Hydropower

Subscribe to Hydropower

The U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) recently released two new nationwide resource assessments for wave and tidal energy projects in the U.S. The reports, funded by the DOE and prepared by the Electric Power Research Institute ("EPRI") and the Georgia Tech Research Corporation, present the most rigorous and comprehensive analysis to date on the magnitude of the…

Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued its first pilot project license for a tidal energy project to Verdant Power, LLC for its Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy ("RITE") Project in New York’s East River (pictured at right).  As a first-of-its-kind license, this is a significant step for the burgeoning tidal energy industry in the United…

Today, Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Diana DeGette (D-CO) introduced H.R.3680, the "Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2011", in the U.S. House of Representatives.  Here is a summary of the bill’s major provisions:

  • Would exempt small hydroelectric facilities of 10 MW or less from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") licensing process (currently, the

…

Some very noteworthy things have happened this month in the world(s) of small hydro and hydrokinetics in the United States. Here’s a quick summary:

1.         U.S. Departments of Energy and the Interior Award ~$17 Million for Advanced Hydropower R&D. On September 6, 2011, Secretaries Chu and Salazar announced that the two agencies will provide nearly $17…

On August 15, 2011, Great River Energy (GRE) issued a request for proposals (RFP) for community-based energy development (C-BED) renewable energy resources.  Eligible energy technologies include: wind, solar, hydroelectric of less than 100 megawatts, biomass, municipal solid waste, landfill gas and anaerobic digesters, and hydrogen produced from any of the previous resources.

In announcing the…

With the end of 2011 drawing near, many renewable energy developers are seeking to qualify their projects for the Section 1603 cash grant.  Developers continue to try to understand the complexities surrounding the grant requirements, especially the determination of when projects are considered to have met the “beginning construction” requirement.

On August 24, I’ll moderate a Law Seminars …

Puget Sound Energy (PSE) has filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) a Request for Proposals for All Generation Sources (the all-source RFP) and a Request for Proposals for Electric and Demand Side Resources (energy-efficiency RFP). PSE filed the draft all source RFP on August 1, 2011 and plans to issue a…

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…