Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, a Republican, signed a measure on Aug. 1 requiring the levelized price of offshore wind contracts resulting from subsequent solicitations to be lower than the initial procurement if the price is adjusted for federal tax credits, inflation, and incentives. The legislation takes into account the decline of federal tax credits in…
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, according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Over three dozen states, territories and the nation’s capital…...
The Western Energy Imbalance market generated about $86 million in savings in the second quarter of this year, with total benefits reaching about $736 million since its launch in November 2014, according to a July 31 press release from the California Independent System Operator Corporation. The market helps displace less-clean energy supplies with surplus renewable…
The Maine Public Utilities Commission on July 31 implemented changes to reinstate net metering, following legislation enacted in April that eliminated the gross metering policy, which was adopted in 2017. The 2017 rule required that the total or gross production of the net-metered facility be measured using a second meter as opposed to the prior…
The Kentucky Public Service Commission opened a docket on July 30 to implement legislation enacted in March that redefined net metering by directing state regulators to set the compensation rate for solar customers through a ratemaking process. Under the law, retail electric suppliers are entitled to recover the costs incurred to serve customer-generators, including fixed…
Massachusetts state lawmakers on July 22 passed a bill that authorizes the Barnstable Town Council to grant an easement for a portion of Covell’s Beach to construct the interconnection between Vineyard Wind LLC’s offshore wind project and the New England power grid. The 800-megawatt project, jointly owned by Avangrid Renewables LLC and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners,…
Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s proposed allocation of customer service-related costs in its rate case for the 2020-2022 period fails to reflect the cost differentials between bundled and unbundled electric distribution customers, according to a group of community choice aggregators operating in the utility’s territory. The differentials have become important with the advent of community…
U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat representing Nevada, introduced legislation on July 25 that would provide a five-year extension of the solar investment tax credit at its full 30 percent value. Representative Mike Thompson, a California Democrat, joined by Republican Representatives Paul Cook of California and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, introduced a bipartisan companion…
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 25 directed PJM Interconnection LLC not to move forward with its annual capacity auction scheduled for Aug. 14-28, recognizing the need to ensure certainty for market participants who make resource investment and retirement decisions. The agency has not yet rendered a decision on the grid operator’s proposal filed…
Republican Governor Christopher Sununu vetoed legislation on July 24 that sought to revise the state’s renewable portfolio standards for solar to 5.4 percent by 2025. Currently, the state’s RPS requires 25.2 percent of power to come from renewables by 2025, with a solar carve-out of 0.7 percent by 2020. This is the second solar bill…
Duke Energy Renewables LLC on July 22 announced the purchase of its largest solar energy project, a 200-megawatt facility, which is being developed by 8minute Solar Energy in Texas. The solar farm, which is expected to be complete in the summer of 2020, will sell much of its output through a 12-year hedge agreement to…
The South Dakota Public Utilities Commission on July 24 granted a permit allowing Triple H Wind Project LLC to construct a 250-megawatt wind energy facility in Hyde County at an estimated cost $300 million. Triple H Wind, a subsidiary of Engie North America Inc., has entered into two 30-year power purchase agreements to sell the…