San Miguel Power Association Adds Solar Project for Qualified Low-Income Residents
Posted on Dec 9, 2016
San Miguel Power Association (SMPA), the Colorado Energy Office and GRID Alternatives announced a 200 kW community solar array to be located on a closed landfill in Norwood, Colorado. SMPA had been looking for a way to make renewable energy available to more of its members while keeping utility bills affordable. A $1.2 million grant from the Colorado Energy Office in August 2015 has now helped solar installer GRID Alternatives partner on six low-income community solar projects.
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Iowa Electric Co-ops Plan January 1 Merger
Posted on Dec 9, 2016
Tri-County Electric Cooperative, based in Rushford, Iowa, and Hawkeye REC will merge to become MiEnergy Cooperative on January 1, 2017. The two electric cooperatives had already been pooling resources for more than a decade to help save on costs and shared the same CEO, Brian Krambeer, for the past seven years. Krambeer stressed the announcement makes the cooperatives stronger and better prepared for the future.
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Kentucky Public Service Commission Approves EKPC Sale of Solar Leases
Posted on Nov 28, 2016
The Kentucky Public Service Commission has approved a proposal that allows East Kentucky Power Cooperative Inc. (EKPC) to sell licenses to its customers for a solar panel farm planned in Clark County, Kentucky. The approved proposal allows EKPC’s customers to purchase a 25-year lease for one or more of the project’s 32,000 panels for a one-time payment of $460 per panel. Among other benefits, customers who decide to invest in this project will receive solar renewable energy credits that can be sold or retired.
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Great River Energy Announces Joint Solar Project with Dakota Electric Association
Posted on Nov 18, 2016
Great River Energy recently announced a joint solar project with Dakota Electric Association. The 1-megawatt project will be constructed on five acres of land along Highway 61 in Marshan Township. Once completed, it will provide enough electricity to serve approximately 150 residential members.
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South Mississippi Electric Changes Name to Cooperative Energy
Posted on Nov 11, 2016
South Mississippi Electric announced this week that it has changed its name to Cooperative Energy. The Company believes that the new name more accurately reflects its mission and business model. Cooperative Energy operates in 55 of Mississippi’s 82 counties and owns a generation facility in Batesville. The Company was found in 1941 and has recently focused on increasing the size of its renewable energy portfolio.
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EPA Submits Proposed Model Trading Rules Regarding Clean Power Plan
Posted on Nov 7, 2016
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) submitted model trading rules that provide an optional path for states implementing the Clean Power Plan (CPP) to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget for review. Although the CPP has been placed on hold by the U.S. Supreme Court, the EPA noted that sending the rules to the office follows a routine rule-development process. Ultimately, the model trading rules are designed to present options for states to flexibly and affordably implement the CPP.
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Dairyland Announces Three Additional Solar Projects
Posted on Nov 4, 2016
Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland) announced that it has finalized agreements for two solar projects in Wisconsin and one solar project in Iowa. The additional projects will increase Dairyland’s total solar generation from 15 megawatts to 20 megawatts.
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Electric Cooperatives Terminate Merger Discussions
Posted on Nov 4, 2016
Wyoming-based Lower Valley Electric and Idaho-based Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative have ended negotiations regarding a potential merger. The opportunity to streamline the two organizations could potentially save almost $3 million per year for 10 years, but the cooperatives could not agree on issues such as governance and member representation.
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Connexus Energy Awards Smart-Grid Contract to Honeywell
Posted on Nov 4, 2016
Connexus Energy of Minnesota (Connexus) has awarded a smart-grid contract worth $15 million to Honeywell. The project will provide Connexus members with remote electricity reading. The project will require replacement of approximately 138,000 electric meters with Honeywell’s new “EnergyAxis” meters equipped with its “SynergyNet” mesh networking software. The new meters will transmit data to Connexus’s headquarters and give it a better understanding of electrical usage throughout its service area.
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Coop Sells Assets to Native American Tribe
Posted on Nov 4, 2016
Washington’s Benton Rural Electric Association (Benton REA) has announced the sale of $24 million worth of transmission facilities to the Yakama Nation Reservation. As a result of the sale, the Yakama Reservation electric utility will take over operations of 574 miles of power lines and service to 2,000 accounts located within the reservation. Benton REA will continue serving approximately 14,000 accounts outside of the reservation.
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USDA Announces $3.6 Billion in Funding for 82 Electric Projects
Posted on Oct 27, 2016
U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced Wednesday that the USDA will provide $3.6 billion in loans to electric utilities in 31 states to fund 82 projects. The loans, which will be provided through the Electric Program and the Rural Utilities Service, include $216 million for smart grid technologies, $35 million for renewable energy, $26 million for environmental improvements and $1.8 million for energy efficiency. Many of the funds will be provided to electric cooperatives, including Georgia’s Oglethorpe Power Corporation, which will receive $448 million to fund generation...
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Coop Sues City Alleging Trademark Infringement
Posted on Oct 27, 2016
Co-Mo Electric Co-Op (Co Mo) has filed a lawsuit against Columbia, Missouri alleging that the name and logo of the city bus system, COMO Connect, infringes on the coop’s trademark for its broadband internet service. Co-Mo is seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent the city from continuing to use the name and logo while the lawsuit is pending.
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NRECA, MISO and SPP File Briefs in FERC Refund Proceedings
Posted on Oct 27, 2016
NRECA filed its initial briefs in FERC’s Section 206 proceedings involving the refund obligations of nonpublic utilities in MISO and SPP (FERC Dockets EL16-91 and EL16-99). In its briefs, NRECA recognized FERC’s legitimate concerns but argued, among other things, that a refund requirement has the potential to deter nonpublic utilities from joining RTOs. MISO and SPP also filed briefs requesting that FERC let them seek a solution through stakeholder proceedings.
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Dairyland Awarded $73.5 Million Settlement from Department of Energy for Storing Uranium
Posted on Oct 24, 2016
CORRECTION: Dairyland Power Cooperative (“Dairyland”) will receive $73.5 million for the U.S. government’s failure to take spent fuel from its shuttered Genoa nuclear power plant to the Yucca Mountain repository in Nevada. As part of the settlement, Dairyland was able to negotiate significant savings on future liabilities. Dairyland’s board will determine how the money will be used but had previously returned half of the last such award to its members through a direct payment and rate relief.
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