Xcel filed its revised tariff for the Community Solar Garden Program yesterday, in compliance with and response to the Minnesota Public Utility Commission’s August 6, 2015 and October 15, 2015 orders. The revised tariff contains numerous changes to Xcel’s September 15, 2015 draft tariff proposal, a few of which are highlighted below.

  1.  Xcel clarified

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On Thursday, October 15, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) released an order addressing several issues in the Community Solar Garden Program proceeding. The order requires Xcel to file compliance tariffs for the program within five days, and the MPUC will order that the tariffs become effective seven days after filing, “unless the Department or…

The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument this morning in FERC v. Energy Power Supply Association. At issue is the validity of FERC’s Order 745, the so-called “demand response” compensation rule. Full text of the rule (PDF). As some of our readers may recall, I was FERC Chairman when Order 745 was issued.

While…

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) could soon make big changes to how rooftop solar installations function in the state. Under Assembly Bill 327, enacted in 2013, the CPUC has until December 31, 2015 to “develop a standard contract or tariff” that applies to “customer-generators” who own rooftop solar installations or other distributed generation…

Xcel Energy announced this afternoon its intent to cease coal-fired generation at Sherco Units 1 and 2 in 2026 and 2023, respectively, while adding 1,200 MW of new renewable sources (800 MW of wind and 400 MW of solar) by 2020.  According to the Xcel Energy website, Sherco Unit 1 has a generating capacity…

In a speech at the Rocky Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced yesterday that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) will not list the greater sage-grouse under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Finding that protection under the ESA is no longer warranted due to an “unprecedented conservation partnership,” the USFWS announced that it was withdrawing the species from the candidate list.   The decision comes roughly a week before a court-ordered deadline for a decision.
Continue Reading U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Determines Protection for Greater Sage-Grouse No Longer Warranted

Last Friday, September 11, 2015 was the final day for California legislators to pass bills out of the Legislature and on to Governor Jerry Brown for consideration. This year’s crop of bills included something for both sides of the aisle on energy and climate change issues: from the proposed repeal of AB 32, the California law mandating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, to bills to set a higher GHG reduction target for 2050 and cut petroleum use in half, and from a proposed leap in the state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% and incentives for geothermal, biomethane, and alternative fuels, to the repeal of solar water heating loan incentives. Some big ticket items passed, most failed to pass out of the Legislature before the deadline and can be considered in 2016 during for the second half of the two-year California legislative session. Time for the post-mortem.
Continue Reading California Legislative Session Wrap-up

The Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter ruling this week to an individual owner of solar panels installed in an off-site net-metered community solar garden.  In the Ruling, the Service confirmed the individual’s eligibility to claim the residential income tax credit for 30 percent of qualified solar electric property expenditures pursuant to Section 25D of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Ruling is significant in several respects:

  1. it confirms that an individual who owns only some of the solar panels and other property comprising a community solar garden may claim the credit,
  2. it appears not to require direct tracking of the electricity produced by the taxpayer’s solar panels and, instead, permits allocation of the aggregate amount of electricity produced by the array based on the number of panels owned by the taxpayer, and
  3. it does not require the taxpayer to contractually agree with the utility that the taxpayer owns the electricity produced by the taxpayer’s panels until drawn from the grid at his residence.
    Continue Reading IRS Opens Door for Community Solar Investors to Qualify for Federal Tax Credits

As we discussed in this post from May 2014, the American Bird Conservancy (“ABC”) in 2014 filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“USFWS”) 2013 revisions to its eagle permit rule, alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). ABC’s challenge related to the revised eagle permit rule that was issued in December 2013 and that extended the maximum term for programmatic Eagle Take Permits under the Eagle Act to 30 years (the “Final 30-Year Rule”), subject to a recurring five-year review process throughout the permit life. Under the previous rule, the maximum term for programmatic permits for incidental “take” of bald and golden eagles was five years.
Continue Reading Court Invalidates 30-Year Permit Provisions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Eagle Permit Rule on NEPA Grounds