Iowa Coops in Legal Battle with Solar Energy Company
Posted on Jan 22, 2014 in Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Iowa Coops in Legal Battle with Solar Energy Company
Public utilities and electric cooperatives in Iowa are arguing in front of the Iowa Supreme Court that a solar energy company has violated Iowa law by installing solar systems on buildings belonging to customers of the utilities and cooperatives and then selling the electricity produced by the systems back to those customers that commissioned the installation. The case will likely...
Georgia Coop Retires Nearly $11 Million in Patronage Capital
Posted on Jan 21, 2014 in Patronage Capital | Comments Off on Georgia Coop Retires Nearly $11 Million in Patronage Capital
Sawnee Electric Membership Corporation (Sawnee EMC) has announced that it will retire $10.6 million to approximately 63,900 eligible members through a general retirement of patronage capital for the years 1991, 1992 and 1993. This means that members that received electric service from Sawnee EMC during this three-year period will get a refund. The size of the refund will be based on...
Indiana Coop Becomes 100 Percent CFC Borrower
Posted on Jan 21, 2014 in Financing | Comments Off on Indiana Coop Becomes 100 Percent CFC Borrower
Indiana coop Jackson County Rural Electric Membership Corporation (Jackson County REMC) recently refinanced $100,000 in outstanding debt, making it a 100 percent National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) borrower. Jackson County REMC initially joined CFC in 1999. The coop is also currently implementing its first-ever capital credits general retirement. Read more...
Vermont Net Metering Program May Be Overhauled
Posted on Jan 21, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Net Metering Program May Be Overhauled
Vermont lawmakers are striving to raise the existing cap on the state’s net metering program to match the growing demand for residential renewable energy generation. A bill, approved by the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee last week, offers a fast-track solution ahead of larger changes expected when a federal solar tax credit expires, likely in 2017. The proposed bill...
Dairyland Continues to Pursue Strategic Solar Projects
Posted on Jan 17, 2014 in Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Dairyland Continues to Pursue Strategic Solar Projects
Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland) recently announced a new 517-kW solar facility in Oronoco, Minnesota. While relatively small, the anticipated production characteristics of this solar facility should limit the peak-time burden on other resources. This solar project supplements the solar energy that Dairyland already receives from two smaller solar facilities, located in...
Minnesota PUC Petitioned to Rethink Project Approval
Posted on Jan 16, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Minnesota PUC Petitioned to Rethink Project Approval
Certain public interest groups petitioned the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reconsider its decision approving a $500 million high-voltage transmission line connecting La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Rochester, Minnesota. The project, currently under construction by Dairyland Power Cooperative and other investing utilities, is scheduled for completion in 2015. Opponents of...
EPA Decision in Wyoming Means Big Dollars for Basin Electric
Posted on Jan 16, 2014 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on EPA Decision in Wyoming Means Big Dollars for Basin Electric
A recent decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will impose a stricter emissions limit in Wyoming that will force utilities and coops, including Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric), to invest in expensive technologies to comply by early 2019. The compliance costs are estimated upwards of $1 billion in capital costs and hundreds of millions in operating...
SBA Redefines “Small Utilities”
Posted on Jan 16, 2014 in Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on SBA Redefines “Small Utilities”
Under the new definition approved by the Small Business Administration (SBA) effective January 22, 2013, all distribution coops and most generation & transmission (G&T) coops will be considered “small utilities” with lightened legal and regulatory responsibilities. The new definition will classify as “small” a distribution coop of 1,000 employees or less and G&T coops with...
AECC Requests Review of Coal Tariff Decision
Posted on Jan 15, 2014 in Litigation | Comments Off on AECC Requests Review of Coal Tariff Decision
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) has asked the federal Surface Transportation Board to reconsider its December ruling related to the shipping of coal. AECC argued that the decision, which upheld a rail tariff that requires shippers to cover the cost of cleaning coal dust emissions from railcars, lacked sufficient justification. AECC provided evidence suggesting that...
Alaska Coop Purchases Clean Coal Plant
Posted on Jan 14, 2014 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development | Comments Off on Alaska Coop Purchases Clean Coal Plant
Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), based in Fairbanks, Alaska, recently purchased a 50-MW clean coal project from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, with the help of a $45 million, 30-year loan from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation. The project, the Healy Unit 2 power plant, will be shored up with an additional $37 million in...
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