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…
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on July 10 issued a draft plan to advance in-state solar development, with a goal for the renewable power source to supply 10 percent of the state’s electricity by 2030. The state would have to install about 11 gigawatts of solar capacity to reach the target, up from the…
The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission opened a proceeding to establish rules to spur the deployment of microgrids by the state’s main utilities. The initiative responds to passage of legislation that seeks to harness the systems to enhance integration of renewable generation and add resilience to the grid by providing backup generation during emergencies. Hawaii has…
Net metering reforms are becoming more common to keep pace with the evolution of solar and other forms of distributed generation. Regulators are increasingly pushing for adjustments to the valuation of distributed generation as higher levels of supplies begin to strain the grid. Rate designs that value solar-plus-storage could solve the growing concerns of cost shifts and approaching net metering caps.
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The Arizona Corporation Commission on July 5 issued draft rules to implement the Arizona Energy Modernization Plan that sets a goal for the state to deploy 3,000 megawatts of energy storage by 2030 and requires 80 percent of annual electric sales to come from clean resources by 2050. It also includes a clean peak standard…
