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Emma Fazio is an attorney in the Energy Development group. Emma assists clients with energy regulatory and transactional matters. Prior to joining the Firm, Emma was a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Matthew E. Johnson at the Minnesota Court of Appeals in St. Paul, Minnesota. She also clerked at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in St. Paul, Minnesota (2014) and the Department of Justice, Environmental and Natural Resources Division in Washington, D.C. (2013).

Yesterday, Governor Mark Dayton announced his appointment of Minnesota State Senator Katie Sieben to a six-year term on the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). He also appointed current MPUC commissioner Nancy Lange as chair of the MPUC, filling the vacancy left by outgoing chair Beverly Jones Heydinger. Both Sieben and Lange will begin their terms

Today, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) released its final manual on distributed energy resources (DER) compensation.  The draft manual was circulated for review and comment in August 2016, and is intended to help jurisdictions navigate the policy and stakeholder considerations behind DER compensation.

Read our previous post for more information on NARUC’s

Today, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission approved Xcel Energy’s dramatic proposal to shift away from coal generation toward renewable energy.   In authorizing the company’s 2016-2030 Integrated Resource Plan (RP-15-21), the Commission directed Xcel to retire two large coal units capable of generating approximately 680 MW each, procure at least 1,ooo MW of wind by 2019,

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) recently issued a draft manual on distributed energy resources (DER) compensation to assist jurisdictions in navigating the challenges and policy considerations associated with this hot button issue. The release of the manual marks the first time NARUC has specifically weighed in on DER compensation issues.

DERs are

Minnesota Power released a Request for Proposals (RFP) yesterday for up to 300 MW of wind generation, with proposals due by September 7, 2016. A copy of the RFP and additional details are available at http://www.mnpower.com/Company/PowerSupplyRFP. Minnesota Power also filed its press release with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC).

Minnesota Power will also

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) approved several major changes to Xcel Energy’s Community Solar Garden (CSG) program yesterday, while also voting to maintain other aspects of the CSG program. Mike Hughlett of the Star Tribune has this report. The MPUC’s decisions are summarized below:

Bill Credit Rate

  • Declined to modify the Applicable Retail

The Minnesota Court of Appeals filed its decision today affirming the Public Utilities Commission’s August 6, 2015 Order in the community solar garden proceeding, which adopted the partial settlement agreement between certain solar developers and Xcel Energy and decided several crucial aspects of Xcel’s community solar program, including the 5 MW cap on co-located gardens. 

Minnesota solar developer SolarStone Partners, LLC filed a Motion for Clarification of the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission’s September 2014 Order Approving Solar-Garden Plan with Modifications. Specifically, SolarStone is requesting clarification of the Commission’s interpretation of the requirement in the Community Solar Garden Statute that a project must be located within the utility’s service territory. One

Maine appears poised to replace its net-energy metering (NEM) program with new legislation that is projected to increase the state’s solar photovoltaics (PV) penetration by over 12 times the current installed capacity by 2022. The legislation has the support of a broad coalition of consumer advocates, utilities, solar installers and environmental advocates, by contrast to