Regulators OK APS Battery Storage Program
The Corporation Commission approved Arizona Public Service’s demand-side management plan, which includes $4 million to incentivize the use of battery storage systems for residential customers.
The plan’s aim is to reduce peak load on the utility’s distribution system and includes programs to encourage the use of smart thermostats, demand response, LED lighting and technologies that improve the efficiency of air conditioners.
“Pairing advanced technology with customer education empowers our customers to have more control over their own energy use,” said Jim Wontor, the utility’s manager of demand-side management.
More: KJZZ; Arizona Public Service
CALIFORNIA
Brown Moves to Extend Cap-and-Trade
Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration last week moved to keep the state’s cap-and-trade program alive beyond its scheduled expiration in 2020. The Air Resources Board proposed a plan that would progressively decrease emissions caps until 2031 — to 40% below 1990 levels — and extend the carbon market to 2050.
Legislation to limit 2050 emissions to 80% below 1990 levels — and extend the market — stalled in the state’s lower house last year. While lawmakers have taken up a scaled-down version of the bill this year, passage is not ensured because of strong opposition. Brown is negotiating with oil companies who have criticized the cap-and-trade program.
More: Los Angeles Times
CAISO Solar Record Slips Past 8,000 MW
CAISO solar output hit a new record of 8,030 MW at 1:06 p.m. on July 12, exceeding year-ago levels by 2,000 MW and nearly doubling the peak in May 2014. Renewable portfolio standard resources together covered 29% of load during the ISO’s system peak later that day.
The state currently has about 8,600 MW of solar resources connected to the grid.
More: CAISO
CONNECTICUT
Report: State Energy Costs Highest in US
The state has the highest average energy costs in the nation, according to financial website WalletHub. The report says the average household in the state spends $400/month on energy.
The state ranked No. 3 for electricity costs, No. 3 for home heating oil costs, No. 11 for natural gas costs and No. 14 for gasoline costs, equating to average monthly costs of $155, $104, $44 and $100, respectively.
The state’s New England neighbors also ranked in the top five.
More: Hartford Courant
Green Bank’s Program Aids Energy Efficiency
The state’s Green Bank unveiled a new $800,000 grant program called Energy on the Line to assist manufacturers in using renewable energy and efficiency measures.
The program provides up to $50,000 in supplemental funding for projects. An $800,000 funding pool from the state Department of Economic and Community Development will be matched by more than $8 million in private-sector loan funds procured by the Green Bank.
Manufacturers interested in participating in the new grant program must apply by Sept. 16.
More: New Haven Register
MAINE
Governor Opposes Wind, Solar Projects
Gov. Paul LePage, speaking at a town hall in the Moosehead Lake region, said that area is not right for renewable energy development.
“Is there room for wind and solar?” the governor said. “Yes, in certain spots of the state. But I want to tell you Moosehead is not one of them.”
SunEdison is seeing opposition in the Greenville area to its proposed 26-turbine wind farm on Misery Ridge, near Moosehead Lake, but the project’s fate is uncertain since the company’s bankruptcy. Though the governor mentioned solar power, there are no such projects being proposed for the area.
More: Portland Press Herald
Largest Solar Farm in State Under Development
Ranger Solar is conducting an environmental assessment for a solar farm of up to 80 MW that could break ground in 2018.
The project would be the largest utility-scale solar farm in the state. A solar farm requires about 5 acres/MW, according to the developer. An exact number of panels that would be needed for the project is not yet known, but upward of 90,000 to 100,000 panels are likely.
Once a project plan is completed, Ranger Solar will bring it formally before the Farmington Board of Selectmen and the state Department of Environmental Protection.
More: Portland Press Herald
MICHIGAN
State Hires Two Firms For Pipeline Analysis
The state has hired two companies to analyze the financial impact of a hypothetical rupture of Enbridge’s underwater pipelines, collectively called Line 5, in the Straits of Mackinac and to explore potential alternatives to their route. Enbridge will pay $3.5 million for the studies but declined to oversee the work.
Det Norske Veritas will work on an analysis of the cleanup costs in the event of a rupture. Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems will look into alternatives for Line 5, which carries 23 million gallons of oil and LNG per day.
More: The Associated Press
Snyder Appoints Former BP Lobbyist to Head MDEQ
Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed a former BP lobbyist to head the state’s Department of Environmental Quality, sparking criticism from residents and environmentalists already galvanized over the Flint water crisis.
Heidi Grether, currently a deputy at the Agency for Energy, previously spent 21 years with BP in external communications, including managing the public response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Former MDEQ chief Dan Wyant resigned in late December amid the Flint controversy.
“After the Flint water crisis clearly demonstrated there were cultural problems within the DEQ, this appointment is a concerning development,” said Lisa Wozniak, executive director of the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.
More: Detroit Free Press
MISSOURI
PSC: Grain Belt Express Must Wait 60 More Days
The Public Service Commission ruled that Clean Line Energy must wait another 60 days for its Grain Belt Express transmission line application to be considered for approval because the company did not provide adequate public notice when it made its filing.
The commission rejected the project a year ago in a 3-2 vote, but it said this latest delay was strictly procedural.
More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Merrimack Valley Power Line Approved by State
The state Site Evaluation Committee approved an application from Eversource Energy and National Grid for construction of the Merrimack Valley Reliability Project, the first major upgrade to the electrical transmission system in 20 years.
The new 18-mile overhead transmission line will be built on an existing interstate right of way.
The application for the project was submitted in July 2015. Its cost is estimated at $125 million, and the utilities are evaluating construction bids.
More: New Hampshire Union Leader
NEW MEXICO
PRC Schedules Hearing on Facebook’s Planned Facility
The Public Regulation Commission unanimously agreed to hold an Aug. 9 hearing on Public Service Company of New Mexico’s request to provide renewable energy to a proposed data center for social media giant Facebook. If no comments are received by July 27, however, the commission may waive the hearing.
PNM submitted an application seeking expedited approval, without public comment or hearing, of a plan to provide 60 MW of solar or wind power. Facebook, which also is considering locating the site in Utah, wants the facility online by mid-2017 and has agreed to cover most of the costs of the power facility.
Facebook wants the center to run on 100% renewable energy, but it would still use traditional power plants as backup energy sources. As part of the deal, Facebook would require PNM to guarantee a fixed price on backup power for the first 10 years.
More: The Santa Fe New Mexican
NORTH CAROLINA
Regulators Set $98M Bond For Duke Plant Appeal
The Utilities Commission says two nonprofits must put up a $98 million bond to go forward with an appeal of a permit given for a new Duke Energy gas-fired power plant. The commission originally set the bond at $10 million, but an appellate court told it to recalculate the bond based on “competent evidence.”
The commission set the new amount based upon a 1965 state law and said it is designed to protect developers from costs associated with construction delays in the event they win a legal challenge. “The statute plainly places on the appealing party the financial risk of what potentially could be extensive additional costs,” the NCUC said in its order.
NC WARN and the Climate Times objected to the Buncombe County plant because it would use gas extracted using fracking. Duke had requested a $240 million bond, while the nonprofits said they were willing to put up $250. NC WARN’s director, Jim Warren, said it is not going to put up the bond. “We don’t have the money.”
More: News & Observer
NORTH DAKOTA
PSC Unanimously Approves Second Brady Wind Farm
The Public Service Commission unanimously approved the $250 million Brady Wind Energy Center II project, which will have 72 turbines and a capacity of 150 MW.
The project would double the potential capacity of Brady Wind, an indirect subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources. The new facility will be located in Hettinger County, south of its sister project, approved last month, in Stark County.
Commissioner Brian Kalk said the approved siting permit includes strict turbine setbacks of 2,000 feet from homes in the project area and 2,640 feet from homes owned by those not participating in the project. He said the setbacks were negotiated based on county and PSC standards.
More: The Bismarck Tribune
PENNSYLVANIA
Company Could Pay $5M For Deceptive Pricing
Two administrative law judges are recommending that the Public Utility Commission fine Blue Pilot Energy $5 million for charging its variable-rate customers high prices during the polar vortex of 2014.
The judges found that the Las Vegas-based company did not provide accurate pricing information, charged prices that did not match its disclosure statement and falsely promised savings.
They also said that Blue Pilot did not comply with the state’s Telemarketer Registration Act. The company countered that the PUC is authorized only to enforce its own regulations, not the telemarketer law.
More: The Philadelphia Inquirer
TEXAS
Environmental Regulators Approve Controversial Mine Expansion
The Commission on Environmental Quality renewed and expanded a wastewater permit for Dos Republicas Coal Partnership, allowing the company to expand its current operations near the Mexican border and mine up to 6,300 acres for low-quality coal.
The mine’s opponents say the project will pollute the air and the Rio Grande, which is the area’s only source of water. Several Native American tribes have also argued that the mine threatens sacred ancestral ground and that they were never given proper notification about the company’s plans.
Dos Republicas is owned by Mexican companies and by the Plano-based North American Coal Corp. and its subsidiary Camino Real Fuels. Because the coal is categorized as too low-grade for use in the U.S., it’s shipped to Coahuila for use in Mexican plants.
More: The Texas Tribune
NRG, Denton Reach $3.7M Settlement over Rate Credits
The Denton City Council has approved a $3.7 million settlement reached between NRG Power Marketing and the city over money owed to ratepayers.
After the Texas Interconnection became deregulated in 2002, Denton Municipal Electric contracted with NRG to represent Denton at ERCOT until the city could begin buying and selling electricity directly in October 2014. Denton sued the company last year, alleging that NRG withheld credits from ratepayers.
The two parties were ordered into mediation, with Mayor Chris Watts personally assisting in the talks.
More: Denton Record-Chronicle
WISCONSIN
PSC Orders $16.5M Refund to WE Ratepayers
The Public Service Commission approved a $16.5 million refund to We Energies customers after the utility underestimated how falling fossil fuel prices would affect the cost of power. The refund will amount to about $5 for the average residential customer.
Four other state utilities — Wisconsin Power and Light, Madison Gas and Electric, Wisconsin Public Service and Northern States Power — will also issue refunds that range from $9.5 million to $16.5 million.
We Energies had asked the commission for a pass on issuing refunds, arguing that the money should be used to counteract future rate hikes, but consumer advocacy groups lobbied the PSC for immediate refunds.