The New York Public Service Commission is due to receive comments on AES Corporation’s application seeking approval to build the Brookside Solar project, a 100-megawatt solar electric generation facility spanning an area of 645 acres in Franklin County. Construction and operation of the project would be subject to the terms and conditions of the siting permit issued by the Office of Renewable Energy Siting and Electric Transmission in December 2023. The project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by approximately 131,000 metric tons each year and contribute to the state’s goal of generating 70 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 and attaining a carbon-free grid by 2040. 24-E-0411

The Maine Public Utilities Commission will hold a conference to discuss Efficiency Maine Trust’s triennial plan for fiscal years 2026-2028, the sixth plan pursuant to the Efficiency Maine Trust Act. Electric utilities and natural gas utilities, the main sources of Efficiency Maine’s funding, are required to procure maximum achievable cost-effective energy efficiency resources. In response to recent legislation, this plan also introduces specific budget allocations, strategies and metrics for beneficial electrification, a suite of measures counted as part of electricity efficiency savings. The petition requests the commission to issue appropriate orders to utilities for the full procurement of energy efficiency resources identified within the plan and as directed by the act. 2024-00310

The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission will discuss Avista Utilities’ draft 2025 integrated resource plan for electric service, which identifies the most reasonable and prudent means of meeting the utility’s energy and capacity needs over a 20-year planning horizon. The preferred resource strategy details a mix of new generation, storage, demand response, market purchases, and energy efficiency options to meet load growth. Under the strategy, energy efficiency meets 32 percent of future load growth, and the biennial energy efficiency target for 2026-2027 is 55 percent higher than the 2024-2025 target. To meet Washington’s 2045 clean energy targets, the plan emphasizes the need for a diversified clean capacity portfolio using emerging technologies such as small modular reactors, power-to-gas fueling combustion turbines, and long-duration energy storage technologies.

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission is due to receive comments on possible changes to its rules regulating electric utilities relating to the impacts of energy development on significant sites. The commission initiated a docket in July to consider proposed rules clarifying the process by which regulated electric utilities and wholesale generation and transmission cooperative associations identify the impacts of energy development to sites of historic and cultural significance to federally recognized tribes. The commission seeks to understand the full costs of the actions and alternatives advanced by utilities and wholesale cooperatives. This will help the commission make decisions about risk and cost that impact ratepayers and ensure that costs associated with mitigation are planned and accounted for. At a hearing held in October, public comments raised numerous questions or concerns about the proposed rules, warranting additional input. 24R-0306E

The California Air Resources Board and Québec’s Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change will release the results of their 41st joint quarterly carbon auction, which offered allowances for current and future years. The current auction offered 2019 and 2024 vintage allowances totaling about 52.6 million, and the advance auction offered 2027 future allowances totaling about 7.2 million. The previous auction held in August sold all of the nearly 51.2 million current allowances at a price of $30.24 per allowance and 7.2 million future allowances at $29.75 per allowance. California’s cap-and trade program places an economy-wide cap on major emitting sources.