The Public Service Co. of Oklahoma and Southwestern Electric Power Co. are seeking regulatory approval to buy three wind projects, with a combined capacity of 1,485 megawatts, that are being developed by Invenergy LLC in Oklahoma, according to a July 15 filing with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission. The projects were selected through a competitive solicitation…
The Maine Public Utilities Commission on July 12 approved a 20-year contract for a Weaver Wind LLC’s 72.6 megawatt wind power project, which is expected to come online by the end of 2020. The commission determined that the contract price of 3.5 cents per kilowatt hour, which is set to increase at 2.5 percent annually,…
Vineyard Wind LLC on July 12 announced it will seek an order from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection to overrule the Edgartown Conservation Commission’s denial of a permit to install offshore transmission cables. The decision came after the U.S. Interior Department informed that it was not yet prepared to issue a final environmental review,…
Minnesota Power, a unit of ALLETE Inc., proposed a rate adjustment to recover the costs related to on-going transmission projects, which include the 500-kilovolt Great Northern Transmission Line that will deliver 383 megawatts of hydropower from Manitoba Hydro beginning in 2020, according to a July 9 filing with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. The company…
New Hampshire lawmakers have approved legislation that allows municipalities and counties to aggregate retail electric customers who do not opt out of a program. Currently, community choice is allowed only for residents who consent to being included in a program. The bill allows municipalities to operate energy efficiency and clean energy districts adopted with the…
State renewable portfolio standards are a key driver behind the torrid expansion of wind and solar generation across the U.S., responsible for about half of the nation's deployment of the clean energy sources over the last couple of decades.
The Tennessee Valley Authority on June 28 released its 2019 integrated resource plan, which calls for up to 14 gigawatts of new solar and 5.3 gigawatts of battery storage to meet the electricity needs of the seven-state region through 2038. The utility said that the plan is designed to facilitate a more flexible power generation…
State renewable portfolio standards are a key driver behind the torrid expansion in wind and solar, responsible for about half of the nation’s deployment of the clean energy sources over the last couple of decades. More than three dozen states plus the nation’s capital have compliance standards or voluntary targets and stronger ones are being…...
Democratic Governor Janet Mills signed a measure on June 26 establishing a climate council tasked with developing an action plan to achieve emissions reductions of 45 percent by 2030 and 80 percent by 2050, relative to 1990 levels. Mills also signed a bill that strengthens the state’s renewable portfolio standard to 80 by 2030 and…
The California Public Utilities Commission on June 28 finalized the procurement levels required under the state’s renewable portfolio standard program for years beginning in 2021 that were revised by Senate Bill 100 enacted last year. The law requires 60 percent of electricity retail sales to come from renewable resources by 2030. The agency revised the…
MidAmerican Energy Company served 51.4 percent of its retail sales using renewable energy last year, the Iowa Utilities Board verified in an order issued on June 21. The company said that it owns the vast majority of the renewable generation that delivers its retail energy, and acquires a small amount through power purchase arrangements. The…
In April 2019, U.S. monthly electricity generation from renewable sources exceeded coal-fired generation for the first time based on data in EIA’s Electric Power Monthly. Renewables, which include utility-scale hydropower, wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass, provided 23 percent of the total electricity generation while coal provided 20. According to the agency, the milestone was helped by…
