ISO-NE Launches 2016 Regional Electricity Outlook
New England’s power grid is on course to becoming a hybrid system in the next decade, where up to 20% of its resources are provided by retail customers or by local distribution utilities, according to ISO-NE’s 2016 Regional Electricity Outlook.
Among the report’s highlights: More than 4,200 MW of the region’s conventional nuclear, coal- and oil-fired generating capacity has retired recently or is scheduled to retire soon; about a third of the 13,000 MW of proposed generation projects are wind resources; and pipeline constraints and few delivery points for LNG will continue to pose challenges for fuel supply.
More: ISO-NE
Study: 569,000 Clean Energy Jobs in Midwest
The 12 Midwestern states are home to nearly 569,000 clean energy jobs, with projected employment growth of 4.4%, according to a study by Chicago nonprofit Clean Energy Trust. Kansas and Indiana both had below-average predicted growth in the sector, while Missouri leads with a projected growth of 8.3%.
The analysis is based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and a survey of thousands of businesses in the region. The comprehensive report not only breaks down job numbers by state, but by Congressional and state legislative districts as well.
The study also found that energy efficiency is by far the leading clean energy sector, employing more than 423,000. The runner-up, renewable energy, boasts about 70,000 jobs.
More: Solar Industry Magazine
CONNECTICUT
Emissions Would Spike Without Millstone Plant
If Dominion Energy’s three-reactor Millstone Power Station were to close, more than 1,000 jobs would be lost and carbon emissions in New England would increase by 27%, officials told a legislative panel.
The nuclear plant is not endangered, but the General Assembly’s Energy and Technology Committee discussed the announced closure of Pilgrim nuclear station in Massachusetts as the industry struggles to remain financially viable in a market flooded with cheap natural gas.
“I do not anticipate in the short term the need to shut down Millstone,” said Daniel G. Stoddard, senior vice president of nuclear operations for Dominion. “However, the challenges exist, the challenges are significant and the trends continue to make those challenges more difficult.” The Waterford facility is the largest nuclear power station in New England; it provides about 2,100 MW, or roughly half of Connecticut’s electrical consumption.
More: Hartford Courant
ILLINOIS
ComEd Using Smart Meters To Gauge GHG Effects
Commonwealth Edison will begin using data collected by smart meters to calculate greenhouse-gas reductions that can be linked to initiatives to reduce peak demand.
The Chicago utility is using a metric proposed by the Citizens Utility Board and the Environmental Defense Fund to calculate emission reductions at specific hours. A kilowatt-hour saved during times of high carbon intensity, when more power is generated by less efficient means, is more valuable than one saved during periods when more renewable energy is being pumped onto the grid.
“As the first utility in the country to adopt this greenhouse gas measurement tool, ComEd is leading the way to a cleaner energy future,” said Dick Munson, EDF’s Midwest director of clean energy.
More: SmartGrid News
LOUISIANA
PSC Postpones Action On $4.9B Cleco Acquisition
State regulators on March 21 agreed to postpone until this week whether to reconsider their rejection of international investors’ $4.9 billion bid for Cleco. The Public Service Commission is considering whether to change last month’s order that nixed the acquisition of the utility.
More: The Advocate
MASSACHUSETTS
Former Secretaries Support Baker Bill
Three former state energy secretaries are supporting Republican Gov. Charlie Baker’s proposal to solicit long-term contracts for hydropower.
Maeve Vallely-Bartlett, Rick Sullivan and Ian Bowles, who served under former Democratic Gov. Deval Patrick, offered bipartisan support for legislation requiring utilities to solicit long-term contracts for hydroelectric power. Administration officials have said this would increase the use of hydroelectric power in the state, which is necessary for it to meet its goals for reducing carbon emissions.
The legislation remains bottled up in a legislative committee, although House Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop) has said it could be reported out soon. Conventional power generators and environmentalists who support solar and wind energy have criticized the bill.
More: MassLive.com
MICHIGAN
State Wants Pipeline Condition Information from Enbridge
State officials, concerned about the possibility of leaks from pipelines that run under Lake Michigan, have asked Enbridge to provide specific condition information on Line 5, a pair of pipelines that cross the Straits of Mackinac.
The 63-year-old pipelines were recently declared safe by the company, but Enbridge released little detail on its inspections. The state has requested reports from the inline inspection robots used to check on the pipelines’ condition. The state is hiring an outside analyst to review the data.
“The attorney general has said, time and time again, that the days of this pipeline are limited,” said spokeswoman Andrea Bitely. “And doing these independent analyses — this independent risk analysis and the alternative analysis — will tell us what’s next.”
More: Michigan Radio
MISSISSIPPI
Commissioner Says Kemper Will Be Watched Closely
Public Service Commissioner Cecil Brown said Southern Co.’s costly Kemper Project will be closely watched when it goes into operation this year. Brown said monitoring the coal-gasification power plant will be the commission’s biggest challenge in the coming months.
“There are people out there who say Kemper is dangerous,” Brown said at the Stennis Institute’s monthly luncheon. “I don’t know about that, because I’m not an expert. I’ve talked extensively with Mississippi Power and I’ve raised that question and I’ve been assured that it is safe.”
The plant’s gas synthesizer is supposed to go online later this year.
More: Watchdog.org
MONTANA
Judge Nixes Water Permit For Rosebud Coal Mine
A state district judge has struck down a water-discharge permit for a southeastern coal mine, saying officials failed to fully consider the effects of pollutants on several nearby creeks.
In a March 14 decision, Judge Kathy Seeley ordered the Department of Environmental Quality to reconsider the mine’s water discharge permit. She said the agency had shown “clear errors of judgment” in allowing reduced monitoring of pollution from the mine and reclassifying surrounding waterways so they were subject to less stringent pollution standards.
A separate challenge of the state’s approval of a 12-million-ton expansion of the Rosebud mine is pending before the Board of Environmental Review. The Rosebud strip mine produces about 9 million tons of coal a year, primarily for the Colstrip power plant.
More: Billings Gazette
NEW JERSEY
BPU Imposes Cybersecurity Policies on Utilities
Regulated utilities will be required to follow a new set of cybersecurity protocols under policies adopted by the Board of Public Utilities.
The requirements are designed to protect customer information and grid reliability, according to the board. The new standards are based upon recommendations from the state Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Cell, with input from the FBI.
“To ensure that we continually meet the challenges of this ever-changing threat, we have made certain that these policies are uniform yet flexible, promote information-sharing and are capable of evolving as the threat landscape emerges,” BPU President Richard Mroz said.
More: Homeland Preparedness News
NEW MEXICO
Environmental Group Calls for Investigation of Commissioner
An environmental advocacy group has asked the state Secretary of State to investigate Public Regulation Commission Vice Chairwoman Karen Montoya, alleging she has violated the Government Conduct Act through her communications with executives of an electric utility that she regulates.
New Energy Economy, a group that has been engaged in several legal battles with the PRC in the past year, filed the complaint March 17. It said in September several commissioners, including Montoya, were overly friendly with representatives of Public Service Company of New Mexico.
The state Supreme Court considered the complaint in late 2015 before dismissing it.
More: The Santa Fe New Mexican
PENNSYLVANIA
Quaker Group Urges PECO to Embrace Philly Solar Project
The advocacy group Earth Quaker Action Team is demanding that PECO Energy purchase power from potential solar installations in North Philadelphia, one of the city’s poorest areas.
The group predicts that investors will come forward for solar projects if PECO demonstrates there is demand for the output.
A PECO spokesman said that while the utility is open to considering such a program, it is legally required to buy competitively priced electricity.
More: StateImpact; The Philadelphia Inquirer
TENNESSEE
Colbert Fossil Plant Closes after 61 Years
After 61 years of providing electricity to the Tennessee Valley, the Colbert Fossil Plant has been disconnected from the grid.
The Tennessee Valley Authority said more than a year ago that the plant would close by April 15, when new regulations for mercury and air toxins go into effect.
Employees were offered transfers to similar jobs at other TVA fossil fuel plants.
More: The Chattanoogan.com
TEXAS
Environmental Groups Try to Block Nuclear Expansion
Environmental groups want the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to revoke licenses for two new reactors at the South Texas Project, claiming the project is controlled by a foreign owner in violation of the Atomic Energy Act.
Public Citizen, the Sustainable Energy and Economic Development Coalition and the South Texas Association for Responsible Energy say Japanese company Toshiba, which owns 10% of Nuclear Innovation North America, has been fully funding the pre-licensing proceedings for two new reactors. “In our view, the entity who funds it then has the ability to control it,” said Robert Eye, an attorney representing the groups. NRG Energy owns 90% of the project.
NRC recently approved two new reactors at the site southwest of Houston, where two reactors currently produce about 2,700 MW. NRG is holding off on building the reactors because of low natural gas prices and a lack of demand for new energy in the state.
More: Victoria Advocate
VERMONT
Renewable Energy Siting Legislation Opposed
Critics of the state’s process for selecting sites for renewable energy projects are opposing proposed legislation designed to give regional planning commissions greater say in where solar and wind power projects are located.
Leaders of the Energy Transformation Coalition and Energize Vermont said Senate Bill 230 still gives the Public Service Board too much ability to override the wishes of residents when approving renewable energy projects.
“Energy developers are running roughshod over our communities,” said Mark Whitworth, president of the board of Energize Vermont. “The result is an energy rebellion that has now spread to 128 towns.”
More: The Associated Press
WISCONSIN
PSC: State’s Electricity Rates Among Highest in Midwest
Electricity rates in the state are among the highest in the Midwest, but residents pay less than customers in surrounding states because they use less power on than average, according to a recent study by the Public Service Commission.
The study found that 2015 rates in the state were higher for residential, commercial and industrial users than in Michigan and six other Midwestern states. But the same study showed that the typical monthly residential bill was $8 less than those in other states, due to lower consumption.
More: The Associated Press