Coops Oppose FERC Order on Environmental Redispatch
Posted on Jan 12, 2012 in Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Coops Oppose FERC Order on Environmental Redispatch
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) filed in opposition of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC’s) recent order instructing the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to revise its environmental redispatch policy. FERC found the policy discriminated against wind generators to the benefit of hydropower production. NRECA claimed the order exceeded...
Potential Joint Venture Could Save Michigan Plant
Posted on Jan 12, 2012 in Environmental, Financing | Comments Off on Potential Joint Venture Could Save Michigan Plant
Wolverine Power Cooperative and We Energies are evaluating whether a joint venture may be reached to avoid shutting down the Presque Isle coal-fired power plant in 2017 due to the added costs of the Environmental Protection Agency’s new environmental rules. The joint venture would finance the environmental controls needed to keep the plant open, which are estimated to cost hundreds of...
Wisconsin Coop Gears Up For New Mercury Rules
Posted on Dec 22, 2011 in Environmental, Rates, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Wisconsin Coop Gears Up For New Mercury Rules
Dairyland Power Cooperative is working to meet new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations that would limit emissions of toxic air pollutants at power plants. The coop’s $400 million plan will install pollution controls at two coal-fired plants. In general, coops face a three-year compliance deadline, with some flexibility for states to grant an additional year. The costs...
Tennessee Coop to Connect New Solar Facility
Posted on Dec 20, 2011 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Tennessee Coop to Connect New Solar Facility
Chickasaw Electric Cooperative, a Tennessee-based coop, is set to connect the new West Tennessee Solar Farm to the Tennessee Valley Authority with its distribution lines. The coop has upgraded seven miles of its distribution lines and added two additional miles to connect the 4.5-megawatt solar facility to the regional power grid. The project is estimated to have cost the coop $31...
EPA Regulations Threaten Coops
Posted on Dec 14, 2011 in Climate Change, Environmental, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on EPA Regulations Threaten Coops
Emissions controls for coal-based generating units under current Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rulemakings may cause significant financial and reliability challenges for electric coops, according to the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA). Because of their small size, coops may not be considered priority customers by emissions control companies that supply...
Coop Advocates Reliability-Based Exemption From EPA Regulations
Posted on Dec 9, 2011 in Environmental, Reliability | Comments Off on Coop Advocates Reliability-Based Exemption From EPA Regulations
At a recent FERC technical conference, Eric Baker, the president and CEO of Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative, talked of the need for a “safety-valve” approach to new EPA regulations that would balance environmental issues and reliability concerns. Mr. Baker, the NRECA and others are advocating various approaches that would provide extensions or exemptions for at least...
Upper-Midwest Coops Critical of EPA Haze Plan
Posted on Dec 8, 2011 in Environmental, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Technology | Comments Off on Upper-Midwest Coops Critical of EPA Haze Plan
Minnkota Power Coop and North Star Electric Coop are among those opposed to proposed new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) haze pollution standards because any benefits would be far outweighed by the cost to consumers in the form of a rate increase. Proponents of the EPA standards claim they will improve public health, preserve national parks and create thousands of new jobs....
Tri-State Subsidiary Buys Colorado Coal Mine
Posted on Dec 6, 2011 in Climate Change, Environmental, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Tri-State Subsidiary Buys Colorado Coal Mine
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, the largest electric coop in Colorado, has placed its bets on coal as its primary generation source for years to come. The coop’s subsidiary Western Fuels-Colorado LLC, a fuel supplier that delivers coal under contract to Tri-State’s plants, has purchased the Colowyo coal mine from Rio Tinto. Tri-State cites the lower cost of coal as...
SWEPCO Turk Plant Permit Stay Lifted
Posted on Dec 6, 2011 in Climate Change, Environmental, Permitting, Project Development | Comments Off on SWEPCO Turk Plant Permit Stay Lifted
AEP/Southwestern Electric Power Co. (SWEPCO), the majority owner of the John W. Turk, Jr., Power Plant under construction near Fulton, Arkansas, won a legal victory that will allow it to complete the $2 billion project. Environmental challenges to the coal-fired electrical generation plant resulted in a stay placed on the plant’s wastewater discharge permit. The Arkansas Pollution...
Sierra Club and Wisconsin Coop in Settlement Talks
Posted on Nov 21, 2011 in Environmental, Litigation | Comments Off on Sierra Club and Wisconsin Coop in Settlement Talks
The Sierra Club announced that it is in the process of negotiating a settlement with Dairyland Power Cooperative. The environmental group sued the coop last year, alleging that the coop failed to install the required pollution controls on its two coal-fired plants in Alma when it made upgrades to the plants from 1993-2009. To read more about the lawsuit and potential settlement...
Subscribe
