Iowa Coops in Legal Battle with Solar Energy Company
Posted on Jan 22, 2014 in Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Iowa Coops in Legal Battle with Solar Energy Company
Public utilities and electric cooperatives in Iowa are arguing in front of the Iowa Supreme Court that a solar energy company has violated Iowa law by installing solar systems on buildings belonging to customers of the utilities and cooperatives and then selling the electricity produced by the systems back to those customers that commissioned the installation. The case will likely...
Vermont Net Metering Program May Be Overhauled
Posted on Jan 21, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Net Metering Program May Be Overhauled
Vermont lawmakers are striving to raise the existing cap on the state’s net metering program to match the growing demand for residential renewable energy generation. A bill, approved by the House Natural Resources and Energy Committee last week, offers a fast-track solution ahead of larger changes expected when a federal solar tax credit expires, likely in 2017. The proposed bill...
Dairyland Continues to Pursue Strategic Solar Projects
Posted on Jan 17, 2014 in Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Dairyland Continues to Pursue Strategic Solar Projects
Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland) recently announced a new 517-kW solar facility in Oronoco, Minnesota. While relatively small, the anticipated production characteristics of this solar facility should limit the peak-time burden on other resources. This solar project supplements the solar energy that Dairyland already receives from two smaller solar facilities, located in...
Basin Electric Signs Deal to Add More Wind to Generation Portfolio
Posted on Dec 27, 2013 in Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Basin Electric Signs Deal to Add More Wind to Generation Portfolio
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) announced on December 20 that it had signed a deal to add 98 MW of additional wind capacity to its generating portfolio. The Campbell County Wind Farm is currently under development in South Dakota and is expected to be brought online in 2015. Electric Co-op Today has the full story.
South Carolina’s First Solar Farm Online
Posted on Dec 26, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on South Carolina’s First Solar Farm Online
South Carolina’s first solar farm is officially online as of Friday, December 20. The 3-MW, $6 million Colleton County project will sell output to Santee Cooper. South Carolina Electric and Gas is also planning a series of future solar farms that could generate up to 20 MW of power in the state. Read more here.
Coop Sparks Ballot Fight Over Oregon RPS
Posted on Dec 26, 2013 in Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Coop Sparks Ballot Fight Over Oregon RPS
Oregon’s Umatilla Electric Cooperative (Umatilla) is challenging the state’s renewable energy portfolio standard (RPS), hoping to revise the standards to allow hydropower to count towards meeting the requirements. Without this revision, the coop plans to add an initiative on the ballot that could gut the law. The challenge is raising debate about whether the coop is strong arming or...
Public Power Council Continues to Voice Support for Adjustments to Hydro Power Treaty
Posted on Dec 19, 2013 in Environmental, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Public Power Council Continues to Voice Support for Adjustments to Hydro Power Treaty
Following up on recent regulatory filings, the Public Power Council, which represents cooperatives and other consumer-owned utilities, voiced its continued support for adjustments to the Columbia River Treaty. The Public Power Council and others are seeking a more even distribution of hydro power benefits between the United States and Canada under the treaty. Various interest groups...
Golden Spread Proposes New Transmission Line
Posted on Dec 17, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Permitting, Project Development, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Golden Spread Proposes New Transmission Line
Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Golden Spread) is planning a new transmission line that would connect the present divide between the power grid that covers the Texas Panhandle and the grid for the rest of Texas. The coop, along with Sharyland Utilities, L.P. (Sharyland) will connect new and existing natural gas generation units north of Abernathy to the new transmission...
Electric Utilities Retire Generating Capacity Faster Than They Bring it Online
Posted on Dec 16, 2013 in Environmental, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Electric Utilities Retire Generating Capacity Faster Than They Bring it Online
The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last week that the electric utility industry retired 11.1 GW of generating capacity from January through October of 2013, while adding only about 10 GW of capacity. Coal-fired and nuclear plants represent the largest and second largest shares of retired capacity respectively, the EIA reports. Read more here.
USDA to Provide More than $1.8 Billion in Funding
Posted on Dec 16, 2013 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on USDA to Provide More than $1.8 Billion in Funding
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Friday that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide over $1.8 billion to fund electric utility infrastructure improvements in 25 states and one territory. The USDA-funded improvements include smart grid and renewable energy projects and the building or improvement of more than 6,500 miles of transmission lines. ...
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