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The Pacific Northwest Economic Region (PNWER) Energy Storage Coaliation (ESC) will be holding an important energy storage conference at the Portland Convention Center on October 8, 2012.  ESC has worked with the Oregon and Washington public utility commissions to bring together a diverse mix of developers, utilities and regulators to share their perspectives on opportunities and barriers

My colleague Ed Einowski didn’t mince words in a recent article published by The Sindal Report. If the federal production tax credit (PTC) is allowed to expire at the end of this year, there will be a dramatic drop-off in wind installation starting in 2013. And these diminished opportunities will add up to significant

A quick plug for the Pivotal Leaders program. Established in 2010 by venture capital firm Pivotal Investment, it seeks to promote networking among leading Pacific Northwest cleantech executives and encourage innovation and economic growth in the region. My colleague Dave Benson was recently named a 2012 Pivotal Leader in Cleantech. The annual Pivotal Leaders list

The City of Palo Alto, California, is seeking a minimum of 20 gigawatt-hours (GWh) annually, not to exceed 80 GWh/year, from eligible renewable resources. The City will not, however, consider proposals for the sale of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) alone . The City intends to negotiate and execute one or more power purchase agreements with

Northwestern Energy has issued an RFP seeking up to 45 MW of renewable generation that qualify under Montana’s community renewable resource requirement.  The RFP process is being managed by Land Energy Consulting. 

The first conference call for the RFP was held on August 15, and a second is scheduled for September 12.  Proposals are due at

Arizona Public Service Company has announced that it is seeking proposals from solar developers and installers to build a 32 MW solar PV facility.  APS would finance the project  through its AZ Sun Program.  When completed, the new solar facility will be owned and operated by APS and is expected to provide electricity to more

Southwestern Public Service Company (“SPS”), a subsidiary of Xcel, has issued a request for proposals to diversify its existing renewable energy portfolio in New Mexico. SPS is seeking, on an annual basis, approximately 88,705 MWh of “Other” renewable energy generation as defined by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission Rule 572 NMAC (i.e., other than solar

From my colleague Alex Mertens:

On July 23, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed into law a bill which amends the state’s solar energy incentive program in an effort to stabilize the market for solar renewable energy credits (SRECs) and support the development of solar projects within the state. Key features of the law

An update from Marcus Wood, Jennifer MartinJason Johns:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) regulations provide that, for purposes of calculating a qualifying facility’s net capacity, generating facilities are considered together as a single qualifying facility if they are located within one mile of each other, use the same energy resource, and are owned by the same persons or their affiliates. In recent years, landowners and energy purchasers have disputed whether the location of generating facilities more than one mile apart is a "safe harbor," ensuring that the facilities will be treated as separate qualifying facilities, or is instead a rebuttable presumption that may be challenged. In its Order Denying Rehearing, issued June 8, 2012 in Docket Nos. EL11-51-001, QF10-649-002, and QF10-687-001, FERC reaffirmed that the one-mile separation standard provides a safe harbor for establishing separate qualifying facilities.Continue Reading FERC Confirms That Its “One-Mile” Rule is a Safe Harbor for Establishing Separate Qualifying Facilities