The Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC or the Council), which oversees the siting of large-scale energy facilities including wind and solar power projects, voted late last month to initiate rulemaking to clarify aspects of its contested case procedures.  A contested case hearing is a culminating step in the EFSC site certification process, a public

At the July 27, 2023, Open Meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued long-awaited Order No. 2023, the Final Rule on Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements in Docket No. RM22-14-000.  The rulemaking arose from the Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking: Building for the Future Through Electric Regional Transmission Planning and Cost

During its May 18 voting meeting, the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) voted to open a new rulemaking proceeding that will consider improvements to its permitting procedures for electric infrastructure projects that fall under its jurisdiction.  The Commission’s action is driven by increased legislative and policy interest in reducing barriers to energy infrastructure development to

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC or Commission) is weighing party comments on implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 2143.  Enacted last year, AB 2143 will take effect on January 1, 2024.  This bill extends existing prevailing wage requirements for public works to the construction of any renewable electrical generation facility, and any associated battery storage

Yesterday, February 14, 2023, the D.C. Circuit issued an order affirming FERC’s order in Broadview Solar, LLC, 174 FERC 61,199 (2021) and its “send-out” approach to determining the net power production capacity of a Qualifying Facility (“QF”).  As a brief recap of the history of Broadview, Broadview filed an application for QF certification

At its June 16, 2022, open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR), Improvements to Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements, 179 FERC ¶ 61,194 (2022), proposing reforms to the Commission’s standard generator interconnection procedures and agreements.  The goal of the NOPR is to reduce queue

On November 18, 2021, FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comments on reactive power capability compensation and market design.  (Link to NOI here). Reactive power is a critical component of the bulk electric system. Almost all bulk electric power is generated, transported, and consumed in AC networks. These AC systems consume both real and reactive power. Reactive power supports the voltages necessary for system reliability to allow the supply of real power from generation to load. All balancing authorities must procure enough sources of reactive power to safely manage the grid and generator interconnection agreements contain provisions requiring generators to operate within certain reactive power limits. Reactive power is an ancillary service and costs are recovered separately from the cost of standard transmission service.
Continue Reading Reactive Power Compensation for Renewable Generators – On the Chopping Block?

On October 21, 2021, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) approved a rule that creates requirements for power companies to better prepare for winter weather. The rule stems from the Texas Legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 3 (S.B. 3) in response to the devastation caused to the energy grid by Winter Storm Uri.

S.B. 3, effective June 8, 2021, is a multi-pronged law that attempts to make the Texas energy system more resilient to the effects of extreme winter weather events. Key to S.B. 3 is a requirement that the PUCT implement winter weatherization requirements so that each of the entities providing electric generation service must implement measures to prepare its generation assets to provide adequate electric generation service during a weather emergency. The new rule, codified as 16 Texas Administrative Code §25.55,  requires electric generators and transmission service providers (TSPs) (collectively, generation entities) to implement the winter weather readiness recommendations identified in the 2012 Quanta Technology Report on Extreme Weather Preparedness Best Practices and the FERC/NERC 2011 Report on Outages and Curtailments During the Southwest Cold Weather Event on February 1-5, 2011. The rule also requires affected entities to fix any known, acute issues that arose from winter weather conditions during the 2020-2021 winter weather season. The deadline for implementation of many components of the new rule is December 1, 2021.
Continue Reading Public Utilities Commission of Texas Adopts New Winter Weatherization Rules in Response to Winter Storm Uri

Earlier this month, the Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) published a final rule revoking the Trump Administration’s rule on incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”), as well as an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) aimed at codifying the Biden Administration’s interpretation of the MBTA’s incidental take provision and creating new incidental take regulations.

The MBTA prohibits the “take” of over 1,000 species of migratory birds, but the reach of the MBTA’s take prohibition, including whether it applies to “incidental” take from otherwise lawful activities, is unsettled and subject to a current split in the federal circuit courts. The Trump Administration rule, published on January 7, 2021, largely reflected the Fifth Circuit’s view that the MBTA only prohibits “intentional acts” that directly kill migratory birds. We anticipate that the Biden Administration rule will take the position endorsed by the Tenth Circuit and articulated in the Obama Administration’s M-Opinion that the MBTA prohibits non-purposeful take of migratory birds, nests, and eggs that occur incidental to lawful activities.
Continue Reading Biden Administration Revokes Trump Administration MBTA Rule and Initiates Rulemaking for MBTA Incidental Take Permitting Program