On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the CPUC will hold 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. The workshop will be held at in the Golden Gate Room at CPUC’s
California
Supreme Court Dismisses Common Law GHG Case Against Energy Producers
By Lee Smith on
Posted in California, Climate Change
On June 20, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on American Electric Power Co., Inc., et al. v. Connecticut, et al.
This case is significant because it dismissed a lawsuit in which several states and environmental groups sought court orders requiring large electrical utilities (alleged to be “the five largest emitters of carbon…
Energy Storage Industry Expresses Optimism at Energy Storage Association Annual Meeting
By Brian Nese on
This week I attended the 21st Annual Meeting of the Energy Storage Association in San Jose, California. The meeting broke its attendance record by attracting over 420 attendees, including representatives from electric energy storage (“EES”) technology companies, utilities, venture capital funds, consultancies and government agencies. Key note speakers included Dr. Imre Gyuk of the U.S. Department of…
Injunction on California Cap & Trade Rules Stayed by Appeal
By Lee Smith on
Posted in California, Litigation
At the prompting of the Petitioners, on June 6, 2011, the San Francisco Superior Court delivered an order criticizing the California Air Resources Board for continuing to work on AB 32, Greenhouse Gas regulations, despite the injunction issued in the CEQA case and ordered them to appear to discuss the issue. However, late last week the Appeals…
CEC Moves Forward on Implementation of 33% RPS
By Jake W. Storms on
On June 3, the California Energy Commission (“CEC”) issued a Notice of Intent to Implement 33 Percent Renewables Portfolio Standard (“RPS”). The new 33% RPS was signed into law by Governor Brown on April 12, 2011. The legislation for the first time expanded the RPS to publicly-owned utilities (“POU”), and tasked the CEC with, among other things, …
CPUC Issues Scoping Memo in Energy Storage Proceeding; Workshop Set for June 28
By Brian Nese on
On May 31, 2011, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued a scoping memo (“Scoping Memo”) identifying issues to be considered and setting a procedural schedule for its energy storage proceeding. In December, 2010, the CPUC opened Rulemaking 10-12-007 to implement the provisions of Assembly Bill 2514, which directs the CPUC to determine appropriate energy storage…
Southern California Edison Begins Process to Reform CREST Power Purchase Agreement
By Jake W. Storms on
Citing changes in market conditions, Southern California Edison (SCE) announced last week that it is beginning the process of reforming the standard Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) it uses for its California Renewable Energy Small Tariff (CREST) program. CREST is SCE’s feed-in tariff program for eligible renewable energy projects under 1.5 MW. The PPA for each …
Stoel Rives’ Bill Holmes and David Benson to Speak at Storage Week 2011
By Brian Nese on
Posted in California, Renewable
Please plan to join me and my colleagues – Bill Holmes, David Benson, John Thompson, and Morten Lund – at Storage Week 2011. Stoel Rives is proud to be a Platinum Sponsor at this premier event.
Storage Week kicks off on July 11 with four in-depth market and technical tutorials to…
New Greenhouse Gas Reduction Targets – from the U.K. to Bank of America
By Allison Smith on
Posted in California, Climate Change
This week, the United Kingdom proposed cutting its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 50% below 1990 levels, in its recently released proposed carbon budget for 2023 to 2027. This would put it on track to cut emissions by 80% by 2050, as required under the U.K. Climate Change Act of 2008. Moreover, this target would go beyond the …
CEC Holds Workshop on Energy Storage for 2011 IEPR
By William H. Holmes & Kimberly Hellwig on
The 2011 IEPR Committee Workshop on Energy Storage for Renewable Integration was held Thursday, April 28th at the California Energy Commission (CEC) offices in Sacramento. The Workshop was presented in a three panel format, with each panel addressing specific topics, including (1) the need for energy storage in light of California’s renewable portfolio standard, greenhouse…