The California Public Utilities Commission has unanimously approved a 1,325 MW energy storage procurement target for the state’s largest utilities in Decision 13-10-040. PG&E, SDG&E, and SCE must collectively procure 1,325 MW of energy storage resources by 2020, for installation no later than 2024. The first of at least four competitive solicitations for energy storage projects will … Continue Reading
On May 9, 2013, the California Public Utilities Commission adopted Resolution E-4582, scheduling the fourth Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) auction to close on June 28, 2013 and setting a fifth RAM auction for no later than June 27, 2014. The RAM program allows renewable energy developers to bid their 3 MW to 20 MW projects to … Continue Reading
Here’s a California law update from my partner Wayne Rosenbaum in San Diego: The California legislature continues to emphasize the importance of renewable energy for the State’s environment and economy. Of the renewable energy bills passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor this year, three of them focused on biogas. Some of the … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted several changes to the state’s Renewable Auction Mechanism program (RAM), created in 2010. The RAM program operates as a reverse auction, offering a standard contract with the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities for energy from renewable distributed generation facilities of up to 20 megawatts (MW). The utilities will procure … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
On Wednesday, March 9, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) held a workshop on its implementation of California’s recent energy storage bill, Assembly Bill (AB) 2514, signed by Governor Schwarzenegger on September 29, 2010. AB 2514 requires the CPUC and municipal utilities in California to open proceedings by March 1, 2012 to determine appropriate targets, … Continue Reading
From our colleage Seth Hilton: In 2006, Assembly Bill (AB) 1969 ushered in the era of the Feed In Tariff (FIT) in California. AB 1969 added section 399.20 to the Public Utilities Code, which allowed for tariffs and standardized contracts for eligible renewable resources up to 1.5MW owned by, and located on, public water and … Continue Reading
On Friday, December 16, 2010, the California Public Utilities Commission unanimously approved a decision ("Final Decision") ordering a new tariff for a procurement protocol called the Renewable Auction Mechanism, or RAM. RAM applies to California’s three largest investor-owned utilities ("IOUs"). All renewable energy projects up to 20 MW that are located in the service territory … Continue Reading
From our colleague Sara Bergan: In late 2009 the Oregon Public Utilities Commission (OPUC) initiated Docket No. UM 1460 focused on Smart Grid (SG) planning. More recently in October, and after public input on the scope of the proceeding, OPUC staff circulated a Straw Proposal for Utility Smart Grid Planning. The proposal groups SG issues … Continue Reading
An alert written by Stoel Rives partner Seth Hilton: Last night, the California legislature failed to pass Senate Bill 722—the 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) legislation—by the close of the legislative session. The bill would have increased California’s RPS to 33% for both investor-owned and publicly owned utilities. It would also have placed limits on … Continue Reading
On August 25, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued a proposed decision (“PD”) that would end the CPUC’s moratorium on approval of tradable renewable energy credit (“TREC”) transactions and increase the cap on such transactions for large investor-owned utilities to 40%. Previously at its March 11, 2010 meeting, the CPUC authorized the use of … Continue Reading
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 proposed … Continue Reading
From our colleague Adam Walters: In February we blogged about Colorado HB-10 1001, a bill then pending in the Colorado legislature that would increase Colorado’s Renewable Energy Standard (RES) from 20% to 30% by 2020. The Democrat-sponsored bill was passed by the legislature on March 11 on a party line vote and yesterday it was … Continue Reading
