Oregon legislators passed Senate Bill (SB) 1547 into law yesterday, creating aggressive timetables for eliminating coal-fired electricity from the State and setting a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) by 2040. A diverse group of utilities, consumer advocacy organizations, and renewable energy advocates support the bill. Next stop for SB 1547 is Oregon Governor Katherine Brown’s … Continue Reading
In his inaugural address earlier this month, Governor Brown, referenced several ambitious goals he would like to see accomplished over the next 15 years, including increasing from one-third to 50 percent the amount of California’s electricity that must be derived from renewable resources. On January 28, 2015, a legislator joined in this ambitious goal setting, … Continue Reading
In November 2008, former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Executive Order S-14-08, which set a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard for California by 2020. On Tuesday, Jerry Brown was sworn in for a record fourth term as Governor of California and, during his inaugural speech, Governor Brown touched on California’s ambitious climate change policies, including a … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Minnesota Department of Commerce issued its highly anticipated Minnesota Renewable Energy Integration and Transmission Study, which indicated that the “capacity for adding additional wind and solar up to 40% by 2030 can be reliably accommodated by the electric power system” (DOC press release here). The study stated that with relatively modest upgrades to existing transmission, … Continue Reading
Assembly Bill (AB) 327 took effect in California at the first of the year, giving the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) authority to expand the State’s 33% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). This week, the CPUC extended its RPS proceeding to determine, before February 2015, how to implement the new law. AB 327 provides that the CPUC may … Continue Reading
On May 7th, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed its omnibus energy bill by a vote of 70-63. The bill includes a provision that requires investor-owned utilities to obtain 4 percent of their power from solar by 2025, with a goal of reaching 10 percent by 2030. In contrast to the aggressive House bill, the … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives partner Bev Pearman reviewed the complaint filed Monday in American Tradition Institute, et al., v. Colorado and prepared this analysis: On April 4, 2011, the American Tradition Institute (“ATI”), the American Tradition Partnership (“ATP”), and Rod Lueck filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado arguing that … Continue Reading
In a long-awaited announcement, last week the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities adopted rules to codify the State’s Offshore Wind Economic Development Act. The new rules provide the process for an applicant to submit project information and to propose a pricing method and structure for Offshore Renewable Energy Credits (ORECs) for the Board’s consideration. … 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
With 3/5 of the States having Renewable Portfolio Standard in place and the prospect of a Federal RPS, many utilities are seeking to become first time purchasers of the output from wind projects. And utilities with a history of purchasing wind are seeking additional resources. In 2009, the presenters collectively worked on over 40 wind … Continue Reading
Today, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) issued a Request for Offers seeking eligible renewable resources that the utility will use to meet its California Renewable Portfolio Standard requirements. Respondents may submit one or more of three alternative proposals: Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). Respondents are asked to propose a 10, 15, or 20-year PPA for … Continue Reading
Under California’s Renewable Portfolio Standard, investor-owned utilities only have until 2010 to procure 20% of their power from renewable sources (although certain flexible compliance measures do apply). There are concerns that the rapidly-approaching deadline is leading utilities to sign power purchase agreements with projects that are not viable and may never achieve commercial operation. To help prevent … Continue Reading
On September 18, 2008, the Michigan legislature sent the state’s first Renewable Portfolio Standard to the Governor’s desk for signature. The package mandates "10 percent of the state’s energy come from renewable sources by 2015, regulatory reform that protects Michigan ratepayers and allows utility companies to build new electricity generation in Michigan, and a requirement … Continue Reading
