With a swift 13-page order today, FERC rejected Puget Sound Energy’s proposed wind integration rate, stating that the rate was not shown to be “just and reasonable” under section 205 of the Federal Power Act.  “Changing system conditions, such as an increasing amount of wind generation described by Puget, present unique challenges that may require …

From our colleagues Jere Webb and Jason Davis:

On August 6, 2010, the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (“EERE”), through delegated authority by the Department of Energy, issued a nationwide limited public interest waiver under Section 1605 (the “Buy American Provisions”) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the…

There has been a wave of good and bad news this past week regarding the DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program.  On the positive side, Secretary Chu announced on Friday that the Department would be adding an additional compliance period for the Innovative Solicitation.  The current deadline for the Part I application under the program is August 24th.  Secretary…

From our colleague Sarah Johnson Phillips:

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a Notice of Funding Available (NOFA) for up to $3,000,000 in renewable energy feasibility study grants under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). 

  • The grants are available to farmers, ranchers, and rural small businesses for conducting feasibility studies for renewable

…

From our colleague Morten Lund:

On July 29, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued a ruling lifting a prior temporary hold on certain applications under the California Solar Initiative (“CSI”). The CPUC had on July 9 placed a hold on new CSI applications for PBI projects and government/non-profit projects pending comments on certain…

From our colleague Edna Vassilovski:

On July 29, 2010, the following U.S. patent applications were published relating to biofuels:

U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 20100191022 (Undisclosed assignee) relates to the use of Arundo donax feedstock in a gasification process to produce ethanol. According to the application, ethanol is produced substantially without by-products except for an…

The U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") continued its support of marine and hydrokinetic ("MHK") technology development on Tuesday, announcing that Florida Atlantic University has been designated as the nation’s third national center for ocean energy research and development.  The Southeast National Marine Renewable Energy Center ("SNMREC") joins centers in the Northwest, at the University of Washington…

From our colleague Sarah Johnson Phillips:

Last month, Governor Pat Quinn of Illinois signed two pieces of legislation expanding state policies that encourage investment in the state’s renewable energy sector.

H.B. 4797 extends the Illinois program providing for uniform statewide property-tax assessment of wind energy systems through 2016. Prior to 2007, assessments were made…

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline to submit comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) on electric storage technologies is just around the corner. In its Request for Comments Regarding Rates, Accounting and Financial Reporting for New Electric Storage Technologies, FERC’s Office of Energy Policy and Innovation seeks comments on the following issues: …

On July 27, 2010, the Court of Appeals of Texas, Fifth District, Dallas, issued its decision in TXU Portfolio Management Company, L.P., v. FPL Energy, LLC, et al., 2010 Tex. App. Lexis 5905 (2010).  The case arose when three FPL wind farms (the "Wind Farms") located in the McCamey area of West Texas experienced ERCOT-imposed …