Iowa Coop Closes 1960s Coal-Fueled Plant
Posted on Nov 21, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Iowa Coop Closes 1960s Coal-Fueled Plant
In early November, Central Iowa Power Cooperative (CIPCO) closed CIPCO Fair Station, a 66-MW coal-fueled power plant located in eastern Iowa. CIPCO’s decision to close the plant stemmed from new federal environmental regulations, current energy prices and the overall efficiency concerns in running a plant built in the 1960s. Read more here.
Coops Respond to Outages from Midwest Tornadoes
Posted on Nov 20, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Reliability | Comments Off on Coops Respond to Outages from Midwest Tornadoes
Dozens of electric cooperatives have called line workers and other personnel to respond to outages caused by last weekend’s storms in the Midwest. The massive storm system, which spawned more than 80 tornadoes, caused power outages affecting tens of thousands of electric cooperative customers. Cooperative crews have been working around the clock to replace broken poles and restring...
Alaska Coop Files for FERC Approval of Hydro Project
Posted on Nov 20, 2013 in Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Alaska Coop Files for FERC Approval of Hydro Project
Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to build a new hydroelectric project near the town of Old Harbor, Alaska. The proposed run-of-river project would consist of two 262-kW turbines and would be used to provide power to the residents of Old Harbor. To read more about this project, click...
Massachusetts Coop Holds Groundbreaking Ceremonies for Solar Energy Projects
Posted on Nov 20, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Massachusetts Coop Holds Groundbreaking Ceremonies for Solar Energy Projects
This week Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative held groundbreaking ceremonies for six of eight solar energy projects it has underway in several Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard towns. The cooperative is hopeful that these eight projects will be operational by spring. Most of the projects are placed on capped landfills and are expected to generate 16 MW of energy. The cooperative...
Oklahoma Coop Purchases Wind Power
Posted on Nov 15, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Oklahoma Coop Purchases Wind Power
Apex Clean Energy, a privately held renewable power developer, has agreed to sell 100 megawatts of wind power from its Balko wind farm in Oklahoma to Western Farmers Electric Cooperative. With this agreement Apex has sold all of the wind power capacity from the 300-MW Balko wind farm, which is expected to enter service in 2015. The Balko facility is located in Beaver County and will...
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...
Alaska Coop to Buy Private Utility
Posted on Nov 12, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Mergers/Acquisitions, Project Development, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Alaska Coop to Buy Private Utility
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska has recently approved an asset purchase agreement in which Alaska Village Electric Cooperative will buy the assets of Bethel Utility Corp., a privately owned utility. This acquisition will boost the Anchorage-based coop’s overall demand for electricity by more than 50 percent and resulting in savings for new members. Read more here.
Native American Reservation Reaches Settlement with New Mexico Coop
Posted on Nov 12, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Legislative & Politics, Litigation, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Native American Reservation Reaches Settlement with New Mexico Coop
Northern Rio Arriba Electric Coop (NORA) has reached a deal with the Jicarilla Apache Nation for the Nation to purchase all of NORA’s infrastructure on the Northern New Mexico reservation. This settlement effectively ends two years of litigious hostilities between the utility and the Nation, whose lawyers said Nation officials are displeased with NORA’s service and are ready to end a...
Alaska Power Regulators Deny Wind Farm Complaint Against Coop
Posted on Nov 12, 2013 in Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Alaska Power Regulators Deny Wind Farm Complaint Against Coop
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska (RCA) has rejected an informal complaint filed by Alaska Environmental Power LLC (AEP), an independent wind farm, against electric utility Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA). AEP is unhappy with how GVEA determines when to purchase power from independent producers. In the complaint, AEP argues that the GVEA’s methods shut out independent...
Iowa Coop Continues to Pursue Solar
Posted on Nov 8, 2013 in Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Iowa Coop Continues to Pursue Solar
When Farmers Electric Cooperative (Farmers) completes the solar farm it is planning to build on nine acres of land near its headquarters, the project will be the largest solar farm in Iowa. The coop has also embraced a community solar farm where its customers can purchase panels and get credit for the future output. Additionally, residents will be allowed to install solar power at...
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