Public Policy, Market Efficiency Theme of PJM’s Grid 20/20
Public policy goals and market efficiency are the topics of PJM’s upcoming Grid 20/20 conference, to be held Aug. 18 in Audubon, Pa., the RTO announced.
Panelists will explore how market rules can further public policy goals without distorting market principles. Discussions will include changing the minimum offer price rule, restructuring the process of procurement and other “outside the box” alternatives.
More: PJM
DELAWARE
Constellation, Direct Energy Vie for Residential Customers
Exelon subsidiary Constellation has begun offering residential electricity supply plans in Delmarva Power territory. The company is featuring fixed-rate plans of one or two years with gift cards and no enrollment charge.
Also this summer, the state declared Direct Energy the “electric retail supplier exclusively contracted by the state of Delaware.”
In addition to lower fixed prices, Direct Energy gives residents who enroll a free Nest Learning Thermostat and a six-month heating and cooling equipment protection plan.
More: Constellation Energy; Direct Energy
KENTUCKY
LG&E, KU File with PSC to Develop Community Solar
Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utilities have filed a request with the Public Service Commission to start a community solar network. The solar facility would be established in Shelby County on a subscription-based system, allowing residential, business and industrial customers to join and receive solar energy credits.
The PPL-owned utilities said the site is big enough for a 4-MW facility, but plans call for it to be built in 500-kW sections, based on customer demand. Construction would begin when the first section is fully subscribed.
More: Courier-Journal
LOUISIANA
Hundreds in Financial Limbo as Solar Credits Fade Away
Hundreds of rooftop solar users have been thrown into financial limbo after the state’s Department of Revenue warned in July that it had run out of money to fund tax credits intended to promote installations.
Lawmakers decided last year to cap the solar tax credit program in the face of worsening budget woes. Legislators also widened the cap to cover everyone who purchased solar in 2015, including those who bought their systems well before any changes were proposed.
The solar tax credit is among the most generous in the country, covering up to 50% of the first $25,000 spent to install a rooftop solar system, or up to $12,500 total. It can be combined with a 30% federal tax credit for extra savings. The program had a 2017 sunset, but lawmakers went a step further last year and capped credits for purchased systems at $25 million.
More: The Times-Picayune
MASSACHUSETTS
Kinder Morgan Pipeline Project Surveying Begins
Kinder Morgan surveyors are mapping the route of its proposed 2-mile natural gas pipeline, part of the three-stage $86 million Connecticut Expansion Project, through a state forest.
The state Department of Conservation and Recreation granted permission for surveying and marking the pipeline’s right of way through Otis State Forest. No permission for land clearing has been granted as the developers await FERC approval, and legal challenges to the project continue.
Opponents argue that the old-growth forest is protected by the state constitution, as the land was acquired by the state for conservation a decade ago at a cost of $5.2 million.
More: The Berkshire Eagle
Governor Signs Clean Energy Bill
Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday signed a bipartisan bill that requires utilities to obtain 9,450 GWh annually of clean energy from large-scale Canadian hydropower, onshore wind power and solar, and 1,600 MW of offshore wind from developers who currently hold federal leases.
“Massachusetts is always at the forefront of adopting innovative clean energy solutions, and this legislation will allow us to build on that legacy and embrace increased amounts of renewable energy, including hydropower,” Baker said. The bill was passed a week ago in the waning hours of the recently concluded legislative session. (See Massachusetts Bill Boosts Offshore Wind, Canadian Hydro.)
More: Gov. Charlie Baker
MICHIGAN
AG Accuses Enbridge of Mackinac Safety Violations
Attorney General Bill Schuette says Enbridge Energy’s application to install more pipeline support anchors is evidence that the company’s Line 5 pipelines under the Mackinac Straits are currently in violation of safety standards, which require pipe-support anchors at least every 75 feet.
Enbridge recently submitted a request for a permit to install up to 19 additional anchors. The company says it informed state officials of the need for more support after a June inspection.
The company has been under heightened scrutiny since a 2010 pipeline break spilled more than 800,000 gallons of oil into the Kalamazoo River. In July, it agreed to pay $177 million to settle claims in connection with that spill.
More: The Detroit News
NEVADA
Supreme Court Nixes Net Metering Referendum
The state Supreme Court last week unanimously ruled to block a referendum from appearing on the Nov. 8 general election ballot that could have restored favorable net metering rates to customers. The court ruled that the way the question was formed was “not only inaccurate and misleading, but also argumentative.”
The referendum question has been seen as a battle between NV Energy and the solar industry. The state, after heavy lobbying from NV Energy, set lower net metering rates this year. Many solar companies announced they were leaving the state, saying the new rates effectively suffocated the solar industry there.
Solar advocates expressed disappointment in the ruling, but said they would pursue alternative strategies. “We look forward to crafting strong solar policies that give Nevadans the freedom to power their homes and communities with clean solar energy,” said Erin McCann, campaign manager for Bring Back Solar.
More: Las Vegas Review-Journal
NEW HAMPSHIRE
PUC Adopts New Energy Efficiency Resource Standard
The Public Utilities Commission approved an Energy Efficiency Resource Standard, creating a framework for achieving cost-effective energy savings.
Programs will be required to demonstrate they are cost-effective and satisfy goals laid out in the standard. According to the PUC, the standard will help the state meet its 10-year State Energy Strategy goals.
During the first three-year period of the EERS, the cumulative goal for electric savings will be 3.1% of delivered 2014 kilowatt-hour sales, with interim annual savings goals, by 2021. Programs under the standard will begin on Jan. 1, 2018.
More: New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission
NEW MEXICO
Regulators, AG Doubt PNM’s Smart-Meter Claims
Public Regulation Commission staff have expressed doubt about the public benefits of Public Service Company of New Mexico’s plans to install advanced metering infrastructure (AMI), while eliminating the jobs of the 125 employees who monitor them.
Charles Gunter, accounting bureau chief for the PRC’s utility division, said the commission staff support the concept of advanced metering, but PNM’s projected costs to replace about 531,000 electricity meters “are uncertain and indicate that the AMI project would not produce sustained savings, compared to the existing metering system, until 2024.”
The attorney general’s office also submitted testimony from an expert witness, Columbia Group President Andrea Crane, who said the project would result in a net cost of $12 million instead of the net savings of nearly $21 million that PNM claims.
More: Albuquerque Business First
NORTH CAROLINA
McCrory Denies Discussing Duke Coal-Ash Warnings
The state toxicologist said he discussed with Gov. Pat McCrory the “scientifically untrue” health advisories the state released that downplayed the risk of well water contamination near Duke Energy plants, but the governor’s office strongly denied ever having that conversation.
State Toxicologist Kenneth Rudo testified in a deposition that state-issued health advisories saying the water was safe to drink were wrong and that he told McCrory and other state officials. Rudo, in a later interview with The Charlotte Observer, said he spoke with the governor by phone for about four minutes and said he advised that well owners should be warned of the risk, as an earlier state-issued comment had done. Instead, the state issued a statement saying tests showed well water met federal clean water standards.
“We don’t know why Ken Rudo lied under oath, but the governor absolutely did not take part in or request this call or meeting as he suggests,” Chief of Staff Thomas Stith said in a statement. Lawmakers passed legislation calling for Duke to provide clean drinking water to affected residents.
More: The Charlotte Observer
Plant Critics Lose Appeal for Lack of Guarantee
Opponents of a new $1 billion natural gas power plant lost their appeal to the Utilities Commission because they failed to post a nearly $100 million guarantee to cover potential construction delays.
The commission had approved the Ashville plant to take the place of a coal-fired facility run by Duke Energy.
The appeal was filed by NC WARN and the Climate Times.
More: The Associated Press
NORTH DAKOTA
State Working to Fill Abandoned Coal Mines
Contractors are pumping about 7,500 cubic yards of grout into an abandoned underground lignite mine, part of a project conducted by the Abandoned Mine Lands Division of the Public Service Commission. The drilling and grouting project will prevent dangerous sinkholes from forming as a result of mine subsidence.
The cost of the work is covered by federal reclamation fees on active coal mines. The division has conducted two major and one minor project this year; since its start in the 1980s, it has conducted more than 100 reclamation projects, usually finishing four to 10 annually.
Wilton was the focal point for state lignite mining in the early 20th century.
More: The Bismarck Tribune
RHODE ISLAND
Offshore Turbine Installation Starts at Block Island Project
Deepwater Wind has begun installation of the first offshore wind turbines in the U.S. at its project 3 miles off Block Island. The turbines will each rise 589 feet above the ocean’s surface.
The work kicked off a month-long push to complete construction of the 30-MW wind farm. Two months of testing will follow before full operation starts in the fall.
Deepwater has budgeted three days to put up each turbine, the company says. In Europe, where thousands of offshore wind turbines are in operation, the standard is a day and a half.
More: Providence Journal
WISCONSIN
Natural Resources Board Buys Riverfront Land from Xcel
The Natural Resources Board last week approved the purchase of nearly 1,000 acres of riverfront property from Xcel Energy, which had planned to build a power plant on the site.
With the board’s approval, the state’s Department of Natural Resources will pay almost $2.1 million for 990 acres along the Lower Chippewa River southwest of Eau Claire. The property includes 18,000 feet of shoreline and a section of the Chippewa River Trail.
Xcel was planning to use the site for a nuclear power plant that it never built. The utility still owns just more than 3,400 acres of nearby riverfront land.
More: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
University Receives Xcel Grant for Microgrid Research
The University of St. Thomas has received a $2.1 million grant from Xcel Energy for microgrid research.
Engineering professor Greg Mowry said about $1.5 million of the grant will be used to construct a research facility and a 30- to 60-kW microgrid, with an accompanying solar array.
The initial goal is not to supply power to the university, though that may come later. The first phases of the project involve managing “dummy loads” and simulating different energy sources, such as a wind turbine “emulator” controlled by researchers and students.
More: Midwest Energy News
WYOMING
Mead Appeals to Interior On Coal Lease Moratorium
Gov. Matt Mead appealed to the U.S. Interior Department to end its moratorium on new coal leases in a 76-page letter with 4,179 pages of attachments sent to Secretary Sally Jewell and Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze.
“States like Wyoming, where coal is produced and environmental stewardship is a model for the nation, were not consulted and were caught by surprise,” Mead wrote. “Now, national revenues, energy users across the nation, coal miners and their families are at risk. The justification for this moratorium and the manner it was unveiled are unjustifiable.”
Mead said the moratorium, announced Jan. 15, is dramatically impacting jobs, energy security and energy independence, and that it specifically targets the state, the nation’s leader in coal production. The state produces roughly 40% of the nation’s coal, most of which is mined from federal land.
More: Wyoming Business Report