Bastrop Wildfire Lawsuit Against Bluebonnet Electric Coop Resolved, But Others Remain
Posted on Jan 17, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Reliability | Comments Off on Bastrop Wildfire Lawsuit Against Bluebonnet Electric Coop Resolved, But Others Remain
A $6 million lawsuit against Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and McCoy Tree Surgery over a 2009 wildfire in Bastrop County was resolved last week without a jury decision. The parties have declined comment on the case, which was set for jury trial, to determine whether a falling tree knocked down sagging power lines, sparking a fire in the utility’s right of way. Eleven other lawsuits...
Civil Suit Against Texas Coop Underway
Posted on Jan 12, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Reliability | Comments Off on Civil Suit Against Texas Coop Underway
A hearing is underway in a civil suit against Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative in which homeowners allege the coop’s negligence triggered a 2009 fire that damaged homes and businesses in Central Texas. Plaintiffs claim the fire was caused by the coop’s inadequate wire connections and power lines and the location of combustible material nearby, but the coop asserts a fallen tree is to...
Great River Energy Buys Large Stake in Ethanol Biorefinery
Posted on Jan 9, 2012 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Mergers/Acquisitions | Comments Off on Great River Energy Buys Large Stake in Ethanol Biorefinery
Great River Energy, a nonprofit coop that provides wholesale electric service to distribution coops in Minnesota and Wisconsin, purchased a 51 percent stake in an Underwood, North Dakota ethanol biorefinery. Prior to the $18.5 million cash deal, Great River Energy had owned a 49 percent stake in the Blue Flint Ethanol LLC biorefinery. Business Week has the full story here.
Sutherland Attorneys Outline 10 Power Grid Cyber Security Strategies
Posted on Jan 9, 2012 in Grid & Infrastructure, Technology | Comments Off on Sutherland Attorneys Outline 10 Power Grid Cyber Security Strategies
The regulatory landscape for protecting the electric power grid against cyber threats is fraught with uncertainty. But there are strategies that compliance officers and regulatory affairs personnel can implement today to combat cyber threats that may compromise physical electrical infrastructure. These strategies can help electric utilities, owners and operators of generation and...
Tennessee Coop to Connect New Solar Facility
Posted on Dec 20, 2011 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on 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...
Pacific Northwest Coops Ordered to Rebalance Use of Hydropower and Wind Energy
Posted on Dec 12, 2011 in Grid & Infrastructure, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Pacific Northwest Coops Ordered to Rebalance Use of Hydropower and Wind Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruled that the Bonneville Power Administration discriminated against wind interests by cutting back on wind production at times of high hydroelectric generation. FERC gave the BPA 90 days to come up with a new program. BPA announced an “environmental redispatch” policy last May in an effort to balance supply and demand and comply with salmon...
Coops Can Use GPS Technology to Fight Copper Theft
Posted on Nov 23, 2011 in Grid & Infrastructure, Technology | Comments Off on Coops Can Use GPS Technology to Fight Copper Theft
Withlacoochee River Electric Cooperative recently used a global positioning device to fight copper theft. Deputies in Pasco County, Florida used a global positioning device to find a roll of copper that was stolen from the coop’s substation. Deputies tracked the culprits to a nearby home using a $420 GPS unit that was hidden in the $320 copper roll. The St. Petersburg Times has...
Delaware Electric Cooperative Bid Declined for Electric Distribution System
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 in Grid & Infrastructure, Mergers/Acquisitions | Comments Off on Delaware Electric Cooperative Bid Declined for Electric Distribution System
Delaware-based Lewes Board of Public Works has rejected a $16 million bid by Delaware Electric Cooperative to purchase the board’s electric distribution system. In rejecting the offer, the Lewes board said it wished to retain the ability to exercise control over rates and to make decisions related to the reliability of its electric service. The Lewes board is still considering an...
Demand for the CapX2020 Transmission Project Questioned in Wisconsin
Posted on Nov 17, 2011 in Grid & Infrastructure, Project Development | Comments Off on Demand for the CapX2020 Transmission Project Questioned in Wisconsin
Proponents of the CapX2020 transmission line have stated that the project is necessary because demand in the La Crosse/Winona, Wisconsin, area will soon exceed the capabilities of the existing transmission capabilities. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission disagrees, citing concerns that area’s population would not increase fast enough to justify the project’s $450 million cost. ...
Coop to Build 190-Mile Transmission Line to Serve North Dakota Oil Boom
Posted on Nov 11, 2011 in Financing, Grid & Infrastructure | Comments Off on Coop to Build 190-Mile Transmission Line to Serve North Dakota Oil Boom
Basin Electric Power Cooperative is moving forward with its plans to build a transmission line that will serve growing load in the oil regions of North Dakota. Basin is applying for RUS financing, which will require an environmental review of the project. Basin must also coordinate with North Dakota’s Public Service Commission on the siting process. Construction could begin as...
Subscribe
