DTE Electric Company on March 20 filed a revised integrated resource plan with the Michigan Public Service Commission incorporating changes that the agency recommended to the original plan. The new IRP includes a single pathway and eliminates the four possible scenarios in the previous plan, applies higher energy waste reduction targets, and removes unapproved supply-side…...
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on March 20 proposed revisions to its electric transmission incentive policy to spur investment in the infrastructure needed to support the evolving generation mix, increasing number of new resources seeking transmission service, and changes in load patterns. The commission proposes a shift in its incentive analysis to grant incentives based…...
Solar and wind developers are faced with tough challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupts the global supply chain, affecting project timelines. Delays have the potential to threaten power purchase contracts and federal tax credits that are crucial for project economics. The crisis has triggered an economic slowdown as governments take measures to curb the advance of…
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission issued a permit allowing Crowned Ridge Wind II LLC to build a 301-megawatt wind energy facility in Codington, Deuel, and Grant counties, according to a March 18 press release. The $425 million project consists of 132 wind turbines spanning about 70,000 acres east of Watertown. The developer has entered…...
The Tennessee Valley Authority issued a request for proposals to develop 200 megawatts of renewable energy projects that can begin commercial operations by the end of 2023, according to a March 16 news release. The seven-state power agency said it does not have a need for more base-load energy and is investing in renewables in…...
Virginia has become the first state in the South to begin a clean energy transition with the passage of a sweeping energy bill that sets the state on the path to carbon-free power by 2050. The law replaces the voluntary renewable energy portfolio program with a mandatory standard, and paves the way for an enormous expansion of wind and solar power, energy storage, and energy efficiency.
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 16 announced the selection of 21 large-scale solar, wind, and energy storage projects totaling 1,278 megawatts in the state’s latest annual solicitation for large-scale renewable energy capacity. The awards, which represent $1 billion in state investment, include projects that offered bids 23 percent lower than those received three years…...
The New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment on March 13 granted a permit, allowing Canisteo Wind Energy LLC, a subsidiary of Invenergy LLC, to construct a 290.7-megawatt wind generating facility in Steuben County. The project is expected to generate up to $60 million in local property tax revenues over 20…...
The final version of Virginia’s Clean Economy Act cleared the state’s House of Delegates and Senate on March 7, and now awaits Democratic Governor Ralph Northam’s signature. The legislation codifies the 2050 clean energy goal that Governor Northam laid out in an executive order issued last September. The bill calls for more wind and solar…...
Democratic Governor Phil Murphy on Feb. 28 announced the state’s offshore wind procurement schedule, which calls for the next 1.2-gigawatt solicitation to be opened by September, with an award made by the second quarter of 2021. The plan calls for four more rounds in 2022, 2024, 2026 and 2028 to achieve the state’s 7.5-gigawatt offshore…
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas Inc. expects more than 82,400 megawatts of resource capacity to be available to meet the projected peak demand of 76,696 megawatts for the upcoming summer season from June through September, according to a March 5 announcement. The preliminary summer assessment anticipates record electric use this summer, with grid operations…
The Michigan Public Service Commission authorized rate increases totaling $417.5 million in five electric and natural gas rate cases last year, $245.5 million less than what the utilities requested, according to the agency’s annual report issued on March 2. The increases were driven largely by investments needed to replace aging infrastructure to improve safety and…