The University of Maine on Aug. 5 announced a partnership with New England Aqua Ventus LLC, a joint venture of Diamond Offshore Wind and RWE Renewables to develop the nation’s first floating offshore wind demonstration project off the coast of Maine. The companies will invest $100 million to build the turbine and demonstrate the technology…...
A bipartisan group of 32 legislators from Ohio asked the state’s Power Siting Board to reconsider the restrictions imposed on Icebreaker Wind Inc.‘s 20.7- megawatt offshore wind project in Lake Erie, according to a July 29 press release. The construction certificate, issued in May, includes a condition that the turbines remain feathered during nighttime hours…...
Republican Governor Christopher Sununu on July 24 vetoed legislation that would have revised the state’s renewable portfolio standard, raising the solar requirement to nearly 19 percent by 2040. Current policy requires 25.2 percent of New Hampshire’s electricity to be sourced from renewable energy by 2025, with a solar carve-out of 0.7 percent by 2020. In…...
Mississippi Public Services Commission Chairman Dane Maxwell on August 4 drafted orders to approve two 78.5-megawatt solar facilities in Hancock and Clarke Counties. The projects would cost $80 million each and are expected to have a useful life of more than 35 years. Both the projects – Moonshot Solar in Hancock County and Cane Creek…...
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on Aug 4 approved new rules for advanced meter infrastructure, following a two-year rulemaking process. The regulations require investor-owned utilities employing residential smart meters to focus on customer data privacy and service continuity. Customers are allowed to opt-out of smart meters. Smart meters are critical to grid modernization as…...
Public Service Enterprise Group is exploring alternatives to 6,750 megawatts of fossil generation in New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Maryland, and its 467-megawatt Solar Source portfolio across 14 states, according to a July 31 press release. The New Jersey utility intends to retain its existing nuclear fleet, in order to help the state achieve…...
The Southwest Power Pool Inc., the regional transmission organization for 14 states in the central U.S., on July 29 announced plans to implement policy changes and improve its market development strategies in the second half of 2020. The announcement follows a suite of approvals from the organization’s board and stakeholder committees. The board approved four…...
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on July 29 approved an extension of the state’s Clean Energy Program budget through the end of September, consistent with the state’s extended fiscal year. The extended budget will allocate a total of $7 million for the fifth quarter of Fiscal Year 2020 to support renewable energy, energy…...
The U.S. Energy Department on July 29 announced a policy statement that extends the term for exporting liquefied natural gas through 2050. This marks a shift from erstwhile export terms, which were customarily designed in increments of 20-year terms. The department proposed the 2050 term extension earlier this year in February in response to policy…...
The California Public Utilities Commission on July 29 announced a new research, development, and deployment initiative to bolster the relationship between ratepayer-funded projects and emerging policy issues. This shall manifest itself within four new workstreams pertinent to advancing the state’s energy agenda: equity, wildfire mitigation, transportation electrification, and utility safety power shut offs. In doing…...
The Bureau of Land Management on July 29 proposed revisions to three regulations on oil and gas production, measurement, and reporting, in a bid to reduce bureaucracy and provide accurate royalties for ratepayers. The move stems from the bureau’s review of 2016 rules, following a 2017 executive order that directed agencies to ensure that regulations do…...
The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission on July 29 approved a portfolio of renewable energy projects, including 650 megawatts of solar and 300 megawatts of battery storage, to replace the retiring capacity of the coal-fired San Juan Generating Station. Investment in the resources could total about $1 billion. The commission found that the plan is…...