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Coop Agrees to Purchase Power from Lumber Mill Biomass Plant

Flathead Electric Cooperative will purchase up to 2.5 MW from a a Montana timber mill generator powered by biomass energy.  The 20-year agreement will begin in 2013 and should have a minimal impact on the coop members’ rates.  The project will put biomass energy to good use and help manage forest health while creating jobs. Hungry Horse News has the details.

Tenth Circuit Says Customer Is “Stuck Between a Rock and a Pile of Sewage”: Tying Suit Against City Moves Forward After U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Appeal

Unlawful tying arrangements are a frequent point of contention between electric cooperatives and municipalities.  On January 17, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court let stand a decision that permits an unlawful tying/monopolization claim to go forward against the City of Newkirk, Oklahoma.  Click here for more.

Alaskan Healy Clean Coal Project Approved

Alaska’s Department of Environmental Conservation renewed a key air quality permit to restart a mothballed 50-MW coal power plant in interior Alaska.  Environmental groups that oppose restarting the plant are expected to file appeals before the permit is finalized.  The plant, owned by Golden Valley Electric Association, an electric coop, may reduce rates to interior Alaska customers...

Idaho Company Seeks Landfill Gas PPA

Avista Corporation is asking the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to approve a purchase power agreement with Kootenai Electric Cooperative’s 3.2-megawatt landfill gas generating facility near Bellgrove, Idaho, 15 miles south of Coeur d’Alene.  Under the agreement, Avista would purchase the project’s output at the lower of either 85 percent of the market rate or the...

SWEPCO Signs Up for Wind Energy

Pursuant to a court settlement over a 600-MW, coal-fired generation plant in Arkansas, Southwestern Electric Power Company (SWEPCO) has entered into a power purchase agreement for 359 MW of wind energy.  The settlement required the Arkansas plant developers to add 400 MW of renewable capacity by 2015.  The majority of the wind generation will come from Oklahoma.  Other generation sites...

Advocacy Groups Oppose New Power Lines for We Energies Plant

As the Sutherland Coop team reported on January 12, Wolverine Power Cooperative and We Energies have raised the possibility of a joint venture, which could help 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.  Two advocacy groups now are opposing the addition of power lines...

County Grants Exception for Maryland Solar Farm

Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative’s (SMECO’s) proposed 5.5 MW solar farm located in Charles County, Maryland, will move forward thanks to an exception granted by the Charles County Board of Appeals. The planned solar farm will help SMECO meet its Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements as imposed by the Maryland Public Service Commission. The estimated cost of the solar...

Proposed Franchise Agreement Looks Promising in Colorado

The City of Durango, Colorado, and La Plata Electric Association appear positioned to approve a new franchise agreement that would go into effect in May 2012. The proposed agreement provides less restrictive language on how to credit consumers for generating power back to the grid than previously suggested. The agreement also protects coop customers located outside of Durango from rate...

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...

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...

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