The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities on Sept. 26 approved compensation for new solar owners under the Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target or SMART program, a long-term, sustainable solar incentive solution that replaces the Solar Renewable Energy Certificate or SERC II program. The program has a goal of 1,600 megawatts, implying that ten percent of the…
More than a dozen members of the Georgia General Assembly, in a Sept. 19 letter to the owners of the Vogtle nuclear plant, expressed concerns over the “ever-escalating cost” of the project and urged them to establish a cost cap to protect electric ratepayers from cost overruns. The lawmakers noted that, last month Georgia Power,…
The Bureau of Land Management on Sept. 18 issued final revisions to an Obama-era rule aimed at reducing the waste of methane, a potent global warming pollutant, from venting, flaring, and leaks during oil and natural gas drilling operations. The final rule largely re-establishes the requirements that were in place before the 2016 rule, which,…
The New York Public Service Commission announced Sept. 12 that it cleared the way for smaller energy storage batteries, tidal energy projects, biomass generators and food-waste digestion systems to receive compensation, removing what the agency said are arbitrary and unnecessary restrictions to the nascent technologies. The projects will receive bill credits that are roughly the…
The Virginia State Corporation Commission approved Sustainable Power Group’s application to construct the Spotsylvania Solar Energy Center, set to be Virginia’s largest solar project. The solar farm, planned for western Spotsylvania County, will sell its output to the wholesale market operated by PJM Interconnection LLC. In March, Microsoft Corp. announced a contract to buy 315…
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 Washington Utilities Commission on June 28 approved Puget Sound Energy Inc.’s solicitation process for demand response, as well as other resources including electric generation sources, energy storage, and renewable energy credits. The company’s resource acquisition process follows its integrated resource planning analysis, which establishes capacity and renewable energy needs on a biennial basis. The…