Iowa Coop Honored After Speedy Completion of Wind Farms
Posted on Mar 20, 2012 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Iowa Coop Honored After Speedy Completion of Wind Farms
Estherville-based Iowa Lakes Electric Cooperative has been honored by the U.S. Department of Energy as the 2011 Wind Cooperative of the Year after designing and building two wind farms in just 18 months. The coop built the wind farms near existing ethanol plants, which allowed it to use existing substation infrastructure and save approximately $5 million by not having to build a...
Coop Faces Questions about Savings Potential from Renewable Energy
Posted on Mar 12, 2012 in Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Coop Faces Questions about Savings Potential from Renewable Energy
The Massachusetts-based Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative, which is a regional agency created to pursue renewable energy projects for towns in the state, is facing questions about a recent initiative to pursue solar energy. Members of municipal energy committees in some towns have expressed doubt that they are getting the best possible deal from CVEC. The Cape Cod Times has more...
Georgia Legislature Considers Two Bills Impacting Cooperatives
Posted on Mar 9, 2012 in Financing, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics | Comments Off on Georgia Legislature Considers Two Bills Impacting Cooperatives
The Georgia Senate this week passed a bill providing that consumers may elect not to use “smart meters.” Senate Bill 459 further permits the Georgia Public Service Commission to create and regulate a surcharge for consumers who elect not to use smart meters. The bill has been sent to the House for consideration. The full text of SB 459 can be viewed here. A second bill impacting...
Potential Power Plant Sites Assessed in Nationwide Study
Posted on Mar 6, 2012 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Land Use, Permitting, Project Development | Comments Off on Potential Power Plant Sites Assessed in Nationwide Study
Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute have issued a report assessing possible sites for future power generation in the U.S.. The researchers took into account factors such as siting constraints, terrain, access to water and proximity to large population centers. This type of detailed site analysis can support long-term strategic...
Vermont Electric Cooperative Pursues Power Deal with Seabrook Nuclear Plant
Posted on Jan 4, 2012 in Innovation/Efficiency, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Electric Cooperative Pursues Power Deal with Seabrook Nuclear Plant
Vermont Electric Cooperative (VEC) has expressed interest in entering a 20-year power purchase agreement with a NextEra Energy nuclear power plant in Seabrook, New Hampshire. The Vermont Public Service Board and the VEC board of directors must approve the purchase before the parties can go forward with the agreement. The contract would be for 16 to 17 percent of VEC’s annual energy...
Two Coops Agree to Develop Solar Project
Posted on Dec 5, 2011 in Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Two Coops Agree to Develop Solar Project
New Mexico-based PPC Solar announced that Kit Carson Electric Cooperative has conditionally approved an agreement under which PPC Solar will construct a 1.5-MW solar array in Taos County, New Mexico. The project would be the largest solar installation in the county and reportedly would generate an estimated 2,985,859 kWh of solar power in the first year of operation. The Solar...
Researchers to Demonstrate Algae-Based CO2 Capture Technology on Coop Facility
Posted on Nov 4, 2011 in Climate Change, Innovation/Efficiency, Technology | Comments Off on Researchers to Demonstrate Algae-Based CO2 Capture Technology on Coop Facility
University of Kentucky researchers have been working on a technology whereby algae is used to capture carbon dioxide from coal-fired facilities and then converted into useable biomass. The Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet has earmarked $1.3 million for a demonstration of the technology at a East Kentucky Power Cooperative facility. See the University of Kentucky press...
Vermont Coops Become Customers of State’s Largest Wind Farm
Posted on Oct 31, 2011 in Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Coops Become Customers of State’s Largest Wind Farm
The largest wind farm in Vermont officially opened on October 26, and two of the state’s coops plan to be big customers of the facility. Washington Electric Cooperative and Vermont Electric Cooperative will buy a combined 60 percent of the output from the farm. The new $90 million, 40-megawatt, 16-turbine wind farm is the result of an eight-year planning and building process. To...
USDA Announces Plan to Fund Improvements to Distribution and Smart Grid Technologies
Posted on Oct 14, 2011 in Financing, Innovation/Efficiency | Comments Off on USDA Announces Plan to Fund Improvements to Distribution and Smart Grid Technologies
Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, announced plans to fund projects across 27 states. Coops on track to receive funding for their projects include Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association, Inc., Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, Amicalola Electric Membership Corporation and Gunnison County Electric Association. For more on this story, see the USDA’s news...
Obama Administration Announces Plan to Fast Track the CapX2020 Transmission Project
Posted on Oct 7, 2011 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Project Development | Comments Off on Obama Administration Announces Plan to Fast Track the CapX2020 Transmission Project
The CapX2020 Project is one of the projects previously identified by the White House as essential to the modernization of the electric grid and the creation of jobs, and on Wednesday, October 6, the Administration announced plans to speed up the federal approval and permitting process. A spokesman for the CapX2020 Project sponsors, including Dairyland Power Cooperative, expressed his...
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