DOE to Approve Loan For Nuclear Reactors
Posted on Feb 20, 2014 in Financing, Project Development | Comments Off on DOE to Approve Loan For Nuclear Reactors
In a move over 30 years in the making, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) plans to approve $6.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for two additional nuclear reactors located at Plant Vogtle, a nuclear plant in Georgia. Oglethorpe Power Corporation is among the owners of the project. The reactors would represent the first time since the 1970s that the U.S. has built reactors. To...
Water Heater Efficiency Act to Help Coops?
Posted on Nov 21, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Water Heater Efficiency Act to Help Coops?
Republican Senator John Hoeven and a bipartisan group of senators today introduced the Water Heater Efficiency Act, a bill that would enable rural electric power coops and their members to continue using large, energy-efficient water heaters in “demand response” conservation programs. New Department of Energy rules threaten to phase out such water heaters by 2015. The bill is seen as...
Vermont Coop to Build 5-MW Solar Project
Posted on Nov 12, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Coop to Build 5-MW Solar Project
The Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) is hoping to build the state’s largest utility-owned solar power project as part of a broader effort to help reduce the state’s dependence on fossil fuels. VEC is working with 14 other coops across the country on the 5-MW project in a first-of-its-kind initiative to make solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity by the end of...
NRECA, Electric Coops, DOE Collaborate on Solar Energy
Posted on Oct 28, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on NRECA, Electric Coops, DOE Collaborate on Solar Energy
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), 15 electric cooperatives in a dozen states and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are collaborating on a jointly funded project called the SunShot Initiative, which is aimed at bringing down the cost of utility-scale solar projects by controlling the costs of labor, procurement and materials through standardization. NRECA’s...
BPA Penalties May Trickle Down to Customers
Posted on Oct 15, 2013 in Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on BPA Penalties May Trickle Down to Customers
The electric coops, municipal systems and public utility districts that are customers of the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) in the Pacific Northwest may be stuck paying for an investigation of the agency’s flawed hiring practices, according to an October 8 report of the Department of Energy’s inspector general. Because the BPA is a self-funded, non-profit federal agency, its...
NRECA Receives $3.6 Million Cyber Security Grant
Posted on Sep 25, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Technology | Comments Off on NRECA Receives $3.6 Million Cyber Security Grant
The Department of Energy recently awarded the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) a $3.6 million grant to be used to develop advanced cyber security technology to assist rural cooperatives in monitoring and securely managing their systems from changing threats. NRECA will work with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Carnegie Mellon University, Honeywell...
Changes to Hydro Power Marketing Administrations Blocked by House of Representatives
Posted on Jul 12, 2013 in Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Changes to Hydro Power Marketing Administrations Blocked by House of Representatives
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment on July 10 to the energy and water appropriations bill that prohibits spending to expand the role of four power marketing administrations. These administrations have historically provided low-cost hydro power to coops and others, but the Department of Energy has been considering expanding their role to include energy efficiency and...
NRECA Backs Potential Senate Deal on Federal Building Efficiency
Posted on Jun 13, 2013 in Climate Change, Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on NRECA Backs Potential Senate Deal on Federal Building Efficiency
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is supporting bipartisan legislation to repeal a law ending fossil energy use in new and renovated federal buildings by 2030 and replace it with legislation to expand existing efficiency goals. A June 3 letter sent by NRECA and eight trade organizations to members of the U.S. Senate stated: “These provisions would give...
Coops Advocate Water Heater Rule Change
Posted on May 15, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Advocate Water Heater Rule Change
Electric cooperatives are advocating that the Department of Energy (DOE) make changes to a new rule that would phase out large-capacity electric storage water heaters from demand management programs. These water heaters save time and energy for cooperatives and provide significant reductions in wholesale power costs. Currently, the DOE has offered one-year waivers for the water...
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