Massachusetts regulators selected Central Maine Power Company’s 1,200-megawatt New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project as the alternative winner in the state’s clean energy solicitation program if the $1.6-billion Northern Pass power line, which won the bid last month, fails to clear New Hampshire’s permit requirement by March 27, according to a Feb. 17 news release from the Maine Public Utilities Commission. Central Maine Power Company, a subsidiary of Avangrid Networks Inc., which is owned by Iberdrola SA, proposed the $950 million transmission project in a joint bid with Hydro-Québec to deliver renewable energy from Québec to the New England grid. Earlier this month, Maine Governor Paul LePage, a Republican, asked the commission to expedite approval of the Avangrid power line after New Hampshire denied a key permit to Northern Pass.

U.S. imports of solar modules reached 13 gigawatts in 2016, up from just 2 gigawatts in 2010, with two-thirds of 2016 imports originating from Malaysia, China, and South Korea, according to a Feb. 14 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The influx has come as the price for panels has fallen by about 40 percent since 2012. Last month the U.S. imposed tariffs on imported silicon solar cells and modules for a four-year period following complaints by domestic manufacturers. The solar industry is bracing for a slow-down in installations as panel prices are expected to rise with dwindling supplies of cheap imports.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb.12 authorized Anbaric Development Partners LLC, a subsidiary of Anbaric Holding LLC, to charge negotiated rates for capacity on its proposed Ocean Grid offshore transmission system. The project is comprised of two high-voltage, direct current transmission lines designed to ship 2,000 megawatts of wind generation off the coast of Massachusetts to the ISO New England Inc. grid. The project is linked to Massachusetts’s bid to buy 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind generation by 2027. Ocean Grid is slated to start service by December 2021, reaching full operation by 2025, according to the project website.

The Massachusetts Senate Committee on Global Warming and Climate Change unveiled legislation on Feb. 14 that would set a target for the state to source all of its electricity from renewable energy by 2035 and calls for an economy-wide transition to renewables in the transportation, heating, manufacturing, and other sectors by 2050. The measure would accelerate the push for clean energy including more offshore wind power, electricity storage, and solar, and place a 10-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. Massachusetts has been at the forefront in setting strong renewable goals, with current efforts to obtain half of its energy from non-emitting sources by 2021. (S 2302)

Maryland House lawmaker William Frick, a Democrat, introduced legislation on Feb. 9 that would require utilities to procure 50 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2030, double the current goal. The bill would set carve outs, mandating at least 14.5 percent of supplies come from solar power by 2028 and up to 10 percent from wind by 2025. State lawmakers raised Maryland’s renewable target to 25 percent by 2020 a year ago after overcoming a veto by Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican. (HB 1453)

Wyoming House lawmaker Thomas Crank, a Republican, introduced legislation on Feb. 9 that would impose a $2 per megawatt-hour tax on wind and solar energy produced in the state. The bill would provide a tax credit for renewable generation equipment manufactured and installed in the state. Currently, the state levies a $1 per megawatt-hour tax on wind power. (HB 118)

A coalition of consumer agencies asked PJM Interconnection LLC‘s board to scrap a plan to administratively set the price for subsidized generation to address the risk of disruptions to an annual capacity auction used to secure future power supplies for the market. The 10-member group, including ratepayer advocates from Delaware, Illinois and Maryland, said the proposal will “artificially inflate supply costs without producing any corresponding grid value.” The group said that the most “prudent choice” would be to resume stakeholder proceedings and examine the outcome of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s new proceeding on grid resilience. Grid operators from PJM to ISO New England Inc. are undertaking reforms of capacity auctions to address an influx of state-subsidized generators that threaten to make the markets uncompetitive.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is requesting comment on a move by Idaho Power Company, a subsidiary of IDACORP Inc., for a temporary rate to recover about $14 million in costs associated with linking up with the western energy imbalance market. The imbalance market is an automated system that balances electricity supply and demand to find the least-cost supplies to serve real-time customer demand and is projected to reap up to $5 million in annual savings for the utility. The commission is taking comments through Feb. 21.

The Missouri Senate passed legislation sponsored by Republican Ed Emery that is designed to simplify the way utility rates are set and limits annual rate increases to 2.85 percent for a period of five years. The bill also requires utilities in the state, such as Ameren Corp‘s subsidiary Ameren Missouri, to invest in utility scale solar in proportion to their customer base and offer solar rebates for residential systems up to 25 kilowatts. (SB564)

Hawaii had the highest residential electricity rates in 2016, averaging $0.275 per kilowatt-hour, more than double the national average. However, the island chain had the least electricity usage, at 6,100 kilowatt-hour per customer compared to the national average of 10,800 kilowatt-hour, according to a Feb. 13 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Low consumption in Hawaii is attributed to the island chain’s mild climate, but high adoption of solar photovoltaic systems also lowered the amount of electricity sold to homes

The U.S. Energy Department on Feb. 14 announced the formation of the Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response, which will focus on energy infrastructure security, will support the agency’s expanded responsibilities for national security and will be used to coordinate responses to natural and man-made threats. The new office would receive $96 million under President Trump’s 2019 budget proposal and comes as U.S. utilities have faced a barrage of cyberattacks.

Transmission expenditures by utilities has steadily grown since the mid-1990s, and is expected to continue on the back of demand for system upgrades and the nation’s rapid shift to solar and wind generation, according to a Feb. 9 report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Total transmission expenditures reached $35 billion in 2016, with investment in infrastructure making up 61 percent of that total. The utilities in the report account for about 70 percent of the nation’s power supplies.

The Hawaii Public Utilities Commission signed off on Hawaiian Electric Co.’s proposal to modernize its electric system in a bid to make way for an influx of renewable generation. The utility will distribute advanced meters to customers interested in demand response programs or variable rates and incentivize the use of advanced inverters in rooftop solar systems to improve grid stability. It will also spur the use of sensors to enhance the collection of data on power usage, according to a Feb. 7 order. The decision comes as the island chain is aiming to shift to 100 percent renewables by 2045.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected Renewable Energy Systems Americas‘ request for a waiver that would allow a three-mile shift in the point of connection to the grid for its Harvest Wind project without having to submit a new interconnection application. The commission sided with PJM Interconnection LLC in requiring a new application and facilities study, so as to avoid harming other lower-queued interconnection customers, according to a Feb. 9 order. Wind developers have complained about delays in connecting projects to the grid amid a backlog of applications.

The Maryland Energy Administration announced Feb. 13 that it’s accepting applications for its 2018 Energy Storage Tax Credit Program, which offers credits covering 30 percent of the installation costs for the systems for residential and commercial taxpayers. The agency will award up to $750,000 dollars in energy storage tax credits on a first come, first served basis. Maryland joins the ranks of states like California, New Jersey and Nevada that have explored incentives for these technologies amid a drop in costs and an influx in variable renewable generation.

Maine Governor Paul LePage, a Republican, requested that the state public utilities commission expedite approval of the 1,200-megawatt New England Clean Energy Connect transmission project proposed by Central Maine Power Company, a subsidiary of Avangrid Networks Inc., which is owned by Iberdrola SA. LePage said the project, which would deliver Canadian hydropower to the New England grid, could get selected in Massachusetts’s clean energy solicitation program after New Hampshire regulators denied a key permit for the winning project, the $1.6-billion Northern Pass power line. Massachusetts is seeking to enter into contracts to buy renewable supplies to meet climate goals and cut reliance on fossil fuel-fired generation.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission found that the Midcontinent Independent System Operator Inc.’s interconnection queue reforms instituting sequential system impact studies will provide more information and flexibility to customers, a Feb. 15 order by the agency showed. The interconnection study phase will be divided into three stages requiring interconnection customers to review the study results and decide to move to the subsequent phase by making a so-called milestone payment or withdraw and receive a refund. Market operators have faced complaints from generators, who argue that the system for linking to the grid is plagued with delays.

The California Public Utilities Commission granted a request by the state’s major utilities to modify the method for calculating credits for customers with on-site generation paired with energy storage systems. The new rules enable utilities to estimate bill credits for residents with rooftop solar paired with a battery by using a single per-kilowatt profile for each climate zone, in place of the customer-specific estimation, which was deemed too burdensome and costly. Net metering allows customers with on-site generation to serve their energy needs and receive a financial credit on their electric bills for surplus energy fed back to the utility.

The Trump administration unveiled an infrastructure plan on Feb.12 that would authorize the U.S. Interior secretary to review and approve permits for natural gas and oil pipelines crossing national parks in a bid to eliminate the delays of obtaining congressional approval for such projects. The proposal would establish a “One Agency, One Decision” regulatory regime, setting a 21-month deadline for lead agencies to complete environmental reviews and a subsequent 3-month deadline for federal agencies to make permit decisions. The proposal is aimed at spurring investment in the energy sector and positioning the nation as a dominant player in global markets.

Williams Partners LP asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reconsider its decision to uphold the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s rejection of a water permit that’s put construction of the Constitution natural gas line on hold. Williams said that the agency erred in failing to find that the state didn’t act on its application within a reasonable period of time. The 125-mile link, which is designed to ship shale supplies from Pennsylvania to New York, has been met with resistance from landowners and environmental groups.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission issued stricter regulations for installing, testing and shutting down oil and natural gas flow lines following a fatal accident last spring caused by a leaking pipe. Oil and gas drilling in Colorado is at the highest pace in several years, and has created safety concerns where it encroaches near houses.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Feb. 15 authorized Southern Natural Gas Company LLC to construct the Fairburn Expansion, a project designed to provide over 343,000 dekatherms per day of capacity for the shipment of natural gas supplies from an interconnection in Fayette County, Georgia, to delivery points on Southern’s system in the Southeast. The pipeline is scheduled to start in October, according to the project website. Southern Natural Gas is owned by Southern Company and Kinder Morgan Inc.