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. ...
Vermont Coop Ordered to Stop Net Metering Program
Posted on Dec 13, 2013 in Energy Savings Programs, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Vermont Coop Ordered to Stop Net Metering Program
The Vermont Public Service Department has directed Washington Electric Co-op (WEC) to suspend its net metering program after the coop attempted to change the program to limit projects to 5 kW due to an existing state cap. The regulator determined that WEC had not been authorized to make this change and therefore must stop accepting applications. The state legislature plans to address...
Columbia River Treaty Needs an Update
Posted on Dec 12, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Columbia River Treaty Needs an Update
Based in Eugene, Oregon, Lane Electric Cooperative is among the Northwest utilities pushing for an update to the 1964 Columbia River Treaty, which governs operations along the Columbia River between the U.S. and Canada. Due to changes in how the river operates, the pact that once provided an even split between the two countries now provides more of a 90-10 split in favor of our...
Second Hawaiian Coop on the Horizon?
Posted on Dec 12, 2013 in Project Development, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Second Hawaiian Coop on the Horizon?
Molokai may be the second island of Hawaii (Kauai being the first) to purchase its utility and establish an electric coop. High rates are at the root of current tensions between residents on Molokai and their utility Maui Electric Company, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company. Molokai is also considering a large generation project that would power the island using only renewable...
Alaska Coop Files for FERC Approval of Hydro Project
Posted on Nov 20, 2013 in Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Alaska Coop Files for FERC Approval of Hydro Project
Alaska Village Electric Cooperative (AVEC) has filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to build a new hydroelectric project near the town of Old Harbor, Alaska. The proposed run-of-river project would consist of two 262-kW turbines and would be used to provide power to the residents of Old Harbor. To read more about this project, click...
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