing on the proposed rules, Russ Biggica of the Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association warned Congress that the rules would drive up costs for cooperatives, including the cost of renewable energy...

Minnesota Supreme Court Upholds Strict Interpretation of State’s “Buy the Farm” Law

Great River Energy will be required to purchase 218.85 acres of land on which it will construct transmission lines, rather than the 8.86 acre strip it wished to purchase, a recent Minnesota Supreme Court decision held.  The decision was based on the state’s “Buy the Farm” statue, which requires utility companies to buy out property owners upon request when building power lines.  Click...

New Mexico Coop Settles Dispute with Native American Tribe

Continental Divide Electric Cooperative (CDEC) has settled a long-standing dispute with the Pueblo of Acoma regarding CDEC’s right of access to Pueblo lands.  Pursuant to the settlement, CDEC will have the ability to serve the Pueblo of Acoma under a new license agreement, and the Acoma have three years to exercise an option to acquire the electrical equipment and related facilities of...

Coops React to Rare Bird’s Status as a Threatened Species

Some electric cooperatives are unhappy about the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s decision to list the Gunnison sage-grouse as a threatened species, which entitles the rare bird to protection under the Endangered Species Act.  The ground-dwelling bird resides in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah and has a population of less than 5,000.  Electric coops in the bird’s territory...

Power Company Settlement Ends Obstacle to Large Florida Development

The developers of Babcock Ranch (Babcock) in Florida have reached a settlement with two utility providers, including Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC), which will allow developers to break ground on the development. The dispute arose over a proposal by the Babcock Ranch Community Independent Special District to create its own power utility for the planned development.  LCEC, which...

Wolverine Announces New Gas-Fired Plant

Michigan’s Wolverine Power Cooperative (Wolverine) announced earlier this week its plans to develop a new gas-fired power plant in Elmira Township, Otsego County.  The site for the new plant, called the Alpine Power Plant, was selected after a nearly two-year evaluation period and was picked for its proximity to existing pipelines and electric transmission lines.  Click here for more...

Groundbreaking Held for New Maryland Gas-Fired Power Plant

The groundbreaking ceremony for the Wildcat Point Generation Facility, a gas-fired plant being built in Cecil County, Maryland, by Old Dominion Electric Cooperative (ODEC), generated such a large turnout that people had to take turns using the shovels and hard hats.  The ceremony on the grounds of Rock Springs Generation Facility in Maryland brought together the 11 coops that run...

North Carolina Coop’s Solar Farm to Provide Benefits to Members

Pee Dee Electric Cooperative has announced plans to install a 100-Kw community solar farm adjacent to its corporate headquarters.  The solar farm will produce about 150,000-kWh of electricity annually, and members of Pee Dee Electric will be able to purchase individual panels and sell the power produced by the panels back to the cooperative.  Members who participate in the project will...

Kentucky Coop Participates in a Collaborative Solar Project for Army Base

Pennyrile Rural Electric Cooperative has joined forces with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, the Department of Defense at Fort Campbell and the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) to build a 5-Mw solar photovoltaic panel system at Fort Campbell.  The group’s plan would result in building the largest solar array in Kentucky.  Since forming the collaborative has accumulated...

North Carolina Coop Entitled to Trial Over Condemnation

North Carolina’s Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation will get another chance in court to condemn certain land on which it wishes to run transmission lines.  Landowner Tim Sweeney, a Cary, North Carolina, video game developer, challenged the condemnation last spring, and the Superior Court dismissed Rutherford’s condemnation petition.  The North Carolina Court of Appeals has now...

« Older Entries Next Entries »