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At a time when the Minnesota Legislature is considering a proposal that would create a solar electricity standard, community solar projects are gaining popularity.  Six weeks from now, Wright-Hennepin Cooperative Electric Association will begin construction on Minnesota’s first community solar program, with the goal of having the project completed by Memorial Day.

A community …

On April 1, 2013, the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (“EITF”) and the U.S. Army Mission and Installation Contracting Command at Fort Sam Houston in Texas published a template Renewable Energy Service Agreement Performance Work Statement (the “PWS”) for comment by interested stakeholders. 

The proposed scope of the PWS is broad, covering everything from insurance…

On February 12, 2013, the U.S. Army Contracting Command announced that the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force ("EITF") is developing a standardized Utility Service Contract Performance Work Statement ("PWS") to be used for contracts executed under its long-term power procurement authority (10 U.S.C. 2922a).  The intent is to have a PWS that is clear and understandable to both the…

My California colleague Kristen Castaños has written an alert about a recent Fresno County Superior Court decision that denied a challenge to Fresno County’s cancellation of a Williamson Act contract to accommodate a solar generating project.

The decision is the first time a court has considered the interplay between the Williamson Act, a California statute…

On November 14, 2012, the Defense Logistics Agency- Energy ("DLA-Energy"), in coordination with the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force, issued a solicitation for the procurement of electricity from a solar photovoltaic energy project to be located on or contiguous with land at Fort Detrick, Maryland (SP0600-13-0416, the "Solicitation").  

DLA-Energy contemplates the award of a Firm-Fixed Price…

The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) today affirmed its preliminary ruling that Chinese trade practices were harming the U.S. solar technology industry. The ruling stems from the submission of trade cases by domestic solar-industry companies on October 19, 2011, that argued the Chinese government was using improper subsidies to underwrite its solar industry export campaign…

In September 2012, all new electricity generation came from solar and wind projects, according to the Energy Infrastructure Update (PDF) issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Office of Energy Projects. Five wind projects totaling 300MW and 18 solar projects totaling 133MW came online during the month.

The Energy Infrastructure Update also noted that nearly…

California Governor Jerry Brown recently signed a new law that could significantly expand virtual net energy metering in California. Since 1996, California utility customers owning renewable energy systems have been able to offset their electricity bills with credits earned by feeding power generated by their systems back to the utility. SB 594 amends California’s net metering law to allow customers to aggregate energy consumed at multiple meters located on their property (or on their contiguous property) and net that use against the power produced by the customer’s renewable facility on the same site.

Meters on contiguous properties must be solely owned, leased, or rented by the eligible customer-generator to be included. Parcels divided by a street, highway, or public thoroughfare are considered contiguous provided that they are otherwise contiguous and under the same ownership. The customer-generator will be able to use the sum of the load of the aggregated meters for purposes of establishing the maximum size renewable generation system to be used for net metering purposes. However, the existing maximum size limit (1 MW) for net-metered generation facilities will apply to customer-generators aggregating multiple meters. Overall, expanded virtual net metering would provide a way for many customers with multiple meters to use on-site generation more efficiently and economically.

Implementation of SB 594 is contingent upon the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) making a determination that the expanded virtual net metering program established by the bill will not result in costs being shifted to non-participating ratepayers. The CPUC is required to make this determination by September 30, 2013.Continue Reading SB 594 Signed into Law: Intended to Expand Virtual Net Metering in California