The DOE has signed a $3.8M cooperative research agreement with the University of Maine to support full-scale deployment of the first U.S. grid-connected offshore floating wind turbine prototype. On September 5, 2014, the University of Maine (UMaine) announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) signed a $3.8M cooperative research agreement with UMaine to advance design…...
The New York Department of Public Service (DPS) staff has issued a Straw Proposal on achieving the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) Track One goals. The straw proposal reaffirms the initial April 24 proceeding which identified utilities’ role in managing a distributed system platform (DSP) and growing the state’s existing Distributed Energy Resource (DER) assets. Despite…...
Deepwater Wind has received the final federal approval required to advance its proposed Block Island Wind Farm, which would be the nation’s first offshore wind project. On September 5, 2014, Deepwater Wind announced that its proposed Block Island Wind Farm has received final federal permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the project’s lead…...
First Wind Holdings LLC has received preliminary permit to construct its proposed 62-turbine, 206 MW Bingham wind project in Maine. On August 27, 2014, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection granted preliminary land-use permit to First Wind Holdings LLC’s proposed Bingham wind project. The $398M project, to be developed by First Wind’s subsidiaries Blue Sky…...
Hawaiian Electric Companies have proposed comprehensive electric energy plans with a goal to achieve more than 65 percent renewable energy by 2030. On August 26, 2014, the Hawaiian Electric Companies – Hawaiian Electric, Maui Electric, and Hawaii Electric Light Company – proposed electric energy plans in response to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s (PUC)…...
The Department of Energy’s new wind industry reports show modest growth in 2013 annual wind capacity additions and point to a more robust-growth in 2014-2015. On August 18, 2014, the Department of Energy (DOE) released two reports on U.S. wind industry trends in 2013. The reports show that the U.S. ranked second in the world in…...
The Wyoming Industrial Siting Council has approved the necessary state permit to construct and operate the state’s largest wind farm. On August 8, 2014, the Power Company of Wyoming LLC (PCW) announced that a seven-member panel of Wyoming’s Industrial Siting Council (ISC) unanimously approved PCW’s application for a major non-federal permit required to move forward…...
DOE has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement for a 336-mile electric transmission system between the United States and Canada, clearing the way for final Presidential Permit issuance. On August 11, 2014, Transmission Developers Inc. announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its proposed Champlain Hudson Power…...
The United States is set to begin construction this year on its first offshore wind farm – the Cape Wind Project, led by Cape Wind Associates, LLC – located off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The 130-turbine, 468 MW Cape Wind Project would more than quadruple Massachusetts’ current wind power capacity (Figure 1),…...
IRS Notice 2014-46 provides additional eligibility clarification for renewable energy tax credits and lowers the Safe Harbor requirement from 5 percent to 3 percent. On August 8, 2014, the Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released guidance (Notice 2014-26) providing additional clarification regarding eligibility requirements for the renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC)…...
The Department of Interior has issued a proposed sale notice of approximately 344,000 acres in the New Jersey Wind Energy Area. On July 21, 2014, the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Management (BOEM) published a Proposed Sale Notice for commercial wind energy leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) offshore New Jersey. The…...