Federal Judge Strikes Down Minnesota Coal Law
Posted on Apr 21, 2014
A federal district court judge has struck down a 2007 Minnesota law that restricted the ability of Minnesota utilities to build new coal plants or import energy generated from coal. The court found that the Minnesota law effectively regulated out-of-state utilities that might wish to sell power in Minnesota and therefore “overreache[d]” by encroaching on the exclusive power of the U.S. Congress to legislate regarding the regulation of interstate commerce. The plaintiffs successfully challenging the law include Minnkota Power Cooperative, Inc. and Basin Electric Power Cooperative. Click...
Continue Reading
NRECA Reports Coop Renewable Capacity Has Doubled in Past Five Years
Posted on Apr 21, 2014
Coops’ renewable energy capacity has increased to 5.9 GW as of early 2014, which is in addition to the 10 GW that coops purchase from federal hydropower facilities. Click here for more data from the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA).
Continue Reading
Alliant and Minnesota Coops File Application for Sale with PUC
Posted on Apr 21, 2014
Alliant Energy (Alliant) and a number of Minnesota coops filed an application with the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) for the sale of Alliant’s distribution business to the coops. The coops would increase their membership and have proposed rates that are more favorable to members than the rates projected by Alliant should it continue its distribution business. The Albert Lea Tribune is following this story.
Continue Reading
Dairyland Receives White House Invitation
Posted on Apr 17, 2014
Nominated by the Rural Utilities Service, officials of Dairyland Power Cooperative will head to the White House for recognition of the coop’s ongoing efforts to promote and develop renewable energy projects. Approximately 13 percent of Dairyland’s energy resources are comprised of renewable sources, which exceeds state renewable energy requirements. Read more here.
Continue Reading
SMECO Plans Another Solar Project
Posted on Apr 17, 2014
Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative (SMECO) recently announced a new 20-year power purchase agreement under which it will purchase the full output of the planned 10-MW Rockfish Solar Facility. As it did with several previous projects, SMECO teamed up with the National Renewables Cooperative Organization to request project proposals and evaluate bidders. Click here for more information.
Continue Reading
EKPC to Deactivate Coal Plant
Posted on Apr 14, 2014
East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC), a Kentucky generation and transmission cooperative, has announced its plans to deactivate one of its coal plants over the next year. None of the plant’s four coal-fired units currently meets the requirements imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule, and the changes required to bring them into compliance are not economically justified. The plant, whose units began operating between 1954 and 1960, is EKPC’s oldest. Click here for more.
Continue Reading
Utilities Feel Effects of Rail Disruptions
Posted on Apr 14, 2014
On April 10, representatives for companies that rely on rail shipments appeared at a Surface Transportation Board (STB) hearing to highlight the problems that recent rail shipment disruptions have caused in their industries and to ask STB to take steps to reduce these disruptions. In the utility sector, delays in shipping coal could lead to higher costs for energy or a decrease in reliability of service. Click here for more.
Continue Reading
EKPC to Purchase Methane for Power Generation
Posted on Apr 14, 2014
A landfill near Glasgow, Kentucky, is leasing land and selling methane gas to East Kentucky Power Cooperative (EKPC). The coop plans to construct a power generation facility that will use the methane to generate enough energy to power approximately 500 homes. The facility is being developed and constructed with a combination of grants from state and local programs as well as a loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Program. Click here for the full story.
Continue Reading
Colorado Coop’s Energy Audit REAPs Success
Posted on Apr 10, 2014
Gunnison County Electric Association used a grant from the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to implement an energy audit program for local small businesses. The program ran from 2010-2012 and demonstrated how important low energy costs can be for small businesses. REAP offers cost-sharing grants and loan guarantees. Two additional REAP funding announcements are expected in 2014. Read more here.
Continue Reading
Coop Pension Bill Now Law
Posted on Apr 10, 2014
President Obama recently signed into law the Cooperative and Small Employer Charity Pension Flexibility Act, which provides coops in the Retirement Security Plan greater stability and lower cost pressures related to the Pension Protection Act of 2006. To learn more about this development, click here.
Continue Reading
Bipartisan Support Builds for Size and Flexibility of RUS Lending Program
Posted on Apr 7, 2014
One hundred sixty-nine House members—89 Republicans and 80 Democrats—have voiced their support for the Obama Administration’s proposal to set funding of the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Loan Program at $5 billion for fiscal year 2015. However, they have also asked that the House agriculture appropriations subcommittee reject the Administration’s proposal to earmark as much as $4 billion of that amount for renewable energy projects. The group, in a letter delivered to the subcommittee’s chairman and ranking member, has expressed hope that RUS lending will “continue to be driven by...
Continue Reading
CoBank Donates to Energy Research Partnership
Posted on Apr 7, 2014
Oklahoma State University’s National Energy Solutions Institute and the Smart Energy Solutions Association will team up thanks to a $500,000 donation from CoBank, a national cooperative bank. The partnership aims to connect energy research to the marketplace for real world application. Click here for more information on this exciting opportunity.
Continue Reading
Michigan Coop to Switch to District-Specific Board of Directors
Posted on Apr 2, 2014
The members of Great Lakes Energy, an electric cooperative based in Boyne City, Michigan, have voted to adopt a bylaw amendment switching to district-based voting for board members. The board will be elected by members residing in each of nine newly created districts. To read more, click here.
Continue Reading
Vermont Net Metering Frees Customers to Install Solar Panels
Posted on Apr 2, 2014
Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin recently signed a new law that should help free customers of the state’s electric utilities and allow them to install solar panels on their homes. Previous legislation mandated a cap on the state’s net metering program of 4% of a utility’s peak demand. The new legislation increases this cap to 15%, allowing a greater number of Vermont customers access to the net metering program. To read more about this story, click here.
Continue Reading
Subscribe
