Eversheds Sutherland Coop Law Blog
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Colorado Hydroelectric Project Breaks Ground

Construction of a $22 million hydroelectric project located in Montrose, Colorado, began last week.  The project is expected to generate roughly 7.5 MWh of energy and be completed by July 2013.  Learn more here.

Idaho Coop Constructs Landfill-to-Gas Generator

Kootenai Electric Cooperative teamed up with Kootenai County to develop a landfill-to-methane gas generation facility at the Fighting Creek Landfill.  The coop leases the land for the facility and purchases the methane gas produced there from the county.  The coop then uses the gas to produce electricity and power local homes.  The Kootenai coop funded the $6.5 million plant with Clean...

Coops Call for Shipping Reforms

Several coops and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) are among the signatories to a letter from rail shippers to U.S. House Transportation Committee members requesting support for freight industry reforms.  The proposed changes would be included in an extensive surface transportation bill and would aid shippers that face high rates and poor service from a...

Michigan Coops Avoid Personal Property Tax Hike

Body: The Michigan State Tax Commission will continue recognizing system economic factors (SEFs) used to calculate personal property taxes imposed on coops.  SEFs take into consideration the economic disadvantages coops face when serving rural customers.  The decision will save Michigan coops around $2.8 million a year.  Click here for more.

Georgia Coop Shines in Solar Rankings

Blue Ridge Mountain Electric Membership Corporation placed second in the nation in the category of annual solar watts delivered per customer.  These rankings are compiled by the trade group Solar Electric Power Association.  Solar power did well in 2011, compared to 2010, and new solar capacity jumped 120 percent as utilities interconnected more than 62,500 photovoltaic systems.  Read...

Surface Transportation Board Denies Coop’s Challenge of Shipping Rates

The Surface Transportation Board (STB) has declined to order two railroad carriers to charge a single shipping rate as requested by Arizona Electric Power Cooperative.  In 2011, the STB issued an opinion in favor of the coop, finding that the railroad companies, BNSF Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad Company, had charged unreasonable rates.  The full text of the most recent...

Electric Coops Gaining Stake in Nuclear Generation Plants

Electric cooperatives in Arkansas and Missouri are getting involved in the development of small modular nuclear electric generation plants.  The Little Rock-based Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. and Associated Electric Cooperative of Springfield, Missouri, are among a group of 13 utilities committed to collaborating with Westinghouse, which develops small modular reactors.  Click...

Lawmakers Press for Details on EPA Proposal to Cap Emissions

On Thursday, Representatives Fred Upton and Ed Whitfield sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson asking a host of questions regarding the agency’s Carbon Pollution Standard for New Power Plants as well its plans for future regulations on utilities.  In March, the EPA released a proposal to set the country’s first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from new...

Kansas Coop, NCSC and CFC Finalize $100 Million Credit Deal

The National Cooperative Services Corporation (NCSC) recently finalized a $100 million credit deal for Mid-Kansas Electric Company, LLC.  NCSC acted as the lead lender in a syndicated credit facility.  The National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) was lead arranger and will serve as administrative agent for the three-year unsecured revolving credit facility.  The...

NRECA Report Highlights Biogas Opportunities for Coops

With 2,136 wastewater treatment facilities located in coop service areas, a report by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s (NRECA) Cooperative Research Network estimates that biogas from these facilities could be used to generate approximately 445 megawatts of base load power.  As the technology improves for harnessing and using biogas as a renewable source of energy,...

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