RUS to Conduct New Report on Transmission Project
Posted on Aug 15, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on RUS to Conduct New Report on Transmission Project
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) has announced that it will conduct a supplemental environmental impact report for Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s proposed North Dakota transmission line. This decision came from a need to consider new aspects of the plan. Read more here.
Vermont Coop Limits Future Solar Installations
Posted on Aug 15, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Coop Limits Future Solar Installations
Washington Electric Co-op (WEC) has announced that, as of October, it will limit the use of net metering for future solar installations on its system to the size of 5 kilowatts. In Vermont, the practice of net metering allows a utility’s members to make solar installations on a utility’s system and sell such power to the utility. WEC’s decision to limit the size of future...
NRECA Opposes President’s Plan on Climate Change
Posted on Aug 13, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on NRECA Opposes President’s Plan on Climate Change
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has launched a campaign against President Barack Obama’s proposal to use the Clean Air Act to regulate carbon dioxide and fight climate change. The NRECA released a video voicing its opposition to the President’s plan. Click here for more.
Utilities Object to Recommendations for Columbia River Treaty
Posted on Aug 9, 2013 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Utilities Object to Recommendations for Columbia River Treaty
Flathead Electric Cooperative and other utilities have expressed their concern in recent months over the rate impacts of certain recommended changes to the Columbia River Treaty relating to the river’s ecosystem. This half-decade-old treaty provides for the return of power to Canada in exchange for flood control provided by dams in Canada. See the Daily Inter Lake for details on the...
John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant Named Plant of the Year
Posted on Aug 9, 2013 in Environmental, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on John W. Turk, Jr. Power Plant Named Plant of the Year
The new 600-MW John W. Turk, Jr. coal-fueled plant in Arkansas has been named Plant of the Year by POWER Magazine. The plant, which is co-owned by Southwestern Electric Power Company, Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation, East Texas Electric Cooperative and Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, received this award for overcoming a number of regulatory hurdles and legal obstacles. ...
Coops Challenge Lending for New Renewable Energy Projects
Posted on Aug 5, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Coops Challenge Lending for New Renewable Energy Projects
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has voiced opposition to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) decision to establish a new Rural Utilities Service (RUS) lending project aimed at renewable energy. The USDA announced in early June that it would consider implementing the program under the Electric Loan program to fund renewable energy generation, even...
Arkansas Coop Enters Wind Agreement
Posted on Jul 31, 2013 in Environmental, Financing, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Arkansas Coop Enters Wind Agreement
RES Americas and Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) have entered into a 20-year power purchase agreement, which will result in the construction of 75 new wind turbines in two Oklahoma counties. The 150-MW Origin Wind Project, which is slated to begin operations by late 2014, will add to the 51 MW of wind capacity acquired by AECC through a 2012 power purchase agreement. ...
Coal Ash Bill Passes House – On to Senate
Posted on Jul 26, 2013 in Environmental, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Coal Ash Bill Passes House – On to Senate
Backed by numerous coops and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, the U.S. House has passed a bill that identifies states, rather than the Environmental Protection Agency, as the primary regulators of coal ash storage. The Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act of 2013 received bipartisan support and will allow utilities to continue selling coal ash to companies that...
Debate Arises over Issue of Sustaining Net Metering Projects
Posted on Jul 25, 2013 in Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Debate Arises over Issue of Sustaining Net Metering Projects
Some coops in the Northeast are concerned about the legal ambiguities of financing small renewable energy projects. Coops in Vermont are subject to a law that requires utilities to credit customers 20 cents for every kWh they produce through small renewable energy systems, or net metering systems, unless a utility’s total net metering surpasses 4 percent of its peak demand from the...
South Canal Hydro Project Goes Online in Colorado
Posted on Jul 23, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on South Canal Hydro Project Goes Online in Colorado
Colorado-based Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) brought its South Canal Hydro project online in late June. The project was funded by the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation with $22 million in New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), and it will divert flow to generate an estimated 27 million kWh annually. Click here for more details on this...
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