Report: EV Use not Growing Fast Enough to Meet State Goals
A report by three environmental groups says usage of electric vehicles is growing, but not fast enough to meet goals set in a 2013 memorandum of understanding signed by officials in eight states in the Northeast and Midwest.
“Charging Up,” the report by the Conservation Law Foundation, the Sierra Club and Acadia Center, offers recommendations for increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road. They include auto dealership and consumer incentive programs, policies to encourage widespread availability of consumer-friendly charging stations, public education initiatives to raise awareness about the benefits of electric vehicles, and the use of electric vehicles in municipal and statewide fleets.
New York leads the way, with 12,000 EVs at mid-year, but its goal for 2025 is about 852,000. It would need to add almost 53,000 in the next two years. Meanwhile, Rhode Island is furthest behind, both in total and in reaching its goal: the state has registered only 421 EVs out of 43,596 needed.
More: New Haven Register; Worcester Business Journal
ISO-NE Issues 2015 Regional System Plan
ISO-NE has issued its 2015 Regional System Plan, the annual report that provides the foundation for long-term power-system planning in New England.
The comprehensive report details power system needs for the next 10 years, through 2024, and how these needs can be addressed. A preliminary draft was discussed at a presentation in September. (See ISO-NE Sees Flat Load Growth, More Solar and Wind.)
“The Regional System Plan charts the progress of the regional high-voltage power system, identifies the challenges to continued reliability, and forecasts future developments,” ISO-NE CEO Gordon van Welie said. “New England’s energy landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation as oil, coal, and nuclear power plants retire, more generators are fueled by natural gas, and wind and solar resources are added to the power system.”
More: ISO-NE
ARKANSAS
Court Gives EPA Deadline for Regional Haze Plan
A U.S. District Court judge ruled Nov. 3 the Environmental Protection Agency has until Aug. 31 to approve a regional haze plan for the state, which the Sierra Club said should have been done years ago.
The Sierra Club brought the lawsuit against EPA in 2014, charging that the agency should have promulgated a federal implementation plan for the state in 2014 but didn’t, according to the order filed by Judge J. Leon Holmes.
More: Arkansas Business
COLORADO
PUC won’t Force Xcel to Share Facilities with Boulder
The City of Boulder cannot acquire Xcel Energy facilities that exclusively serve customers outside city limits, and the Public Utilities Commission will not force the utility to share facilities with the city, the commission ruled Nov. 4.
The commission partially dismissed an application from Boulder to acquire facilities, including substations and distribution infrastructure, outside city limits for the creation of a city-run energy utility.
However, the commission said it would allow Boulder and Xcel to engage in discovery and allow the city to supplement its original application after it learns more about Xcel’s system.
More: Daily Camera
DELAWARE
Bloom Energy Loses Lock on Renewable Energy Program
Fuel cell manufacturers other than Bloom Energy will be able to compete in the state’s renewable energy program under a settlement of a federal lawsuit brought by FuelCell Energy.
The Connecticut company had claimed that a 2011 amendment to the state code designed to entice Bloom Energy to set up a factory in Newark discriminated against out-of-state companies.
Bloom’s deal with the state allowed Delmarva Power and Light to count power from fuel cells manufactured in the state toward its renewable energy purchase requirements. Rival out-of-state manufacturers argued the law illegally excluded them.
More: The News Journal
LOUISIANA
‘Intellectual Capital’ Could Fuel NOLA’s Future in Energy Sector
The energy industry is still an economic force in the state, though the number of company headquarters in New Orleans has declined amid Houston’s rise as a global energy hub.
New industrial projects sparked by low oil and gas prices promise to add thousands of blue-collar jobs in the region, from welders to pipefitters to maintenance workers. But New Orleans is also trying to reclaim its title as a white-collar energy town.
Michael Hecht, CEO of Greater New Orleans Inc., said New Orleans has emerged as a hospitable place to move or start a technology firm. It is only a matter of time before local tech growth intersects with the city’s historical strength in energy, he said.
More: The Times-Picayune
MARYLAND
CCBC Flips Switch on New Solar Array
The Community College of Baltimore County’s three main campuses have begun using a system of 16,500 solar panels that cover 1,400 parking spaces.
The installation is expected to generate 6.5 million kWh of electricity per year.
The carports were built by Constellation Energy. The college signed a 20-year agreement to buy power from the system, which is expected to save it $4 million in electricity costs.
More: The Baltimore Sun
MASSACHUSETTS
Solar Farm Powered Up
Nexamp Peak, the largest community solar installation in the Northeast, has been powered up.
After more than three years of preparation and three months of construction, the facility is poised to generate 2.3 MW, 50% of which will be used by Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort. The balance of the generated power will be sold to 115 local subscribers at a 15% discount from the residential retail rate.
The solar farm, which contains 7,500 solar panels over 12 acres, is within the service areas of both National Grid and Eversource Energy, with interconnection agreements established with both companies. Final connection to both utilities is expected in the next four weeks.
More: Berkshire Eagle
Cape Wind Developer Still Sees Hope
Recent developments have revived the hopes of Cape Wind developer Jim Gordon that the controversial wind farm project in Nantucket Sound can survive several serious blows earlier this year, as it missed a crucial financing deadline and lost major contracts from utilities Eversource Energy and National Grid.
State lawmakers have expressed support for legislation that would direct utilities to enter into more long-term contracts for clean energy, including imposing a potential requirement favoring offshore wind sources. And the Pilgrim nuclear power plant’s recent announcement that it would close by 2019 is adding pressure on policymakers to find new sources of power that don’t produce greenhouse gases.
“It’s just more urgent to really start accelerating the penetration of renewable energy projects in this region,” said Gordon, who was a major player in building the first generation of natural gas plants in New England. “We think we’ve got a terrific project in a great location.”
More: The Boston Globe
MISSOURI
Joplin Seeking Permission to Intervene in Empire Rate Case
Joplin city leaders will ask the Public Service Commission to allow the city to intervene on behalf of residents in a pending request by Empire District Electric to raise electric rates next year by more than 7%. Empire has asked the PSC to allow a $33.4 million increase in rates next year, in part to cover costs the company said it will incur to comply with new pollution regulations.
The city intervened in Empire’s 2014 rate case, when the company sought a $26.5 million increase. After hearing the case, the PSC reduced Empire’s increase to $17.13 million.
Empire said in the filing of the rate request that it is needed to pay for compliance with new pollution standards as well as compliance with the 2008 law known as Proposition C, which requires utilities to incorporate wind and solar power into their electricity production.
More: The Joplin Globe
NEW JERSEY
New Tool Proposed to Compare Residential Energy Prices
The state Senate has approved legislation that would require electricity and gas suppliers to provide current pricing to the Board of Public Utilities, which would make them accessible to consumers in a single database.
The measure, which must still be passed by the General Assembly, is designed to make it easier for residents to pick the most economical energy supplier.
Few residents have changed suppliers since the market was deregulated, but doing so could cut some bills by as much as 20%, according to Sen. Bob Singer.
More: NewsWorks
NEW MEXICO
Jury Finds Utilities Responsible for Massive Fire
A state District Court has found that the negligence of two electric utilities resulted in the 2011 Las Conchas Fire, at the time the largest blaze in the state’s history. The verdict came following four weeks of testimony.
The fire, which consumed 156,000 acres, broke out when a gust of wind caused an aspen tree to fall onto a Jemez Mountains Electric Cooperative power line located on U.S. Forest Service land. Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association provided wholesale electricity distributed by the cooperative.
The jury found that both JMEC and Tri-State were negligent, and that their negligence caused damages to the plaintiffs. They further found that JMEC was 75% responsible, Tri-State was 20% responsible and the Forest Service was 5% responsible.
More: Albuquerque Journal
PRC Spends Big on Defense in San Juan Case
The Public Regulation Commission has approved spending nearly $215,000 on lawyers to represent four commission members who an alternative-energy advocacy group seeks to have removed from deliberations over the aging San Juan Generating Station.
The case, pending before the state Supreme Court, will bring together two of the state’s highest-profile political lawyers at the defense table on Nov. 9 when the high court hears arguments in the case filed by the advocacy group, New Energy Economy.
New Energy claims the four elected regulators have shown bias toward Public Service Company of New Mexico and can’t be trusted to make a fair decision on the company’s plans for the coal-fired power plant.
More: The Santa Fe New Mexican
PRC Denies EPE Solar Rate-Class Structure
The Public Regulation Commission has denied El Paso Electric’s move to create a separate rate class for solar residential customers in the utility’s proposed rate increase case.
The commission’s vote was 3-2 against the utility. “We reviewed our rules, state statute and federal law and upheld that El Paso Electric cannot do that,” said Commissioner Sandy Jones, whose PRC district includes Las Cruces. “We cited a number of federal rules … We felt like the facts were against them.”
Homeowners and solar installers had criticized the proposal, saying a separate rate category would penalize solar customers who operate systems they claim benefit El Paso Electric. Eddie Gutierrez, El Paso Electric vice president of external and public affairs, said the PRC’s decision won’t change rate increases sought by the utility.
More: Las Cruces Sun-News
PRC Settles with Newspaper over Confidential Docs
The Public Regulation Commission has agreed to pay $20,000 to the Santa Fe New Mexican to settle all pending litigation over the PRC’s effort in August to block the newspaper from publishing documents it had obtained regarding the regulatory case on the San Juan power plant.
The five commissioners unanimously approved the settlement, which includes official acknowledgement of constitutional protections. It also commits the PRC to never again attempt to impose a prior restraint on publication of information by the paper.
Responding to a reporter’s public records request, the agency in August accidentally included several documents marked “confidential” among emails to and from the commission pertaining to Public Service Company of New Mexico’s plans to replace two coal-fired units at the 43-year-old San Juan plant with a combination of coal, nuclear power and a small portion of solar power.
More: Santa Fe New Mexican
NEW YORK
Obama Official: Offshore Wind Top Priority
An Obama official said that helping the state develop offshore wind projects is a top priority right now.
Speaking at the fall conference of the Alliance for Clean Energy New York, Abigail Ross Hopper, director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, said that getting offshore wind projects up and running off New York City and Long Island is going to happen in the next couple of years.
Hopper said that she would like to see offshore wind projects launched by the time Obama leaves office. Officials with ACENY believe that large offshore wind projects that feed into the state’s wholesale electricity market will be the key to helping it achieve its goal of getting 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030.
More: Times Union
NYISO Names VP for External Affairs
NYISO named Kevin Lanahan as vice president for external affairs to lead its regulatory affairs, government relations, stakeholder/member services, media relations and corporate communications activities.
“Kevin Lanahan is an experienced energy industry professional with a diverse background and outstanding knowledge of New York’s electric system,” said NYISO President and CEO Brad Jones. “He is superbly equipped to guide the NYISO’s role as an authoritative source of information on key energy issues.”
Lanahan previously served as Consolidated Edison’s director of government relations. He was vice president of state government affairs at JPMorgan Chase from 2009 to 2011.
More: NYISO
FitzPatrick Nuclear Plant Talks Resume with Entergy
Entergy and New York state officials have resumed negotiations aimed at averting a shutdown of the James A. FitzPatrick nuclear power plant, according to U.S. Rep. John Katko.
The talks came two days after Entergy said it would close the plant in late 2016 or 2017. Katko said he spoke Wednesday with an Entergy executive and Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office and confirmed the two sides are back at the negotiating table after a brief pause.
Katko said he did not know the substance of the conversations between Entergy and the governor’s office, and he did not want to interfere in the private discussions. Neither Entergy nor the governor’s office would confirm the continuing negotiations.
More: Syracuse.com
NORTH DAKOTA
Utilies Back State, but Want CPP Implementation Plan
Though they support the state’s challenge of the federal Clean Power Plan, utility companies in the state said they also backed the state’s efforts to begin drafting a plan to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45% to comply with the hotly contested new rule.
“The state has been very proactive,” said Dale Niezwaag, senior legislative representative for Basin Electric Power Cooperative, adding that the co-op has had regular meetings with state officials.
The companies support Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem joining a lawsuit to fight the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, as well as developing a state implementation plan in tandem, should the legal challenge fail.
More: The Bismarck Tribune
NextEra Tries Again with Wind Farm
Despite having a project denied earlier this year, NextEra Energy Resources is continuing its work to put a wind farm in the state.
Company spokesperson Steve Stengel said an 87-turbine project planned for areas of southwest Stark County closely mimics the one that had been planned between Taylor and Gladstone earlier this year. That project was struck down by county commissioners after it created deep rifts within the community.
The company has regrouped since its first project in Stark County failed and is proposing an alternative two-part project it’s referring to as Brady Wind Energy Center 1. Another likely project, called Brady Wind Energy 2, would be located in Hettinger County.
More: The Dickinson Press
SOUTH DAKOTA
PUC Gives NorthWestern First Rate Increase in 34 Years
The Public Utilities Commission gave final approval recently to NorthWestern Energy’s first base-rate increase in 34 years, allowing the company to raise its electric rates by 15.5%.
NorthWestern requested a 20.2% rate increase in December. All parties involved came to an agreement on a lower rate last week. NorthWestern will collect $20.9 million in additional revenues annually, according to the PUC.
More: KSFY-TV
TEXAS
Dallas Leads US Cities in Renewable Energy Usage
Dallas uses the most renewable energy of any city in the country thanks to the purchase of wind energy credits, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
City leaders approved a contract in June with energy provider TXU Energy requiring half of the energy for city operations come from renewable resources. In 2014, Dallas paid Invenergy Renewable $1.3 million to buy credits for another 50% of operations, so the city has credit for 100% renewable energy, staff said.
Dallas city facilities use about 715,000 MWh/year, enough to power 51,000 homes, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The city ranked seventh among all U.S. energy users in EPA’s voluntary Green Power Partnership, behind Intel, Microsoft, Kohl’s, Apple, Google and Mars Inc.
More: The Dallas Morning News
EPE’s Solar Rate-Class Structure Sparks Dispute
El Paso Electric’s proposal to create a new rate class for residential rooftop solar customers has ignited a battle between the company and residential solar system providers, environmental groups and consumers.
The new rate class would result in the average solar residential bill in the El Paso area increasing by almost 24% versus the 12% average increase proposed for regular residential customers.
At least five solar companies and solar industry-related groups — all indicating opposition to the solar proposal — have been allowed by the state’s administrative hearing office to intervene in EPE’s rate case pending before the Public Utility Commission.
More: El Paso Times
VIRGINIA
State Surpasses NJ-NY for Data Center Siting
Northern Virginia has bested the New Jersey-New York region as the country’s largest data center market, according to real estate firm Jones Lang Salle.
The area accounts for nearly 20% of the market share this year, it said.
The region is home to 7.3 million square feet of data center space, and another 1 million is either planned or under construction.
More: Washington Business Journal
WISCONSIN
Judge Strikes Down Special Solar Fees
State Judge Peter Anderson has struck down a rule approved by state regulators that would have imposed fees on a utility’s customers who installed solar generation or other renewable power sources.
The Public Service Commission approved a We Energies-supported proposal to impose the fees on those who installed solar, hydro and biogas systems. Solar customers would have had to pay $3.79/kWh of installed capacity; the fee rose to $8.60/kWh for biogas or hydro. The judge said the PSC’s decision was not supported by the evidence.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said the PSC’s decision “generated more outcry and public involvement than any other rate case involving the Milwaukee utility in recent years.” It was challenged in Dane County Circuit Court by a solar trade group.
More: Forbes; Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
WYOMING
Lawmakers Reject Bill Challenging Clean Power Plan
Lawmakers have voted down a bill that would have required legislative approval or a final court decision before the state could implement new federal environmental regulations.
The proposed law was meant to be another avenue for the state to challenge, delay or at least soften the impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan. The Joint Minerals, Business and Economic Development Interim Committee voted 9-5 to reject the proposal Oct. 23.
The state has one of the steepest challenges in the country. The plan sets a goal of cutting the state’s total emissions by up to 44% compared to its 2012 baseline.
More: Wyoming Tribune-Eagle