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Coop-Nuclear Deal May Not Save Vermont Plant

Entergy Corp. has reached a potential deal with Vermont Electric Cooperative Inc., Vermont’s third-largest electric company, to purchase power from the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant under a 20-year contract. The move came after Entergy was unable to sell the plant or reach similar purchase agreements with the state’s largest utilities. The terms of the Vermont Electric deal...

Upsurge in North Dakota Demand Sees Additional Investment

Central Power Electric Cooperative plans to invest $10 million in additional infrastructure to meet growing demand for power in the Minot, North Dakota, area. Significant oil field development prompted the need for additional power, both to supply the oil wells and to provide electricity to a growing workforce. Central Power aims to build enough capacity to sustain the area’s...

Solar Energy Projects Wanted in Maryland

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative, Inc. (SMECO) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for solar energy projects that satisfy the Maryland Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements and that will be available within the next two years. SMECO hopes the RFP will promote renewable energy development in its service area while minimizing additional costs to customers. Read...

Minnkota’s Narrow Corridor Request Meets Opposition

In an opinion piece published today in The Bismarck Tribune, one former North Dakota Public Service Commission member urges traditional transmission siting procedures be adopted in the wake of Minnkota Power Cooperative’s unusual siting request posted on the Coop Law Blog March 28. Minnkota requested a 1,000-foot-wide corridor on which to site a 260-mile-long transmission line,...

Coop and Broadband Team Up in New Mexico

As part of a growing business trend around the country that has rural electric cooperatives teaming up with telecommunication companies, Socorro Electric Cooperative agreed to lease property and negotiate for the lease of FCC channel frequencies to Trans World Network (TWN), a move that will expand reliable telecommunication service to Socorro’s customers as well as improve its...

Undersea Transmission Line Incentives Draw Opposition

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and several state public utility commissions are among those challenging Atlantic Wind Connection’s request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to grant specific incentives for a 300-mile undersea transmission line development project that will link power produced by wind turbines off the East Coast to the mainland. The...

Coop Responds in Montana Contract Dispute Case

Southern Montana Electric Generation & Transmission Cooperative and its development arm, SME Electric filed a motion to dismiss in a lawsuit brought against them by the city of Great Falls and its electric utility arm, Electric City Power (ECP) seeking a security deposit return and judicial determination that the city’s contracts with Southern Montana are void. Southern...

Massachusetts Wind Developer Seeks Exemption From Municipal Permit Requirement

Cape Vineyard Electric Cooperative hopes to bypass a special permit required by the town of Brewster, Massachusetts, for the construction of two municipal wind turbines based on the location of the turbines on municipal property and in an industrial zoning area. In early March, the Brewster planning board failed to grant or deny the permit request, a hung jury resulted and effectively...

NRECA MultiSpeak Initiative Gains Another Vendor

In a press release today, Utility, Inc. announced it has become a vendor member of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) MultiSpeak Initiative, a collaborative effort to expand a software standard in interoperability mechanisms as adopted by electric utilities. Rural electric coops nationwide already use Utility, Inc.’s products, which allow industry...

Cooperatives Consider Investment In Planned MidAmerican Nuclear Facility

Municipal utilities and electric cooperatives in Iowa are showing support for the passage of a state legislative bill that would help finance nuclear development. MidAmerican, one of the largest privately-owned utilities in the state, plans to build a new nuclear facility in the wake of increased federal oversight and resulting costs associated with coal-fired plants. Several...

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