Mild Summer to Dampen Debt Service Coverage Ratios
Posted on Sep 17, 2014 in Financing | Comments Off on Mild Summer to Dampen Debt Service Coverage Ratios
Mild summer weather conditions in much of the country could dampen year-end electric sales and contribute to declining debt service coverage ratios for the public power and electric cooperative sectors in 2014, Fitch Ratings says. Public power and electric cooperative credit ratings can withstand some variability in annual cash flow metrics from changing weather or economic conditions....
New Jersey Coop Leads Army Base Solar Project
Posted on Sep 17, 2014 in Environmental, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on New Jersey Coop Leads Army Base Solar Project
Sussex Rural Electric Cooperative (Sussex) is helping the U.S. Army install more than 500 Kws of solar panel capacity on a former Superfund site at Picatinny Arsenal near Morristown, New Jersey. Engineering for the project was completed under the Solar Utility Network Deployment Acceleration project developed by the Cooperative Research Network of the National Rural Electric...
Basin Electric Receives Federal Approval for Major Transmission Line
Posted on Sep 16, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Permitting, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Basin Electric Receives Federal Approval for Major Transmission Line
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) recently received federal approval for construction of a 200-mile transmission line in western North Dakota. The project, which will include 345 kV transmission lines, two new substations and modifications to three existing substations, will start at Basin Electric’s Antelope Valley Station and end in Tioga, North Dakota. Basin...
Endangered Species Listing May Risk Reliability
Posted on Sep 15, 2014 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on Endangered Species Listing May Risk Reliability
Several hundred distribution and generation and transmission coops may be affected if the northern long-eared bat is added to the endangered species list. The House Natural Resources Committee is considering this designation as the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and others argue that listing the bat will pose a risk to reliability because coops remove bat roosting...
Court Strikes Down New Jersey Power Plant Subsidy Program
Posted on Sep 15, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Court Strikes Down New Jersey Power Plant Subsidy Program
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has determined that New Jersey’s Long-Term Capacity Agreement Pilot Program impinges on the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission over wholesale sales of capacity in interstate commerce. The ruling is the latest in a string of similar cases in which state subsidy programs have been struck down on jurisdictional...
EIA Report: No Coal-Fired Sources Added in First Half of 2014
Posted on Sep 15, 2014 in Environmental, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on EIA Report: No Coal-Fired Sources Added in First Half of 2014
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that new generation capacity added during the first half of 2014 came only from natural gas and renewable sources, such as wind and solar facilities. No coal-fired sources were added during this time frame. Coops can expect more natural gas capacity and a risk of increased price volatility. Click here to read more.
Fee Penalties Imposed for Frivolous Clean Air Act Claim
Posted on Sep 11, 2014 in Environmental, Litigation | Comments Off on Fee Penalties Imposed for Frivolous Clean Air Act Claim
The Sierra Club will be forced to pay $6.4 million in attorneys’ fees for what a Texas federal court has deemed a “frivolous” Clean Air Act citizen suit. The ruling represents a win for defendant utilities and may help discourage environmental groups from bringing future unmeritorious lawsuits. For more information, click here. (Subscription required)
EPA Preliminarily Approves Plan to Keep Arizona Coop Plant Open
Posted on Sep 11, 2014 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on EPA Preliminarily Approves Plan to Keep Arizona Coop Plant Open
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has preliminarily approved a plan proposed by Arizona Electric Power Cooperative (AEPCO) to upgrade a power plant to lower emissions, keep the plant operating, and save hundreds of jobs. Congressman Ron Barber is recognized as leading negotiations between AEPCO and the EPA. Click here for the details.
Kentucky Coop Plans to Deactivate Coal Plant
Posted on Sep 11, 2014 in Environmental, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Kentucky Coop Plans to Deactivate Coal Plant
East Kentucky Power Cooperative will continue deactivating its coal-fired Dale Station power plant with complete shutdown expected by April 2015. Subject to regulatory approval, ash waste from the site will be transported to an ash landfill. The plant will be placed in indefinite storage to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS)...
Tenth Circuit Stays EPA’s Rejection of Wyoming’s Regional Haze Plan
Posted on Sep 10, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Tenth Circuit Stays EPA’s Rejection of Wyoming’s Regional Haze Plan
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit has stayed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s rejection of part of Wyoming’s plan for addressing regional haze. The stay was sought by the State of Wyoming, Basin Electric Power Cooperative, and PacifiCorp. The court also granted a request by Basin and PacifiCorp to extend the compliance deadline beyond March 2019 for the...
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