The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA) filed the latest edition of its 2019-2038 integrated resource plan which calls for 1,800 megawatts of solar, 920 megawatts of storage and resilient MiniGrids at a cost of about $14 billion, according to a June 7 testimony and plan. With the assistance of Siemens and extensive stakeholder input, PREPA settled…
Lawmakers from about a dozen U.S. states advanced measures this year to grow supplies of renewable energy through bold anti-fossil-fuel mandates, showing that support for carbon free power sources bears no signs of abating even after years of steady policy action by legislatures.
The Oregon legislature on June 7 approved a measure that seeks to prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas exploration and production. The ban is set to expire on Jan. 2, 2025. (HB 2623) The bill exempts the use of fracturing for natural gas storage wells, geothermal activities, and existing coal bed…
The ISO New England Inc. requires wind and intermittent hydropower generators with a capacity supply obligation to offer their power into the grid operator’s day-ahead energy market, starting June 1. The requirement stems from an initiative launched in 2016 to enable these resources to take part in real-time markets and begin taking electronic dispatch instructions.…
Democratic Governor Ned Lamont signed legislation on June 7, authorizing the state to purchase up to 2 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, equivalent to 30 percent of the state load. The bill requires the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to select proposals through one or more solicitations and direct the state’s electric distribution companies to…
The Michigan Public Service Commission found that Consumers Energy Co. did not act in a timely manner to mark natural gas and electrical lines after receiving notices of excavation plans in over 20,000 instances, according to a June 7 press release. The findings were based on the commission staff’s tracking of the company’s responses to…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on June 7 approved Consumers Energy Co.’s integrated resource plan, which calls for the addition of 5 gigawatts of solar capacity through competitive bidding by 2030 and phase-out of coal from its generation portfolio, putting the utility on a path to achieve 90 percent emissions reductions by 2040. The plan…
The Missouri Public Service Commission authorized Invenergy Investment Company LLC to acquire ownership of Clean Line Energy Partners LLC’s 780-mile Grain Belt Express transmission project, according to a June 5 press release. The $2.3 billion multi-state transmission line is designed to deliver 4 gigawatts of wind power from Western Kansas to Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on June 4 dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s consideration of greenhouse gas emissions in approving Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC’s $400 million Broad Run Expansion Project. The court ruled that the petitioners did not provide sufficient evidence to support their…
The Ohio Public Utilities Commission on June 5 set the alternative compliance payment for the non-solar portion of the state’s renewable portfolio standard at about $53 per megawatt-hour for 2019. Ohio has a target to procure 12.5 percent of electricity from renewables by 2027, with a solar carve-out of 0.5 percent. Electric distribution utilities or…
Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak signed legislation on May 29 directing the Public Utilities Commission to adopt regulations enabling electric utilities to file alternative rate-making plans, which include performance-based rates that are based on performance metrics that the commission may establish. The legislation also authorizes the commission to include a mechanism for earnings sharing with the…
Republican Governor Christopher Sununu on June 3 vetoed legislation that sought to expand the state’s net metering cap to 5 megawatts from one megawatt, saying that the measure would burden ratepayers with hundreds of millions of dollars in higher electric bills. (HB 365) In his veto message, Sununu explained that the bill is a “regressive…
