Consumers Energy Company, in a Feb. 12 filing with the Michigan Public Service Commission, said that its avoided cost, which must be paid to small independent power producers under the federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act, should be rescinded as it was based on out-of-date information. The company asked the agency to approve new rates…
The compliance obligations under Ohio’s renewable portfolio standard has been shifting from electric distribution companies to competitive retail suppliers as consumers are exercising their choice of electric service providers, according to a Feb. 11 draft annual report by the Ohio Public Utilities Commission staff. Competitive suppliers were responsible for about 77 percent of Ohio’s overall…
Adoption of rules establishing a funding structure for offshore wind renewable energy credits set the stage for New Jersey’s first offshore wind solicitation and established the market certainty needed for long-term investment in the industry, according to a Feb. 8 report by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, detailing the progress made towards the state’s…
New York Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 17 unveiled the most aggressive plan of any state to eliminate global warming emissions and achieve 100 percent carbon-free power in just a couple of decades. Cuomo's legislative package, dubbed the "Green New Deal," is designed to put the state on a path to wipe out its carbon footprint by 2040 by slashing the heat-trapping emissions not just in the power fleet, but across the entire economy including the transportation and agriculture sectors and through building efficiency.
Massachusetts House Democratic lawmakers Marjorie Decker and Sean Garballey introduced legislation on Jan. 28 that would transition Massachusetts to 100 percent renewable electricity. The bill 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, including heating and transportation,…
U.S. energy exports in 2020 are projected to surpass imports for the first time since 1953, thanks to the continued growth in petroleum and natural gas exports, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency’s Annual Energy Outlook released on Jan. 24. The trend is expected continue for the next three decades driven by large increases in the…
Eastern U.S. states are jockeying to claim the mantle of leadership of the nation's still-budding offshore wind industry, eyeing major infrastructure upgrades and workforce training to meet procurement targets and capture the billions-of-dollars in investments promised by the clean, abundant and largely untapped coastal wind resources.
Scout Clean Energy LLC, a Colorado-based renewable energy developer, announced the closing of financing and the launch of construction of its 300-megawatt Ranchero wind park in Texas, according to a Jan. 17 press release. The project has a 10-year proxy revenue swap, or PRS, with Allianz Global & Specialty Inc.’s Alternative Risk Transfer unit, in…
The New York State Board on Electric Generation announced hearings to receive comments on Bluestone Wind LLC’s proposal to construct a 124-megawatt wind energy project in the towns of Windsor and Sanford, Broome County. The move follows the board’s determination that the company’s Article 10 application is complete. The decision-making process under Article 10, adopted…
The Michigan Public Service Commission on Jan. 18 approved DTE Electric Co.’s voluntary green pricing program tailored for large customers who choose to meet a portion of their electricity needs from renewable energy resources. The company said that the program will commence once the renewable energy projects required to support the program are in commercial operation…
Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo on Jan. 17 announced new goals as part of the state’s “Green New Deal” to achieve 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2040. The initiative, outlined in Cuomo’s 2019 policy agenda, calls for an offshore wind target of 9 gigawatts by 2035, up from 2.4 gigawatts by 2030, adding to the combined…
Southwestern Electric Power Company, a subsidiary of American Electric Power Company Inc., issued a request for proposals for 1.2 gigawatts of wind energy that would come online by Dec. 15, 2021, according to a Jan. 9 filing with the Louisiana Public Service Commission. The move comes six months after the company scrapped a $4.5-billion wind…
