The Bureau of Land Management, Tribal Cultural Resources and Renewable Energy Development
My collegue Michael O'Connell issued the legal alert below on a recent significant Interior Board of Land Appeals decision concerning the intersection of tribal cultural resources and a BLM geothermal lease application:
The Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA or Board) decision, Earth Power Resources, 181 IBLA 94 (May 12, 2011), deals with BLM action on a geothermal lease application in Nevada. Citing National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) section 304, 16 U.S.C. § 470w-3, BLM withheld from a geothermal lease applicant an ethnographic study of Ruby Valley that identified a tribal traditional cultural property (TCP) important to an Indian Tribe and disapproved the lease application in order to protect the TCP. The Board overturned BLM’s decision and remanded the case for further action.
Continue Reading...PNWER Annual Summit Hosts First Ocean Energy Panel and Moderated Forum
Last week, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region (“PNWER”) Annual Summit here in Portland, Oregon played host to its first-ever ocean energy panel and moderated forum. The four-hour session was organized by Oregon state Representative Deborah “Debbie” Boone (D.- Cannon Beach) and Richard “Rick” Williams of Science Applications International Corporation. The five initial panelists [1] were joined by members of the Alaska and Washington legislature, industry representatives, environmental and project development consultants, and others in a frank discussion about the potential for developing an offshore wave and tidal energy industry in the Pacific Northwest.
The conversation was a good one, with a handful of topics taking up the majority of the air time:
Continue Reading...FERC Issues Order No. 1000 on Transmission Planning and Cost Allocation by Transmission Owning and Operating Public Utilities
Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC" or "the Commission") issued Order No. 1000 in Docket No. RM10-23-000, a rulemaking proceeding initiated by the Commission on June 17, 2010. Order No. 1000 is a Final Rule that weighs in at a whopping 620 pages and reforms the Commission's electric transmission planning and cost allocation requirements for public utility transmission providers.
The order takes effect 60 days from its publication in the Federal Register and public utility transmission providers are required to make a compliance filing within 12 months of the effective date of the Final Rule. Compliance filings for interregional transmission coordination and cost allocation mandated by the Final Rule must be submitted within 18 months of the effective date.
Attorneys here at Stoel Rives are reviewing the order and its implications for our clients now, but given the size and scope of the order, this blog will rely on summary information published by the Commission concurrently with the order to provide readers a general idea of its contents.
Continue Reading...Energy Storage in the MISO Footprint
Two new energy storage studies are getting underway this summer in the Midwest Independent System Operator (MISO) footprint: the Energy Storage Study and the Manitoba Hydro Wind Synergy Study. At MISO’s Energy Storage Workshop held on June 29, 2011, MISO explained that its goals are to explore the potential reliability, market, and planning benefits of energy storage technologies and estimate the price inflection point where energy storage provides benefits to MISO markets.
The Energy Storage Study will focus on battery technology, compressed air, and pumped storage. The first phase of the study will be completed in November 2011 and a second phase by the end of June 2012. MISO’s new Energy Storage Technical Review Group will meet for the first time on August 3, 2011, when it will consider the Draft Energy Storage Study Scope. The Manitoba Hydro Wind Synergy Study will focus on Manitoba Hydro’s capabilities as essentially a “super-sized pumped storage plant.”
These studies are the next steps in MISO’s efforts to incorporate long-term storage into its markets. In February 2008, a FERC Order on Ancillary Market Services directed MISO to evaluate operational and procedural adjustments to remove barriers to the comparable treatment of new technologies (Docket No. ER07-1372). In a December 31, 2009 Order, FERC conditionally accepted MISO tariff provisions for Stored Energy Resources (Docket No. ER09-1126), finding that the operating requirements and compensation for Stored Energy Resources would be comparable to other resources providing regulating reserves. Pursuant to the December 31, 2009 Order, MISO also submitted an informational report to FERC on March 1, 2010 describing its efforts to incorporate long-term storage resources into the market. The two energy storage studies starting this summer move these efforts to a formal study phase.
Upcoming Energy Conference Highlights
Through industry presentations and publications, our energy attorneys are dedicated to helping you stay informed and knowledgeable about legal developments that affect your business.
Visit our website for the latest calendar of events. Upcoming highlights include:
Compressed Air Energy Storage (CAES): Lessons Learned from Natural Gas Tolling
July 21 – WEBINAR
Stoel Rives Partners Bill Holmes, Ed Einowski and Marcus Wood will serve as the exclusive faculty this 90-minute webinar, part of the “Law of Renewable Energy Series” presented by Stoel Rives and EUCI.
Renewable Energy in the Pacific Northwest
August 4-5 – Seattle, WA
Join partners Steve Hall, Tim McMahan (conference co-chair) and Michael O'Connell for sessions on "Getting Renewable Power to Market," “Working with Tribes: Lessons from Case Studies in Their Roles as Developers and Commercial Partners,” and “Best Practices for Engaging with Leasing and Permitting Agencies,” among others.
GEA National Geothermal Summit
August 16-17 – Reno, NV
Attorneys John McKinsey, Jennie Bricker, Tami Boeck, Michael O'Connell and Allison Smith are heading to Reno, Nevada for the first annual National Geothermal Summit, presented by the Geothermal Energy Association. Stoel Rives is proud to be a Gold Sponsor at this event.
Renewable Energy in the Midwest States: New Policy, Business and Legal Developments
August 25-26 – Minneapolis, MN
Join Minneapolis-based partners Mark Hanson and Greg Jenner for sessions on "Special Legal Issues for Biofuels Development," and "Commercialization and Financing Structures: What Will Future Deals Look Like?"
National Hydropower Association Alaska Regional Meeting
August 30-31 – Girdwood, AK
Greg Jenner will speak on tax incentives for development of renewable energy, development alternatives, and DOE funding.
Utility Scale Solar Summit 2011
September 13-15 – San Diego, CA
Stoel Rives is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor at this Infocast event, and serve as Chair of the “Solar Project Development Briefing.” Join attorneys Howard Susman, Morten Lund, Greg Jenner, Ed Einowski, Jennifer Martin, David Quinby and Seth Hilton in sunny San Diego. We are pleased to offer a 15% registration discount, use code 115321.
RETECH 2011
September 20-22 – Washington, DC
Visit Stoel partners Bill Holmes, Ed Einowski and Graham Noyes at booth #819 in the Exhibit Hall. We’ll also be participating in sessions covering wind and energy storage topics.
You’ll see Stoel Rives sponsoring and/or speaking at Turbines, Towers & Vessels in Rhode Island, Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition (NIPPC) Annual Meeting in Washington, Transmission West Summit in San Diego, ACORE’s REFF West in San Francisco, CanWEA Annual Conference in Vancouver, Solar Power International in Dallas, and many more this fall.
To see the full calendar of events, click here.
To join the Stoel Rives mailing list and ensure direct delivery of future alerts, click here to subscribe. To unsubscribe, send an email to unsubscribe@stoel.com.
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Recent RFPs for Renewable Energy
Several requests for proposals ("RFPs") have been issued recently with July deadlines. Here's a brief summary of each:
- Progress Energy Carolinas is seeking proposals for energy and renewable energy certificates from newly constructed or existing wind projects of at least 5 MW to comply with North Carolina's renewable energy portfolio standard. Projects do not have to be located in North Carolina. The deadline for proposals is currently set at 5:00 p.m. EST, July 25. The utility anticipates shortlisting in August and executing final contracts in late October. More information can be found here.
- Tucson Electric Power and UniSource Energy Services are seeking up to 50 MW of Arizona-based wind generation. There will be a bidder teleconference at 1:30 p.m. PST on Monday July 18. Bids are currently due by 4:00 p.m. PPT on August 25 and the utilities expect to make a decision by September 30. Information about the joint request for proposals can be found here.
- The City of Roseville, California, through its electric department, Roseville Electric, seeks to procure eligible renewable energy resources from renewable electrical generation facilities as defined by California's SBX1-2. Targeted procurement is outlined on the request for offer document. The deadline to submit questions is July 22. Responses are currently due July 26 and the City anticipates shortlisting on or about September 30. More information is available here.
- National Grid has issued a second request for proposals for renewable energy in Rhode Island. The Narragansett Electric Company d/b/a National Grid is seeking proposals for capacity, energy, and renewable energy credits under 10-15 year contracts. A bidders conference will be held on July 15 in Rhode Island. Notices of Intent to Bid are currently due by 5:00 p.m. EPT on July 20, and proposals will be due by 5:00 p.m. EPT on August 4. Details can be found here.
Washington UTC Invites Comments on Distributed Energy Study
The Washington State House of Representatives Technology, Energy, and Communication Committee (TEC Committee) has asked the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (Commission) to provide to the State Legislature background information and detailed discussion of options to encourage the development of cost-effective distributed energy in areas served by investor-owned utilities, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing investor-owned utilities and their ratepayers in developing distributed energy in Washington.
The Commission is currently in the process of gathering information and reviewing existing literature concerning distributed energy. The Commission also seeks the perspective of investor-owned utilities, persons involved in developing distributed energy in the state, and others to better inform their efforts in this study. Attached here is the set of questions upon which the Commission seeks input. This list includes questions that are both general and energy source-specific (e.g., solar, wind, hydro, etc.). The Commission provides an opportunity for interested persons to provide comments on these topics and questions by Friday, July 15, 2011.
The Commission also invites interested persons to a work session scheduled for Monday, July 25, 2011, in Room 206 of the Commission's headquarters, Richard Hemstad Building, 1300 S. Evergreen Park Drive S.W., Olympia, Washington.
For additional information, see the UTC Rulemaking Website (click on "UTC invites comments on a study of the potential for distributed energy in Washington State") and UTC Docket UE-110667.
PG&E Unveils its Smart Grid Deployment Plan
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (“PG&E”) released its Smart Grid Deployment Plan which represents a disciplined and integrated approach to using new monitoring and control technology to provide safe, reliable, responsive and environmentally sustainable service to its customers in Northern and Central California.
The 290-page Plan includes future projects that will take advantage of a wide range of advanced communications, computing, sensing and control technologies. PG&E hopes to improve service and reliability, lower customer costs and incorporate more renewable energy onto the grid, all in accordance with the California Public Utility Commission’s decisions and policies implementing California's Smart Grid bill.
The Plan adopts several high-priority objectives to guide PG&E’s Smart Grid investments and initiatives over the next 10 years. Those objectives include the following:
- To engage customers, PG&E will:
- Use the existing SmartMeterTM technology to allow customers not only to view but to modify their energy usage;
- Improve the use of demand response resources in energy and ancillary service markets; and
- Invest in infrastructure to support the electric vehicle market.
- To support Smart Energy Markets, PG&E will:
- Improve its forecasting of market conditions; and
- Integrate renewable resources (primarily wind and solar) on a large scale into the grid.
- To support Smart Utility practices, PG&E will:
- Improve its response to outages;
- Enhance its grid monitoring and control;
- Maintain system voltage levels; and
- Improve substation monitoring.
- PG&E will also continually improve and upgrade the infrastructure supporting the smart grid.
The Plan can be found at:
U.S. Department of Energy Announces Interactive Tidal Energy Resource Map
Today, Mike Reed, the Water Power Team Lead for the U.S. Department of Energy's ("DOE") Wind & Water Power Program, announced a new resource to help developers assess the quality of the tidal energy resource along the coast of the United States.
Called the "Assessment of Energy Production Potential from Tidal Streams in the United States," the online database was developed at Georgia Tech's Center for Geographic Information Systems, in cooperation with (and with the help of grant funding from) the DOE. The interactive map provides unprecedented visualization, allowing users to zoom and pan over maps of color-coded information on water depth, mean current speed, and the available kinetic power density of tidal streams along the entire coastline. However, developers should note that the assessment does not include (1) any assumptions about technology or (2) any flow field effects from energy extraction. In other words, the tidal stream database provides excellent data for initial, "big picture" site assessment, but developers will still need to conduct their own site-specific studies using acoustic doppler current profilers ("ADCPs") and similar technologies to get the micrositing data necessary to optimize device performance.
As of today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") has issued 27 preliminary permits for tidal energy projects and 2 additional preliminary permit applications are pending. In December 2010, Verdant Power submitted a Final License Application to FERC for its Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy ("RITE") project in New York's East River (Docket No. P-12611). If Verdant's pilot license application is approved, it will be the first FERC-licensed tidal energy project in the United States.
The image to the right is of Delhaven Wharf in the Bay of Fundy, Nova Scotia, where the ebb and flow of the world's strongest tides leave fishing boats stranded when the tide runs out.
Report on CPUC Workstop on Electric Energy Storage Workshop
On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the CPUC held an Electric Energy Storage Workshop as part of its R10-12-007 proceeding for AB 2514, which defines the process by which the CPUC will consider electric energy storage standards for California’s investor owned utilities. A large number of interested stakeholders attended including Stoel Rives’ Seth Hilton and myself. There were presentations from the UC Berkeley/CEC team, CAISO, SCE and CAISO, as well as informal presentations from participants. (Click on this link for copies of these presentations and the proposal or go to: http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/electric/storage.htm.) The discussion that followed each presentation was lively and well-informed.
The theme of the workshop was to identify and address the barriers to the inclusion of Electric Energy Storage (EES) and to brainstorm action that the CPUC could take to ameliorate those barriers, both internally and by its participation in other forums. A ruling seeking additional comments from the workshop participants will be issued in the next week or so – we will keep you posted.
The overarching takeaways from the workshop were:
- EES encompasses many different technologies and many potential applications for generation, transmission, distribution and customer-side.
- There needs to be a valuation methodology endorsed by all stakeholders that encapsulates all the benefits that EES can provide.
- A meaningful cost/ benefit analysis of any EES technology cannot be conducted independent of its application. CPUC could address some of these challenges itself, particularly in the following areas:
- Contract evaluation
- Rate design
- Avoidance of over-generation and subsequent curtailment
- Load, resource adequacy and capacity
- CPUC could also participate in other forums:
- CAISO’s transmission analysis and planning process
- FERC through a Notice of Intent
A pall was cast over the proceedings by the news that Michael Colvin (whose enthusiasm for EES has been a key component in maintaining the momentum of the R10-12-007 proceeding) is leaving his current post to take up a staff position with Commissioner Mark Ferron and California does not currently have the budgetary wherewithal to backfill Mike’s position.
