Debate Arises over Issue of Sustaining Net Metering Projects
Posted on Jul 25, 2013 in Environmental, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on Debate Arises over Issue of Sustaining Net Metering Projects
Some coops in the Northeast are concerned about the legal ambiguities of financing small renewable energy projects. Coops in Vermont are subject to a law that requires utilities to credit customers 20 cents for every kWh they produce through small renewable energy systems, or net metering systems, unless a utility’s total net metering surpasses 4 percent of its peak demand from the...
South Canal Hydro Project Goes Online in Colorado
Posted on Jul 23, 2013 in Environmental, Grid & Infrastructure, Innovation/Efficiency, Renewable Energy, Technology | Comments Off on South Canal Hydro Project Goes Online in Colorado
Colorado-based Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA) brought its South Canal Hydro project online in late June. The project was funded by the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation with $22 million in New Clean Renewable Energy Bonds (CREBs), and it will divert flow to generate an estimated 27 million kWh annually. Click here for more details on this...
Trash-Burning Plant Does Not Count Toward Renewable Standard
Posted on Jul 18, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Trash-Burning Plant Does Not Count Toward Renewable Standard
An Arizona court has overturned an Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) decision finding that a trash-burning power plant counts toward state renewable energy goals. Mohave Electric Cooperative proposed to build the plant near Phoenix as part of its effort to obtain 15 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025. The ACC may appeal the decision. Click here for the...
Changes to Hydro Power Marketing Administrations Blocked by House of Representatives
Posted on Jul 12, 2013 in Innovation/Efficiency, Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Changes to Hydro Power Marketing Administrations Blocked by House of Representatives
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment on July 10 to the energy and water appropriations bill that prohibits spending to expand the role of four power marketing administrations. These administrations have historically provided low-cost hydro power to coops and others, but the Department of Energy has been considering expanding their role to include energy efficiency and...
Colorado’s New Renewable Energy Law Under Review
Posted on Jul 11, 2013 in Legislative & Politics, Rates, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Colorado’s New Renewable Energy Law Under Review
A committee organized to review Colorado’s new renewable energy law will consider whether the law is feasible and how costs associated with compliance may be recovered. The law requires that 20 percent of a utility’s power supply come from renewables by 2020 with no more than a 2 percent rate increase to pay for the associated costs. At the committee’s first meeting, Tri-State...
Nevada Governor’s Veto is Good News for Coop
Posted on Jun 18, 2013 in Legislative & Politics, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Nevada Governor’s Veto is Good News for Coop
Valley Electric Association (VEA) will remain outside the regulatory authority of the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada thanks to a veto by Governor Brian Sandoval. Assembly Bill 391 would have added another layer of regulatory oversight to several VEA projects and contracts. For more on this story, click here.
NRECA Comments on Proposed Changes to Small Generator Interconnection Procedure
Posted on Jun 13, 2013 in Project Development, Regulation & Policy, Reliability, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on NRECA Comments on Proposed Changes to Small Generator Interconnection Procedure
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), along with other utility trade associations, submitted comments on a proposed rule by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to expand the interconnection procedures for small generators. Current interconnection standards provide for an expedited process given the low reliability risk attributed to small generators. The...
Colorado Governor Signs Bill Requiring More Renewables
Posted on Jun 6, 2013 in Legislative & Politics, Project Development, Rates, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Colorado Governor Signs Bill Requiring More Renewables
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed into law a bill requiring certain rural cooperatives to obtain 20 percent and municipal utilities to obtain 10 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020. Smaller coops will not see the same increase. Rural coops may charge customers an additional two percent on their monthly bills to help pay for the additional...
Massachusetts Solar Project Obtains Important Financing
Posted on May 15, 2013 in Financing, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Massachusetts Solar Project Obtains Important Financing
On May 13, Broadway Electrical Co., Inc. announced that its financial partner, Rockland Capital, LLC of Texas and New York, has secured $120 million in financing from Deutsche Bank and Key Bank for its solar energy projects planned for Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. This financing will provide for 37 MW of solar energy, including 24 MW for Cape & Vineyard Electric Cooperative,...
Obama Administration Proposes New Restrictions on RUS Financing
Posted on May 14, 2013 in Climate Change, Environmental, Financing, Grid & Infrastructure, Legislative & Politics, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Obama Administration Proposes New Restrictions on RUS Financing
The Department of Agriculture announced a fiscal 2014 budget of $4 billion for the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) Electric Loan Program. Of that amount, $3 billion would be earmarked for renewable energy projects with the remaining $1 billion held for environmental upgrades. The proposed budget provides no money for other distribution or transmission projects, a void that lawmakers...
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