By William Opalka
A renewable energy developer who has challenged Connecticut’s clean energy procurement practices has taken its complaint to FERC after a federal appeals court ruled it had not exhausted all of its administrative remedies.
Allco Renewable Energy on Tuesday asked FERC to begin an enforcement action against Connecticut under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act. Allco says that a 2013 state law that solicited renewable energy generation and directed Connecticut utilities to enter into contracts with selected generators is an intrusion into FERC’s jurisdiction over wholesale electricity markets (EL16-11).
The company cited FERC and federal court rulings that say states have no authority to procure energy except under PURPA, which is limited to qualifying facilities (QFs) of 80 MW or less. Allco, which develops small QF solar projects, alleges Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority violated PURPA by awarding a contract to a 250-MW wind farm in Maine.
Allco asked the commission to void the contract and enjoin the Connecticut agencies from entering into any other wholesale purchases except with QFs. The company also says a recent solicitation by Connecticut eliminates smaller facilities and imposes onerous fees on applicants.
The developer sued DEEP in late 2013 in U.S. District Court, saying it effectively crowded out smaller developments in its selection. The court ruled last year that prices were set by project bidders and the selections were not an intrusion by state regulators into the wholesale market.
Allco, which had proposed five solar projects that were not selected, appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District, which dismissed the complaint Nov. 6 (Case 15-20).
“Allco failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, a prerequisite for any qualified facility to bring an equitable action seeking to vindicate specific rights conferred by PURPA,” the appeals court wrote.
Allco has also filed a federal lawsuit making many of the same arguments in a challenge to a soon-to-be-released request for proposals by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Rhode Island to jointly procure renewable energy resources. (See Allco Challenges New England’s Renewable Procurement Plan.)
That lawsuit is pending in U.S. District Court in Connecticut.