FBI Reports Attacks on Arkansas Power Grid
Posted on Oct 7, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on FBI Reports Attacks on Arkansas Power Grid
The FBI, ATF, Lonoke County Sheriff’s Office, and Cabot Police Department, in coordination with Entergy Arkansas and First Electric Cooperative, are investigating three potentially related attacks on the Arkansas power grid. The FBI has announced a $25,000 reward leading to arrests in connection with the incidents. In the first incident, a high-voltage transmission line was downed...
Iowa Coop Refinances More Than $8 Million in Outstanding Debt
Posted on Oct 7, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development | Comments Off on Iowa Coop Refinances More Than $8 Million in Outstanding Debt
Raccoon Valley Electric Cooperative (RVEC), which serves parts of nine counties in west-central Iowa, has refinanced more than $8 million in outstanding debt with other lenders. After a January 2010 ice storm ravaged RVEC’s system, requiring millions of dollars in restoration and reconstruction work, the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) provided an...
Kansas Supreme Court Nixes Permit for Coop’s Coal Plant
Posted on Oct 7, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Litigation, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Kansas Supreme Court Nixes Permit for Coop’s Coal Plant
In a unanimous decision, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned a permit granted to Sunflower Electric Power Corporation in 2010 to build a coal-fired power plant in the southwestern part of the state. The court found that the Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (KDHE) erred in issuing the permit because it did not take into account a series of regulations that were enacted...
Montana Coops Discuss Sage Grouse and Renewable Portfolio Standard
Posted on Oct 3, 2013 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Montana Coops Discuss Sage Grouse and Renewable Portfolio Standard
Efforts to avoid listing the sage grouse as an endangered species and changes to the Montana Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) were among the issues discussed at the annual Montana Electric Cooperatives’ Association meeting. Efforts to save the sage grouse may require coops to reroute existing lines or plan new lines to avoid breeding locations, which may increase member rates. The...
Vermont Net Metering Dispute Heats Up
Posted on Oct 3, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Financing, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Net Metering Dispute Heats Up
Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) seeks to resume its net metering program after reaching the state’s 4% cap on mandatory net metering. VEC’s tariff proposal would adjust credits downward for new participants due to the rapid increase in demand and the decrease in prices associated with net metered solar energy systems. However, Renewable Energy Vermont opposes VEC’s proposal,...
Colorado Wind Farm Expanded
Posted on Oct 3, 2013 in Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Colorado Wind Farm Expanded
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association (Tri-State) recently completed a 24-MW expansion to the Colorado Highlands Wind Farm. The expanded facility saw a 36% increase in generation,which, when combined with Tri-State’s other renewable resources, amounts to an estimated 18% of the energy produced by Tri-State for its member coops. The Denver Business Journal has...
Hawaiian Coop Explores Fuel Options
Posted on Oct 3, 2013 in Financing, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Hawaiian Coop Explores Fuel Options
With its fuel supply contract set to expire in April 2015, Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative has requested information from prospective fuel suppliers to determine whether alternatives to oil are feasible. State officials would like to see the coop turn to liquefied natural gas. The coop must also consider its goal of 50% or more renewable sources by 2023. Click here for the full...
Iowa Coops Appeal Denial of FEMA Aid
Posted on Oct 2, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Iowa Coops Appeal Denial of FEMA Aid
Iowa electric cooperatives are appealing a decision by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) which denied $20 million in aid for emergency and permanent repair costs from a snow and ice storm in spring 2012. FEMA based its decision on distribution and transmission line laboratory testing requirements, passed in 2009, which the Iowa coops claim are unrealistic. To read more...
Coops Could Be Affected by Shutdown
Posted on Oct 1, 2013 in Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Coops Could Be Affected by Shutdown
Coops could feel the pinch of the federal government’s shutdown because agencies responsible for transmission and distribution could close until Congress successfully enacts a stopgap or long-term spending bill. Generally, only those services deemed “essential” by federal officials will remain open. One of the services affected will be the Rural Utilities Service, which will not make...
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