NRECA Responds to WSJ Article on Grid Security
Posted on Mar 17, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Regulation & Policy, Reliability | Comments Off on NRECA Responds to WSJ Article on Grid Security
Jo Ann Emerson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), issued remarks on the electric coop industry’s efforts to protect the nation’s critical transmission system after a recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) article released sensitive information on the subject. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently ordered the North American Electric Reliability...
Dairyland Adding Commercial Solar Project
Posted on Mar 13, 2014 in Climate Change, Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Dairyland Adding Commercial Solar Project
Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland), based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has signed an agreement with Clean Energy Collective to purchase renewable energy produced by a planned 520-kW solar installation. The new solar facility, located in Westby, Wisconsin, will be developed, owned and managed by Clean Energy Collective. This project, along with Dairyland’s first commercial solar...
Maryland PSC to Impose Smart Meter Opt-Out Fees
Posted on Mar 3, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Technology | Comments Off on Maryland PSC to Impose Smart Meter Opt-Out Fees
According to the Maryland Public Service Commission (PSC), residential and small commercial customers of Baltimore Gas & Electric Company, Potomac Electric Power Company, Delmarva Power and Light Company and Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative who decline installation of a smart meter will have to pay a one-time fee after July 1, 2014. The fee is intended to pay for the...
Oregon Coop Continues Fight Against State’s Renewable Mandates
Posted on Feb 18, 2014 in Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Oregon Coop Continues Fight Against State’s Renewable Mandates
Oregon law currently requires that large utilities get 25 percent of their energy from new renewable sources by 2025, and increased demand for electricity from data centers in the eastern part of the state is pushing smaller utilities toward large-utility status for the purposes of the mandate. A lobbyist for Umatilla Electric Cooperative (Umatilla) has been collecting signatures for...
New White Paper Calls for Focus on Grid Stability
Posted on Feb 13, 2014 in Energy Savings Programs, Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on New White Paper Calls for Focus on Grid Stability
Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska recently issued a white paper warning that grid stability is complicated by coal plant retirements, environmental regulations and requirements for integrating renewable energy resources. Senator Murkowski’s paper, which has been praised by some in the industry, calls for policymakers to place grid reliability and affordability at the front of their...
Minnesota Coop Members Allowed to Pre-Purchase Energy
Posted on Feb 4, 2014 in Environmental, Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Project Development, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Minnesota Coop Members Allowed to Pre-Purchase Energy
Lake Region Electric Cooperative, based in Pelican Rapids, Minnesota, is investing in a community solar initiative through a program that gives its members the chance to buy part of the solar output from the HQ Prairie solar project built at the coop’s headquarters. Participation in the program was offered to members on a voluntary, market-based basis, which the coop hopes will keep...
Basin Electric Transporting Coal by Trucks to Meet Demand
Posted on Jan 9, 2014 in Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Land Use, Reliability | Comments Off on Basin Electric Transporting Coal by Trucks to Meet Demand
Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) has been transporting coal via trucks to meet the demand of the Leland Olds Station, located near Stanton, North Dakota, since BNSF Railway can no longer guarantee its ability to get two 60-car coal trains on the rail tracks every day. The trucks providing the coal are now making about 250 hauls per day. The rail problem began last...
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.
Dust Settles after Utility Fight with BNSF
Posted on Dec 17, 2013 in Environmental, Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Dust Settles after Utility Fight with BNSF
The verdict is in: Coal shippers led by Arkansas Electric Cooperative will have to comply with BNSF Railway’s (BNSF) loading instructions aimed at suppressing coal dust emissions from Powder River Basin coal trains after the Surface Transportation Board (Board) ruled the requirements were permissible. Since 2009, utilities have fought the requirement to apply surfactants to their coal...
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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