On May 18, 2022, the California Energy Commission met to discuss its draft report to evaluate and quantify the maximum feasible capacity of offshore wind to achieve reliability, ratepayer, employment, and decarbonization benefits and establish megawatt offshore wind planning goals for 2030 and 2045. The report is the first of three interim work products that … Continue Reading
On November 18, 2021, FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comments on reactive power capability compensation and market design. (Link to NOI here). Reactive power is a critical component of the bulk electric system. Almost all bulk electric power is generated, transported, and consumed in AC networks. These AC systems consume both real … Continue Reading
In June 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) issued its Mid-Term Reliability Procurement Decision, Decision (D.) 21-06-035, which directed load-serving entities subject to its jurisdiction (investor-owned utilities, community choice aggregators, and energy service providers) to procure at least 11,500 megawatts (MW) of net-qualifying capacity (NQC) for reliability for the period 2023 through 2026. The … Continue Reading
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is accepting stakeholder comments until August 13, 2019 on its new Hybrid Resources Issue Paper, kicking off a stakeholder initiative expected to proceed until April 2020. Initial comments submitted now will help shape the direction of the initiative and potential market changes. Though not exclusively limited to renewables + storage … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives’ Energy Team has been monitoring and providing summaries of key energy-related bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. Legislators have been busy moving bills through the legislative process since reconvening from the Summer Recess. For any bill not identified as a two-year bill, the deadline for each … Continue Reading
Stoel Rives’ Energy Team has been monitoring and providing summaries of key energy-related bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. June 2, 2017 was the deadline by which the legislature was required to pass bills out of the house of origin. Failing to meet that deadline does not automatically … Continue Reading
On April 6th, the energy storage market received a boost in California when state regulators authorized $196 million in new rebates for customers who install onsite (behind the meter) energy storage systems. Background The change occurs under the California Self Generation Incentive Program (“SGIP”). SGIP provides a financial rebate to energy customers who install new … Continue Reading
In our first post, the Stoel Rives’ Energy Team provided a summary of energy related bills introduced by California legislators during the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. Provided below is a summary of changes to bills we have been following, as well as a list of energy related bills not included in our … Continue Reading
If you’re looking for a new cleantech startup idea, the San Diego Regional Energy Innovation Network (SD-REIN) recently released a report that identifies cleantech market opportunities in the Southern California region. The report, entitled “Regional Energy Technology Priorities and Needs,” was presented at an SD-REIN meeting on March 9, 2017. It will be used to … Continue Reading
February 17, 2017 marked the deadline by which legislators had to introduce bills for the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. The Stoel Rives’ Energy Team has been and will continue to monitor bills throughout the two-year session and will provide periodic updates as to the status of those bills. Most noteworthy here is … Continue Reading
Minnesota Power released a Request for Proposals (RFP) yesterday for up to 300 MW of wind generation, with proposals due by September 7, 2016. A copy of the RFP and additional details are available at http://www.mnpower.com/Company/PowerSupplyRFP. Minnesota Power also filed its press release with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC). Minnesota Power will also release … Continue Reading
The Solar Electric Power Association (SEPA) recently released a Community Solar Program Design Models report as part of a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Market Pathways program. The report is a resource for anyone interested in community solar, but is particularly useful to those involved in developing a community solar program in their community. The report details … Continue Reading
Xcel Energy filed its December Report on the Community Solar Gardens Program this week, announcing that 13 projects totaling 43 MW have entered into the design and construction phase. Xcel also reports that it has received “few additional applications” since the spike in applications in September. There are currently 801 applications in the interconnection queue and … Continue Reading
Xcel Energy filed its monthly report for the Community Solar Garden program with the Public Utilities Commission last week, revealing that 24 projects are moving to the beginning stages of construction. Xcel also reports that, “after receiving over 600 applications in the surge to submit co-located projects, the pace has slowed considerably.” There are currently … Continue Reading
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 of 680 MW … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) met to address the first general rate case filed under section 216B.16 subd. 19 of the Minnesota Statutes. Northern States Power Company, a Minnesota Corporation, d/b/a Xcel Energy submitted the multiyear rate petition on November 4, 2013. In that petition, Xcel Energy asked for an increase in … Continue Reading
In a first-of-its-kind report announced this morning, Ceres and Clean Edge ranked the nation’s largest electric utilities and local subsidiaries on their renewable energy sales and energy efficiency savings. The report focused on three clean energy indicators: renewable energy sales; cumulative annual energy efficiency; and incremental annual energy efficiency.… Continue Reading
We wanted to invite our readers to listen in on a one-on-one conversation between our colleague Jon Wellinghoff and Marty Rosenberg, EnergyBiz editor-in-chief, July 15, noon-1 p.m. Eastern. You can register here. Jon, the immediate past chair of FERC, helped initiate a national debate about grid security when he raised concerns in a Wall Street … Continue Reading
Late last week, the United States Dept. of Energy (“DOE”) Loan Program Office issued a final solicitation for projects seeking loan guarantees titled “Federal Loan Guarantees for Renewable Energy Projects and Efficient Energy Projects.” Issued under the DOE’s Section 1703 Loan Program (named for Section 1703 of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of … Continue Reading
Yesterday EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy unveiled the highly anticipated carbon dioxide rules for existing power plants. Dubbed the “Clean Power Plan,” the rules taken together likely will have a significant impact on industrial and other consumers of electricity as well as developers of natural gas-fired and renewable generation (e.g., solar, biomass and wind). Stoel Rives attorneys … Continue Reading
FERC issues a proposed rulemaking that impacts the owners of gen-tie lines, and the rulemaking is particularly important to renewable energy developers who are interested in maintaining priority to gen-tie capacity for multi-phase projects.… Continue Reading
I recently moderated an ABA/ACORE webinar focused on cross-border renewable energy development in Latin America and the Caribbean. To introduce the topic, I recounted a recent experience at an on-the-record dinner hosted by David Bradley, publisher of The Atlantic Magazine. The dinner was sponsored by the global CEO of one of the largest energy companies … Continue Reading
The East Kern Wind Resource Area (EKWRA)–it’s a mouthful–and it’s also a hotbed for renewable energy development and the location of a fight over millions of dollars among Southern California Edison (SCE), the California ISO, and independent power developers (IPPs). Late last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) scored that fight in favor of … Continue Reading
In a proposed decision issued yesterday from the California Public Utilities Commission, an administrative law judge (ALJ) determined that energy storage devices (i) that are paired with net energy metering- (NEM) eligible generation facilities, and (ii) that meet the Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook requirements to be considered an "addition or enhancement" to NEM-eligible systems are "exempt from interconnection application … Continue Reading
