State Auditor Doubts Energy Efficiency Initiative
State Auditor Tom Wagner says an energy efficiency project involving state buildings in the capital would cost taxpayers $8 million over 20 years but yield energy savings of only $2.7 million. “The possibility of the state breaking even on this agreement is looking bleak,” he said.
The project to upgrade the Legislative Mall buildings in Dover is part of a broader $67.4 million conservation effort undertaken by the Sustainable Energy Utility, a quasi-public agency established in 2007 to reduce energy consumption.
Tony DePrima, the SEU’s executive director, said the auditor’s report was unfounded. “These are fairly complex energy efficiency projects,” he said. “I don’t think they understand the protocols or standards being used, especially since they didn’t consult with any experts in the field of energy engineering.”
More: The News Journal
INDIANA
Activists Concerned Utilities Connecting Wind Tx Line to Coal Plants
Environmentalists are concerned that two proposed transmission lines that Northern Indiana Public Service Co. is touting to deliver wind power will actually be used to transmit excess electricity from coal-fired plants.
Kerwin Olson, executive director of Indianapolis’ Citizens Action Coalition, said the lines could connect to several coal-fired generators belonging to Duke Energy and American Electric Power. Duke Energy and AEP jointly own Pioneer Energy, which is a partner with NIPSCO on the 65-mile project.
“We have utility companies who are continuing to invest billions of dollars in aging coal plants that really should be retired and replaced with clean energy, so Indiana isn’t doing so well,” Olson said. “We seem to be doing everything in our power to maintain our addiction to coal.”
More: Public News Service
IOWA
Rock Island Clean Line Process Request Turned Down Again
State regulators again turned down Clean Line Energy Partners’ request to consider the necessity of its transmission line proposal without requiring it to first acquire the rights of way for the power line. Clean Line said it may not proceed with the Rock Island Clean Line project if the Utilities Board continues to require full right-of-way approval before the project’s route or need are determined.
The IUB on Monday rejected Clean Line’s third request to separate the proceedings, saying both state law and board regulations call for a single proceeding to determine all those issues.
More: Midwest Energy News
MICHIGAN
Lawmaker to Concentrate on Energy Laws in 2016
Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, in his first year leading the Republican-dominated chamber, said that making the state’s electricity markets more competitive is a priority in 2016.
Meekhof said lawmakers are considering whether to allow competitive bidding for new electric generation to reduce reliance on the state’s two dominant electric utilities, DTE Energy and Consumers Energy. He said the process could encourage independent power producers to propose alternatives to replace retiring coal generators.
“Some of the discussion around it is it can’t just be the big two,” he said. “There may be other people who have smaller generating things that might be able to add on at a relatively inexpensive cost and then generate more energy and incrementally bring up the amount of energy we need as the demand is there — as opposed to building [a] 500-, 600-, 700-MW plant one time.”
More: The Associated Press
Consumers Extends Biomass Plant’s Power Purchase Agreement
Consumers Energy has extended a power purchase agreement with Hillman Power’s 20-MW wood-burning plant for another 17 months.
The agreement’s termination now coincides with the Public Service Commission’s timeframe to review federal laws that oversee contracts between regulated utilities and smaller, renewable electricity generators.
The power plant, which is owned by Fortistar, said the contract extension saved about 100 direct and indirect jobs. The power plant employs about 20 people and spends about $3.5 million a year to buy local wood.
More: WBKB 11
MINNESOTA
Scandia to Build 5-MW Community Solar Garden
The city of Scandia, population 3,936, is embracing a $12.5 million community solar garden that private investors are building on a former 59-acre gravel pit. Scandia Mayor Randall Simonson said he wants the facility to be a showcase for other communities.
“It shows people as soon as they cross the border into Scandia, ‘Hey, look at what they’ve got here,’” Simonson said.
SolarStone Partners is slated to begin construction of the 5-MW project this spring. Subscribers will receive credits to lower their Xcel Energy bills.
More: Pioneer Press
Judge Advances Great Northern Line Route
An administrative law judge has sanctioned most of the route on Minnesota Power’s proposed 220-mile Great Northern Transmission Line, which would import power from Manitoba Hydro.
Judge Ann O’Reilly concluded that the 500-kV line’s route largely satisfied permit criteria, except for a segment in Itasca County.
The Public Utilities Commission is expected to vote on the project in March. The U.S. Department of Energy would then decide whether to grant Minnesota Power a permit to build the line. Minnesota Power says the line will cost up to $710 million.
More: Grand Forks Herald
MONTANA
Regulatory Panel Averts Shutdown of Coal Mine
A deal to keep an underground coal mine running includes a confidential secret side agreement between the owner and an environmental group that had argued state officials failed to properly examine the long-term groundwater impacts of expanding the mine.
The Board of Environmental Review on Jan. 12 approved the agreement between Signal Peak Energy, the Montana Environmental Information Center and the state Department of Environmental Quality. The deal gives the DEQ six months to revise its environmental analysis to correct problems the board found when the agency previously approved the expansion of Bull Mountain Mine.
The agreement includes a paragraph that says the Montana Environmental Information Center and Signal Peak reached a separate, confidential agreement that includes other “material terms.” Neither the mine owner nor the environmental group said they could discuss the terms of their truce.
More: The Associated Press
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Site Evaluation Committee Hearings on Northern Pass Begin
The Site Evaluation Committee held its first county hearing on the controversial Northern Pass transmission line project. The session was held in Franklin, whose mayor has enthusiastically embraced the $1.6 billion project that would deliver Canadian hydropower to New England.
A crowd of 250 people heard project representatives say Northern Pass is the best alternative to bring energy into New England. They said a substation in Franklin would pay about $7 million annually in property taxes. The money would be used to improve city services, Mayor Ken Merrifield said.
Several in the audience wore orange “Trees Not Towers” shirts in opposition to the project and applauded questioners who said the visual impact of the project could not be justified.
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
NEW YORK
Hydro Plant Proposed on Canal near Albany
A new 10-MW hydroelectric power plant is being proposed for Lock C1 on the Champlain Canal in Waterford, north of Albany.
Albany Engineering has filed for a preliminary permit with FERC for the new facility, which could also be reduced in size to produce 4 MW.
The firm has designed or rebuilt many of the hydro power plants upstate, but it did not disclose the identity of its latest client.
More: Times Union
Plan Could Offset Tax Revenue Loss
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has proposed creating a $19 million fund to help local communities cope with the loss of property taxes after the closure of the coal-fired Huntley power plant. Cuomo has pledged the closure all coal generation in the state by 2020.
The Town of Tonawanda and Ken-Ton School District will lose $5 million in annual revenue after the plant closes in March. “Based on what I’ve heard and what I’ve read, it looks like we’re going to be eligible for that pot of money and we’re going to be aggressively seeking it,” Town Supervisor Joseph H. Emminger said.
The Just Transition Coalition, composed of the Clean Air Coalition, labor unions and teachers associations, has been lobbying to secure money to make up the expected loss of revenue for the town on the Niagara River, north of Buffalo.
More: Buffalo News
NORTH DAKOTA
Commissioner Withdraws from Dakota Access Pipeline Process
One of three members of the Public Service Commission has recused himself from voting on a proposed pipeline that would transport crude oil from the state’s Bakken Formation to out-of-state markets.
Commissioner Randy Christmann said that the Dakota Access Pipeline’s revised proposed route would cut across the property of his mother-in-law, who is currently negotiating an easement. The remaining two members of the commission are expected to vote on the matter Jan. 20.
The 1,134-mile pipeline would deliver 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day from the state to Patoka, Ill. Dakota Access has negotiated voluntary easements for 95% of its state route.
More: Forum News Service
OHIO
Duke Customers Entitled to Payout Under Class Action Suit
About a million customers of Duke Energy in the state have until April 13 to file a claim to be included in an $81 million class-action settlement, which resolved claims that the utility illegally paid rebates to large commercial and industrial customers at the expense of smaller customers.
Plaintiffs in the federal case alleged that Duke paid rebates from 2005 to 2008 to large customers including General Electric, Procter & Gamble and AK Steel in violation of antitrust laws. Duke, while denying wrongdoing, agreed to settle the suit.
Under the settlement, residential customers could receive from $40 to $400 each, while commercial customers could be entitled to as much as $6,000. About $8 million of the settlement will be set aside to improve energy efficiency programs. A federal judge in Columbus is expected to give final approval in April.
More: The Cincinnati Enquirer
OKLAHOMA
Regulators Order Wastewater Injection Reduction in Wake of Earthquakes
The Corporation Commission has ordered the operators of 27 wastewater disposal wells to reduce wastewater injections after a swarm of earthquakes unsettled residents northwest of Oklahoma City.
The order comes about a week after a series of earthquakes jarred the Fairview region. None of the recent temblors caused damage or injuries, but commission members are listening to experts who have drawn a connection between wastewater injections and the increase in the seismic activity.
The Oklahoma Geological Survey has said it is “very likely” the quakes are being triggered by the injection of wastewater produced from oil and gas wells, which has increased dramatically in volume because of the growth of shale drilling.
More: The Associated Press
Asst. AG Criticizes PSO’s Smart Meter Opt-Out Plan
The attorney general’s office has taken issue with a plan by Public Service Company of Oklahoma to charge customers who decline to allow a smart meter to be installed.
Assistant Attorney General Dara Derryberry criticized an administrative law judge’s report favoring the opt-out charges. PSO wants to charge a one-time fee of $183 and a monthly charge of $28 to customers who opt out of its smart meter program. The utility says that it will need to manually read the meters of customers who decline the wireless devices.
Derryberry said the proposed fees were excessive when compared to opt-out fees in 11 other states and in a recent proposal by Oklahoma Gas and Electric. Derryberry said the Corporation Commission should defer a decision on opt-out fees until PSO finishes installing the devices in September.
More: The Oklahoman
PENNSYLVANIA
PUC Plans Hearing to Study Alternative Ratemaking Methods
The Public Utility Commission will hold a hearing March 3 focused on alternative ratemaking methods for the state’s natural gas and electric utilities.
The hearing is part of the commission’s effort to promote energy efficiency and conservation programs.
Forum topics will include revenue decoupling and whether such rate mechanisms are fair to consumers.
More: Natural Gas Intel
RHODE ISLAND
Plant’s Climate Impacts Review to Come
State regulators have rebuffed an attempt by the Conservation Law Foundation to stall Invenergy’s application for its 1,000-MW Clear River Energy Center because of the proposed gas-fired power plant’s climate impacts.
CLF had argued the application was incomplete because it failed to fully outline the projected climate effects of the plant under the Resilient Rhode Island Act, a 2014 law that calls for a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The Energy Facility Siting Board agreed on the importance of the act, but it ruled that more information on emissions could be submitted later.
Invenergy estimates the new plant would reduce emissions across New England by about 1% because the power plant would displace older fossil fuel-fired power generators.
More: Providence Journal
SOUTH DAKOTA
Environmental Agency Plans CPP Extension Request with EPA
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is taking a two-pronged approach as it prepares to respond to EPA’s Clean Power Plan, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.
The DENR is participating in a lawsuit with 24 states opposing the CPP. At the same time, it plans to develop a state compliance proposal, should the lawsuit fail. The department will seek public input in the coming months, request a two-year extension from EPA by the Sept. 6 deadline and then finalize a state CPP for submittal to EPA by Sept. 6, 2018.
More: Butte County Post
TEXAS
PUC Urged to Reject Oncor Sale on Ratepayer Concerns
The chief executive of Oncor told state regulators last week that the plan to sell the company out of bankruptcy to Dallas billionaire Ray L. Hunt is not in the public interest.
Oncor CEO Bob Shapard’s testimony adds to a chorus of concerns raised by consumer advocates who asked the Public Utility Commission to reject the sale, arguing it will enrich Hunt and his group of private investors at the expense of ratepayers.
The sale of Oncor, the transmission arm of Energy Future Holdings, is the linchpin in the parent company’s plan to emerge from bankruptcy proceedings and reduce $42 billion in debt. The sale to Hunt Consolidated needs the blessing of utility commissioners, who are not expected to decide before March.
More: The Dallas Morning News
VIRGINIA
State Board Approves Dominion Coal Ash Drainage Plan
The state Water Control Board has approved a plan allowing Dominion Virginia Power to start draining its coal ash ponds into the James and Potomac rivers, overriding vocal opposition from citizen and environmental groups.
Dominion, in its application, said its plans to drain the coal ash ponds at the Bremo Power Station on the James River and the Possum Point Power Station on the Potomac River met all state and federal laws, including a rule last year setting new discharge limits on power plants. “This approach complies with all current federal and state regulations, including the newly promulgated EPA rule,” said Cathy Taylor, Dominion’s director of electric environmental services.
The James River Association and the Southern Environmental Law Center had filed opposition to the plans. The water board’s final hearing was attended by more than 100 opponents.
More: Capital News Service
WISCONSIN
Assembly Passes Measure to End Nuclear Moratorium
The State Assembly last week voted to lift a moratorium on developing nuclear generation, sending the bill to the State Senate for consideration. The Republican-backed bill would lift a state law blocking new nuclear generation without the formation of a national repository for nuclear waste.
The measure also does away with a requirement that any new nuclear plant would not burden ratepayers. Democrats in the Republican-controlled Assembly voted against the measure.
The state is home to a single nuclear generating station, Point Beach, owned and operated by NextEra Energy Resources. The Kewaunee Power Station, another nuclear station in the state, was retired by Dominion Resources in 2013.
More: The Associated Press