The Montana Supreme Court on Aug. 24 ruled that state regulators unlawfully reduced the payments and contract lengths for solar projects’ power supply arrangements under the 1978 Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA, which established requirements for utilities to purchase power from small independent generators. The decision affirms a 2019 lower court order, and…...
The Michigan Public Service Commission on Aug. 20 ordered DTE Electric Co., Consumers Energy Co., and Indiana Michigan Power Co. to file electricity distribution and maintenance plans consistent with the goals set forth in MI Power Grid – Michigan’s grid modernization initiative. MI Power Grid, launched in October 2019 with support from Democratic Governor Gretchen…...
Recently, state regulators have stepped up efforts to value distributed energy resources (DERs) more accurately while looking for ways to better reflect the costs they impose on the grid. Among recent actions, New York adopted a mechanism to move the market towards more cost-reflective rates, while California decided to include avoided transmission costs in the valuation, and Connecticut unveiled a study on quantifying the benefits of these resources.
The New York Public Service Commission on Aug. 13 announced an update on transmission initiatives underway to implement the 2020 Accelerated Renewable Energy Growth & Community Benefit Act. This legislation calls for significant investment to meet New York’s target of sourcing 70 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2030. The 2019 Climate Leadership…...
Alternative ratemaking plans and innovative rate design proposals continue to emerge as utilities adapt to policy and technology changes driven by decarbonization efforts and distributed energy growth. With growing state mandates to increase renewable energy generation, regulators are devising performance metrics and incentives to encourage utility innovation in achieving policy goals.
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on August 11 released a draft report concerning the incentive levels required to support continued solar development while lowering costs to the state’s four million ratepayers. To attain incentive values that better align with the project types and maximize ratepayer savings, the report recommends transitioning away from the…...
Republican Governor Christopher Sununu on July 24 vetoed legislation that would have revised the state’s renewable portfolio standard, raising the solar requirement to nearly 19 percent by 2040. Current policy requires 25.2 percent of New Hampshire’s electricity to be sourced from renewable energy by 2025, with a solar carve-out of 0.7 percent by 2020. In…...
Mississippi Public Services Commission Chairman Dane Maxwell on August 4 drafted orders to approve two 78.5-megawatt solar facilities in Hancock and Clarke Counties. The projects would cost $80 million each and are expected to have a useful life of more than 35 years. Both the projects – Moonshot Solar in Hancock County and Cane Creek…...
Public Service Enterprise Group is exploring alternatives to 6,750 megawatts of fossil generation in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Maryland, and its 467-megawatt Solar Source portfolio across 14 states, according to a July 31 press release. The New Jersey utility intends to retain its existing nuclear fleet, in order to help the state achieve…...
The debate over ratepayer subsidies for struggling nuclear power plants has resurfaced, following a racketeering investigation related to a controversial Ohio law, which created a $1 billion bailout for FirstEnergy Corp. last year. The economic troubles of the embroiled industry come to the fore even as states such as New Jersey and Illinois evaluate plans to opt out of the regional capacity market in response to reforms that expanded the minimum offer price rule to subsidized resources.
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on July 29 approved a portfolio of renewable energy projects, including 650 megawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of battery storage, to replace the retiring capacity of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. Investment in the resources could total about $1 billion. The commission found that the plan is…...
U.S. utility-scale power generation facilities used 38 quadrillion British thermal units, or quads, of energy to provide 14 quads of electricity in 2019, according to a July 21 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Much of the difference is attributed to losses during the conversion process. In presenting this statistic, the industry at large…...
