FERC said Thursday that a new renewable energy investment firm cannot cut corners when applying for qualifying facility statuses.
Irradiant Partners, an Austin, Texas-based private equity firm focusing on clean energy infrastructure, asked the commission last November to waive a requirement that it submit recertifications for generators to be qualifying facilities (QF) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act.
The commission, which requires a QF’s status be recertified when a generators’ upstream management changes, declined the ask (EL22-8).
Irradiant was spun off from Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors in October. Upon forming, it acquired a controlling ownership interest in a portfolio of 185 small renewable generation projects across the country. The equity firm argued that the facilities were all under 20 MW and not yet in operation. Irradiant also said Kayne Anderson, despite not being under FERC jurisdiction, had already filed for QF statuses.
FERC rejected the argument, saying it’s important it have current and accurate QF information on file. It said that a change in upstream control is too big to overlook.
“The commission has found that ownership information, in particular, is important; it assists the commission in monitoring potential discrimination in the provision of service and in reviewing the extent to which QFs should continue to be exempt from various provisions of the [Federal Power Act] and state laws,” it said.
The commission also rebuffed Irradiant’s argument that preparing and filing nearly 200 recertifications would be too labor-intensive and too time-consuming. It said because Kayne Anderson had already applied for QF statuses, Irradiant largely had copy-and-paste work ahead of it.
Irradiant “is overstating the time and effort” required to reapply for QF status, the commission said. It said for each facility, Irradiant must provide mostly “fill-in -the-blank or check-the-box” information on six or seven pages in addition to supplying one- to two- paragraph descriptions for the renewable generators.
