Largest Fuel Cell Park Planned for Beacon Falls

Developers have released plans to build the world’s largest fuel cell park at a former gravel pit in Beacon Falls. CT Energy & Technology would develop and own the 63.3-MW park, which would surpass the 59-MW Gyeonggi Green Energy park in South Korea as the world’s largest.

“For practical purposes, the project location in Beacon Falls is perfect because it is next to an electric switch yard, a natural gas tie-in and water,” said William Corvo, president of CT Energy.

Under a letter of intent, FuelCell Energy of Danbury will supply the cells and is expected to operate and maintain the plant under a long-term service agreement. O&G Industries owns the property. CT Energy is developing and will own the project. Corvo declined to disclose the price tag for the project.

More: Hartford Courant

INDIANA

State Braces for Large Wind Expansion Because of Clean Power Plan

The state, which generates the majority of its electricity from coal, is anticipating a rapid expansion of its wind portfolio due partly to the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan.

Only five other states are projected to boost wind power as much as or more than Indiana, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. The state could triple its wind power capacity over the next decade from 1,744 MW to more than 5,000 MW, said Sean Brady, Midwest policy manager for Wind on the Wires.

That would require 2,000 more wind turbines to join the 1,031 now located in the northern half of the state.

More: The Indianapolis Star

MAINE

UT Economist Nominated to PUC Seat

Gov. Paul LePage has nominated a University of Tennessee economist for the remaining slot on the Public Utilities Commission. Bruce Williamson, senior economist at the Institute for Nuclear Security at the university’s Howard Baker Center for Public Policy, told the Portland Press Herald, “I have no agenda in coming to Maine. I’m not bringing any prejudice about one type of energy versus another. It’s all about making sense financially.”

LePage favors policies that encourage expansion of natural gas pipelines and is opposed to subsidies to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency.

SunEdison, developer of the proposed 22-turbine Weaver Wind project near Ellsworth, recently released a statement saying it was withdrawing its power purchase plan and would try to sell its electricity elsewhere in New England, due to issues with the commission.

More: Portland Press Herald

LePage’s Plan to Attract Nukes Blasted by Environmentalists

Environmentalists and anti-nuclear activists are blasting Gov. Paul LePage’s proposal to make it easier to bring small nuclear power plants to the state, because it would strip voters of the power to sign off on new plants, they say. Currently, voters must approve the construction of any nuclear power plant in the state.

LePage wants to remove that requirement for plants that generate 500 MW or less. But opponents say LePage’s proposal would silence those who could be greatly impacted by a potentially risky energy resource. The state’s only nuclear plant, Maine Yankee, closed in 1997, but only after surviving three referendums led by anti-nuclear activists — it closed due to operations and management problems. Patrick Woodcock, director of the Governor’s Energy Office, said the public would still have plenty of opportunities to weigh in through municipal permitting hearings.

More: Associated Press

MARYLAND

Earthjustice Appeals Fed OK of Cove Point Terminal

Environmental group Earthjustice is suing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reverse the agency’s approval of Dominion Resources’ Cove Point liquefied natural gas export terminal near Lusby, Md.

The group said FERC approved the project without conducting a rigorous environmental review. While the environmental studies did cover effects at the plant site, the group argues that it should have considered how increased demand for gas would result in increased pollution in the Marcellus Shale region where the gas is produced, as well as water pollution from increased shipping in the Chesapeake Bay.

Earthjustice — on behalf of state environmental groups Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the Patuxent Riverkeeper and the state chapter of the Sierra Club — filed the suit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals after FERC denied its request for a rehearing last week. “After months of delay, we will finally get our day in court to challenge the fundamentally flawed approval of Dominion’s climate- and community-wrecking project,” said Mike Tidwell, director of the organization.

More: Baltimore Sun

PSC Decision on Exelon-Pepco Deal Expected Friday

The Public Service Commission is expected to announce a decision Friday on Exelon’s proposed $6.8 billion acquisition of Pepco. (See Deadline Looms for Decisions in Exelon-Pepco Deal.)

The takeover has met significant opposition in the state, where critics believe it would give the Chicago energy giant too much influence over electric service in the region. Criticism also has been fierce in D.C., which is expected to make its decision shortly after Maryland rules.

The acquisition already has won support from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state officials in New Jersey, Virginia and Delaware.

More: WUSA9; Crain’s Chicago Business

Constellation, CCBC Team up to Build Solar Project

Constellation Energy and the Community College of Baltimore County are partnering to build a 5.1-MW solar generation project.

The system, spread among the college’s three main campuses, is expected to generate enough electricity to meet about 27% of the school’s electricity needs.

Constellation also will install 10 duplex electric vehicle charging stations as part of the project.

Constellation, the state’s top solar energy producer, will own and operate the systems. CCBC will buy the electricity under a 20-year purchase agreement.

The system will consist of about 16,500 photovoltaic panels on carports across the campuses.

More: The Daily Record

MASSACHUSETTS

Large-Scale PV Plant Planned for Pittsfield

The Pittsfield Community Development Board has approved a site plan for a commercial-scale photovoltaic power generation facility planned on three adjacent undeveloped lots in an industrial park. Solar panels on each lot are expected to produce 650 kW of energy at peak generation, according to officials with U.S. Light Energy.

William Heffernan, operations manager with the firm, said it plans to purchase the lots from Betnr Industrial Development and will produce electricity for distribution through Eversource Energy.

More: Berkshire Eagle

MICHIGAN

Stamping Parts Maker is Tesla’s First Acquisition

Tesla Motors has reached a deal to buy the Grand Rapids-based auto supplier Riviera Tool, marking the Silicon Valley tech company’s first acquisition, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Riviera makes stamping parts used by Tesla’s assembly plant in Fremont, Calif. Tesla is expected to continue adding jobs at Riviera.

More: Detroit Free Press

MINNESOTA

PSC Approves Acquisition of Former Alliant Customers by Co-Ops

The Public Utilities Commission has approved the transfer of about 43,000 electricity customers from Alliant Energy to a consortium of co-ops. Alliant agreed in 2013 to the sale of its business to a group known as the Southern Minnesota Energy Cooperative, which will divide the southern service territory among adjacent co-ops.

The co-ops involved are: BENCO EC, Mankata; Brown County REA, Sleepy Eye; Federated REA, Jackson; Freeborn-Mower Cooperative Services, Albert Lea; Minnesota Valley EC, Jordan; Nobles Cooperative Electric, Worthington; Redwood EC, Clements; Peoples Energy Cooperative, Oronoco; South Central Electric Association, Saint James; and Steele-Waseca Cooperative Electric, Owatonna. Sioux Valley Energy, headquartered in Colman, S.D., would also add members in its Minnesota territory.

More: Electric Co-op Today

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Research Firm Walks out on Kinder Morgan Contract

An independent state research institute has walked away from a $66,000 contract with Kinder Morgan to study the impact of a proposed natural gas pipeline, citing a disagreement over the terms of the research. The New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies has been at work on the Kinder Morgan proposal since early March and was scheduled to release its report in June. The non-profit think tank was hired by the energy company to conduct an objective analysis of its proposal for a new pipeline through southern New Hampshire. The work was under the direction of the center’s Executive Director Steve Norton, with most of the research conducted by economist Dennis Delay. A disagreement over the “terms of engagement” led to the cancellation of the deal, according to Norton.

More: Manchester Union Leader

NEW YORK

Ambit Energy Under Investigation by PSC

Ambit Energy, an alternate energy marketer in the state, is under investigation by the Public Service Commission. Customers have complained about a lack of notification at the expiration of their contracts and the calculations used for guaranteed savings. Ambit says it is cooperating in the investigation.

The company said it met with the Department of Public Service “to explain how it calculates savings from its Guaranteed Savings Plan. The conversation expanded to include a discussion of the complaints the DPS received in 2014 and 2015 after consecutive, unseasonably cold winters in the state.” The newly formed Consumer Advocate office within the department is heading the investigation.

More: Poughkeepsie Journal

Ginna Supporters Swarm Hearing

Hundreds of people turned out at the first of two Public Service Commission hearings on a proposal to subsidize the Ginna nuclear power plant. The hearing in Webster, a town close to the financially troubled nuclear facility and populated by many Ginna workers, was mostly supportive of the plan to prop up the plant to maintain system reliability.

Rochester Gas & Electric officials have said the transmission system is insufficiently robust to be able to deliver enough power to replace Ginna’s supply, should the plant be shuttered. A study done for the company raises the possibility of electricity shortages during periods of peak summertime demand if Ginna were to close now. Under that plan to guarantee rates, residential customers would pay an extra $163 over the next 3.5 years to keep Ginna running. Monthly charges would start at $6.11 and drop in subsequent years.

More: Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

National Grid Upgrades Add Jobs, Tax Base

National Grid transmission-line upgrades would add $20 million to the tax base in the state’s Capital Region and lead to 264 new permanent jobs locally, according to a new study commissioned by the utility. The figures include data from Albany, Columbia, Montgomery, Rensselaer and Schenectady counties, where the construction would take place. Other counties involved in the project include Oneida, Herkimer and Dutchess counties. The total tax base benefit would be $30 million, and the addition to the job base would be 389 jobs.

National Grid is proposing a $1.2 billion upgrade to its high-voltage electric transmission system in the Mohawk Valley and the Hudson Valley.

More: Albany Times Union

Nuclear Transformer that Caught Fire was Subject of State Concerns

The state has had concerns for years about the reliability of transformers at the Indian Point nuclear generating station, where a transformer at Unit 3 exploded on Saturday night, spilling oil into the Hudson River.

The unit, which shut down automatically, could be out of service for weeks, according to a spokesman for plant owner Entergy. The fire, which sent black smoke into the sky, was extinguished by a sprinkler system and on-site personnel, the company said.

In 2007, state officials filed a petition with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, saying the plant failed to operate an age management plan for transformers. The “failure to properly manage the aging of electrical transformers could have safety implications for the plant, such as affecting station blackout recovery,” the state told the NRC. Entergy responded that neither industry practice nor NRC staff guidance called for such a monitoring regime, according to a filing last year by the state as part of Indian Point’s licensing renewal application.

In 2013, the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board ruled that the transformers fall under the scope of an age-monitoring review. An engineer called by the state as a witness testified that failure to properly manage transformer aging may compromise the safety of Indian Point, which is located about 35 miles north of midtown Manhattan.

More: Associated Press

NORTH CAROLINA

House OKs Bill to Freeze Renewables as ‘Reform’

The Republican-led House voted 77-32 to freeze the percentage of electricity sales mandated to come from renewable sources or energy efficiency as part of a regulatory reform package. It would stop an annual progression in a bill passed in 2007, setting the cap for renewable retail sales at 6%. And while the bill provides for local property tax breaks for solar, it also decreases the capacity threshold for solar and wind projects selling back to utilities. That particular amendment was seen as a major loss for solar advocates.

More: News & Observer

Officials Warn Against Drinking Water near Duke Coal Ash Pits

State environmental officials are warning residents near Duke Energy coal ash pits against drinking or cooking with well water after tests showed that 93% of the 163 wells tested so far showed high levels of toxic metals. It was the second warning about contaminated groundwater. Last month, state officials said 87 wells near eight Duke power plants failed to meet state groundwater standards.

Duke has 32 ash dumps at 14 power plants in the state. A law passed in the wake of a massive coal ash spill last year mandates testing at every site.

More: Charlotte Observer

NORTH DAKOTA

Senators Call for Better Tank Car Standards After Fiery Derailment

A crude-oil train’s derailment and explosion spurred the state’s U.S. senators to call for rapid upgrades of tank-car fleets to reduce the chance of future accidents. A 107-car BNSF train derailed and several cars burst into flames near Heimdal, but no injuries were reported.

“We must get the tanker car fleet updated,” Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said. “It’s all about safety and everyone … has a role to play.”

“Today’s derailment of a crude oil train is the second one in our state in the past year and a half,” Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) said. “We cannot allow these to become the norm.”

More: Bismarck Tribune

PENNSYLVANIA

Democrat Appointed to Chair PUC; Wolf Eyes Renewable Energy Policies

Gov. Tom Wolf has named fellow Democrat Gladys Brown chairwoman of the Public Utility Commission.

She replaces Robert Powelson, a Republican, who has led the five-member group since 2011. His term expires in 2019.

Wolf has not revealed his intention to reappoint or replace the other Democrat on the panel, James Cawley, whose term expired March 31.

Brown, 51, is a Harrisburg lawyer and former legislative aide who was named to the PUC in 2013.

Wolf said he looked forward to working with Brown “to ensure there is a stable balance between consumers and utilities, as well as utilizing PUC to advance the development of Pennsylvania’s infrastructure to support the natural gas industry.”

“I also believe we have a real opportunity to reposition the commonwealth as a leader in developing renewable energy and energy efficiencies,” Wolf said in a statement. “Gladys shares my vision and has the experience to help advance policies to achieve this.”

More: Philadelphia Inquirer