A federal appeals court has ruled that FERC acted within its statutory authority in adopting FERC Order 1000 which mandates regional planning for transmission providers. On August 15, 2014, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) reforms to electric transmission planning and cost…...
Federal lands contain significant oil and gas reserves, however federal staffing resource challenges have led to decreases in resource development and delayed state and federal revenue. The proposed BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014 (S. 2440) has significant bipartisan support, and its passage would expand and extend upon the current federal land permitting program…...
DOE has issued its final Environmental Impact Statement for a 336-mile electric transmission system between the United States and Canada, clearing the way for final Presidential Permit issuance. On August 11, 2014, Transmission Developers Inc. announced that the Department of Energy (DOE) has issued the Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for its proposed Champlain Hudson Power…...
The United States is set to begin construction this year on its first offshore wind farm – the Cape Wind Project, led by Cape Wind Associates, LLC – located off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The 130-turbine, 468 MW Cape Wind Project would more than quadruple Massachusetts’ current wind power capacity (Figure 1),…...
Rhode Island’s climate law prioritizes climate adaptation, emissions reduction, and institutional design to address climate change. The Resilient Rhode Island Act of 2014 (H 7904) is the state’s first climate bill and aims to make the state economy and society resilient to the effects of a changing climate. Signed into law on July 2, and ceremonially signed on August 1,…...
The latest round of low-cost power allocations under ReCharge NY is expected to leverage an estimated $270M in capital investments. On August 4, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced that the New York Power Authority has approved the ninth round of ReCharge NY power allocations, providing a total of 11.8 MW of low-cost power for…...
Massachusetts has enacted legislation, qualifying renewable heating and cooling technologies for Alternative Energy Credits under the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard. On August 1, 2014, the Massachusetts Legislature enacted S 2214 – An Act Relative to Credit for Thermal Energy Generated with Renewable Fuels – mandating utilities to procure renewable thermal energy credits to meet their…...
Renewable Heat NY will facilitate a sustainable, high-efficiency, and low-emissions wood heating sector across New York. On July 29, 2014, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched Renewable Heat NY, a $27M initiative aimed to build market for high-efficiency, low-emissions wood-fired heating systems across state. The initiative will offer incentives to replace highly polluting outdoor and indoor…...
FERC Order 764 requires transmission providers to offer intra-hour scheduling of output and variable generation facilities to supply meteorological and operational forecasting data. Through the Order, renewable power producers will be better positioned to provide to the grid cost competitive electricity relative to traditional generation. In addition, transmission providers will be better able to predict…...
NY Governor Cuomo has announced seven new smart grid projects to improve power delivery, lower ratepayer costs, and enhance grid resiliency to address potential weather events. On July 23, 2014, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $3.3M for seven research projects aimed to add resiliency and efficiency to the state electric grid. The funding…...
On July 10, 2014, the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) conducted a technical conference to give the Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) initiative’s Track 1 Working Groups an opportunity to report their findings. Unveiled in April, REV calls for a fundamental reconsideration of power sector regulatory paradigms and markets emphasizing the role of…...
Increased drought frequency and severity could place strain on water-reliant power generators. Power generation, system cooling methods, and resource extraction technology will need to become less water-reliant if water availability continues its downward trend. Several federal programs – such as the DOE Water Energy Tech Team – are working to address the balance of water…...