The Nevada Public Utilities Commission announced that it’s lowering the credits that it awards to customers for excess generation exported onto the grid to 88 percent of the retail electricity rate, from 95 percent, after new and existing solar capacity on the system topped 80 megawatts. Legislation passed in June 2017 that reinstated net metering…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on July 31 rejected challenges to ISO New England Inc.’s rules that provide an exemption to the minimum offer price rule, or MOPR, for certain renewable resources participating in the capacity market. In 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved revisions to allow up…
Massachusetts lawmakers approved legislation on July 31 to strengthen the state’s renewable portfolio standard by requiring a 2 percent boost in procurement of the supplies each year from 2020 to 2029, up from the current 1 percent annual increase. The current goal requires 15 percent by 2020, followed by a one percent increase each year.…
NRG Community Solar LLC lodged a protest over the lower-than-expected credits Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp. and Orange and Rockland Utilities Inc. said that they will award for power from community solar projects, with the developer arguing that the reduced rates jeopardize the viability of its renewable facilities. NRG said that it was recently…
The New York Department of Public Service called on members of the state utility commission to revise rates to more accurately and efficiently compensate distributed energy generation, in a move that staff said could help drive an additional 1,000 megawatts of new community distributed generation. The staff recommends options that would allow developers and customers…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 20 authorized a subsidiary of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board to acquire a 49-percent stake in Cedar Point Wind LLC and Silver State Solar Power North LLC from Enbridge Holdings (Power) LLC. Cedar Point owns a 252-megawatt wind farm in Colorado, while Silver State owns a 52-megawatt…
Hawaiian Electric Company Inc., Hawaii Electric Light Company Inc., and Maui Electric Company Limited filed an integrated grid planning report that takes a new approach to advance the island’s clean energy goals, according to the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission’s July 12 press release. The report proposes to combine “historically separate planning processes” for generation, transmission,…
Kansas electric utilities have enough capacity to meet the goal of 20 percent renewables by 2020 under the state’s voluntary renewable energy program, according to a July 11 report from the Kansas Corporation Commission staff. The staff said that compliance filings show that reporting utilities have surplus renewable energy credits to meet the 2020 goal…
The California Public Utilities Commission is weighing updates to the rules governing the power purchase contracts utilities must enter into with small producers under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA, to reflect market changes, according to a July 11 proposed decision. The commission intends to adopt a new standard offer contract…
The California Public Utilities Commission on July 2 started a new rulemaking to continue oversight of the state’s renewable portfolio standards program. The commission will continue to review and monitor renewable procurement plans of retail sellers as well as procurements of investor-owned utilities, assess compliance, and take enforcement action. The new proceeding will consider improvements…
Virginia’s Office of Attorney General, in a July 10 filing with the Virginia State Corporation Commission, said that customers enrolling in Virginia Electric and Power Company’s proposed community pilot solar program would be paying a premium rate over standard customers and should be protected from any statutory framework that could be considered unfair as a…
Duke Energy announced it will solicit bids for renewable projects totaling 680 megawatts capacity under a new competitive solicitation program in North and South Carolina, according to a July 10 press release. Bids for the projects are due Sept. 11 and can be in the form of solar contracts, utility-developed facilities, or asset acquisitions, with…