solar

US energy regulator FERC moves to limit mandatory utility purchases of solar energy

Image credit: F Delventhal / Flickr
Image credit: F Delventhal / Flickr

José Rojo Martín reports for PVTECH

Solar representatives have cautioned against a move to overhaul US rules that have guided utilities’ mandatory renewable purchases for decades, setting the scene for a policy clash.

Recent proposals by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reform the so-called PURPA Act risk putting the brakes on competition, US solar body SEIA said last week.

Passed in 1978, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act has in the decades since mandated public utilities to procure energy from small producers, defined as qualifying facilities (QFs).

Regulator FERC is now suggesting to lower the maximum capacity threshold – from 20MW to 1MW – for QF projects to be able to benefit from compulsory energy purchases by utilities.

The proposed change, lawyers believe, would relieve most utilities in organised wholesale markets from procuring energy from QFs above the 1MW capacity mark.

“QFs larger than 1MW would no longer be presumed to lack nondiscriminatory access to markets,” Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld said in a recent policy note.

FERC has justified the move by pointing at the “maturation” now reached by small power producers, a market it claims is now “improved and better understood”.

‘Not a fledgling industry anymore’

For its part, US PV body SEIA has now spent weeks arguing PURPA protection remains “crucial” to protect independent solar producers from some utilities’ “monopoly” ambitions.

Speaking after the new FERC proposals, the solar association urged the regulator to rethink the “most harmful portions” of its new draft document.

“Rather than focusing on PURPA’s goal of ensuring competition, this proposal would have the effect of dampening competition and allowing utilities to strengthen their monopoly status, to the detriment of customers,” SEIA’s regulatory affairs VP Katherine Gensler said in a statement.

FERC’s intentions to weaken renewable purchase obligations have been apparent for years. “Renewable generation is not a fledgling industry anymore…[it] no longer needs to be supported by PURPA,” the regulator claimed in 2016, as it first launched its review into the Jimmy Carter-era legislation.

The revision it proposed last week would pile further requirements on QFs, forcing them to prove commercial viability and financial support for projects before they can be deemed eligible for mandatory utility purchases. 

For US solar, the PURPA setback marks a bleaker turn of events after the industry helped settle a dispute with a Michigan utility, freeing a 584MW PV pipeline from years of standstill over obligations under the act.

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Massachusetts bills would require solar panels on all new residential and commercial rooftops

By Cesareo Contreras
 / Metro West Daily News Staff
Posted Sep 16, 2019 at 5:58 PM Updated at 8:35 PM

Legislators filed joint bills in the Massachusetts Senate and the House that if passed would require nearly every new commercial and residential building to be outfitted with solar panels.

Three Massachusetts legislators are proposing an ambitious change to help the state offset its use of fossil fuels.

Sen. James Eldridge, D-Action; Rep. Jack Lewis, D-Framingham; and Rep. Michael Connolly, D-Cambridge, filed joint bills in the Senate and the House that if passed would require nearly every new commercial and residential building to be outfitted with solar panels.

Both versions of the bill, “An Act Increasing Rooftop Solar Energy,” are being reviewed by the Senate Ways and Means committee.

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Following in the footsteps of California, which approved a similar law in 2018, the Massachusetts lawmakers hope the mandate will help the state make a meaningful dent in combating climate change. (Last year, Watertown passed an ordinance that required commercial buildings to have solar panels on them.)

Should the two bills pass, the state will amend its building code within one year to include minimum construction standards for solar panel systems. That would involve, among other things, adding specific requirements for the types of roofs home builders and construction workers must install to meet solar panel structural demands.

Additionally, specific energy requirements will be set for each type of building.

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Ready for some good environmental news?

It’s often our duty to report bleak news on climate and the environment. But let’s not skimp on the good news—like the continued momentum of clean energy

Peter Dykstra writes for Environmental Health News

After years of promise and halting progress, wind and solar energy have simply, undeniably, irrefutably arrived.

A report from the Rocky Mountain Institute foresees a world that, by the year 2035, has wind and solar energy positively crushing the reigning champ, natural gas. Touted as a “bridge fuel,” advocates of gas—and of the hydraulic fracturing used to extract it—have told us that fracked natural gas, while still a fossil fuel, is measurably cleaner than oil or coal.

The reality is that fracking has brought us previously-unheard-of problems with methane releases, not to mention rampant use of water, sand, and a mix of chemicals and real estate shenanigans similar to a 19th Century gold rush.

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A bridge fuel it’s not. Fracking has also vaulted the U.S. into the world leadership of oil and gas production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Cheap, abundant natural gas has largely priced coal and nuclear out of the electricity market. So, fracking’s got that going for it, which is nice. Nevertheless, the RMI “bridge backward” study, if validated, can move markets and bring investment in new natural gas plants to a halt, and turn the controversial buildout of gas pipelines into a costly bust.

Not that the markets aren’t already moving: Another report, released last week by the UN Environment Programme, charted a quadrupling of clean energy investment in the past decade. China leads the world in such investment, with the U.S. a distant second.

When an idea moves from visionaries, entrepreneurs and advocates to investors, it has indeed arrived.

Solar arrays are covering Carolina farmland. After years’ worth of delays, offshore windmills are taking root, or are poised to jump off the drawing boards.

It’s all within reach. If you don’t believe me, believe the parting speech of the most recent Governor of Texas: “You can be proud that Texas produces more energy from wind turbines than all but five countries.”

Well, that 2015 speech was from Governor Rick Perry. Since he became Trump’s obedient Secretary of Energy, we don’t hear such encouraging words. But the wind power success remains.

Solar isn’t far behind, with some of the gaudiest progress happening on the vast roofs of big box stores, of all places.

These are victories, but they’re not even a small fraction of what’s needed for humanity to get a grip on itself. Avoiding a beef burger, taking public transit, buying a Prius, planting a few trees – these may do as much to assuage our eco-guilt as they do to fix what’s broken.

It’s late in the game. Wind, solar, storage batteries, carbon-free energy and dozens of other ideas, virtues, policies, and gadgets all need to show up – and soon.

Finally, we need to run those who deny science and block policy implications out of office and far from influence. There will be a time to engage them, and a time to ignore. A time to inform, and a time to ridicule.

We need it all, and soon. Or maybe right now.

Global renewable energy has quadrupled over past decade – EHN ›

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Bucks, Montgomery County Pa. Democrats stump for legislation to encourage solar, limit carbon emissions

Photo credit: Americas Quarterly

By Kyle Bagenstose, Bucks County Courier-Times
Posted Sep 4, 2019 at 3:45 PMUpdated Sep 4, 2019 at 5:20 PM   

At a press conference in Abington, Democratic state lawmakers connected climate change to Hurricane Dorian and other global events as they promoted bills to increase the state’s use of solar energy while placing a cap on carbon emissions.

State Democratic lawmakers from around the region gathered in Abington’s Crestmont Park on Wednesday to promote energy legislation they say is crucial to halting global climate change and protecting local communities.

“This is the only planet we have. There’s no plan B planet,” said state Sen. Art Haywood, D-4, of Cheltenham. “This event is to make sure we’re clear about the challenge and what we can do to respond.”

The news conference was originally billed as a jointly hosted event by Haywood and state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-10, of Lower Makefield, to promote Senate Bill 600, which would require Pennsylvania’s power grid to use 30% solar energy by 2030. Santarsiero was unable to attend the event as he recovers from a bout of pneumonia, his office said, but other legislators connected the bill to recent events, including Hurricane Dorian’s devastation of the Bahamas.

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“Think of the people who are suffering in the Bahamas. It looks like half that island is destroyed,” said U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-4, of Abington. “Everybody from the pope, to the Pentagon, to prisoners tell you this is an extraordinary threat to our future. We ought to be listening.”

Weather records show that Dorian is the fifth Category 5 hurricane to form in the Atlantic since 2016, which is the first time such storms have formed in four consecutive years since record-keeping began in the 19th century.

Joe Webster, D-150, of Collegeville, also noted the military’s focus on climate change. A U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and retired colonel, Webster pointed to a 2010 report by the U.S. Joint Forces Command that placed climate change among the top security challenges facing the military.

“The migration patterns we’re seeing of displaced peoples all over the world, in Africa and the Middle East, is due to climate change,” Webster said.

Webster also noted that Navy ships in Norfolk, Virginia, are floating several feet higher than they used to, resulting in issues with proper entry onto the vessels.

Haywood said S.B. 600 would work by modifying the state’s Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards, which requires energy generators and distributors to use a certain percentage of alternative energy sources. The bill would up solar requirements from 8% to 30% by 2030 and direct the Pennsylvania Utility Commission to study the benefits of a renewable energy storage program.

Democrats also worked to frame the bill as good for the economy and families, as Haywood claimed an outside study showed it would create 7,500 jobs across the state. Mark Bortman, owner of solar installation company Exact Solar in Newtown Township, also said he supported the bill.

“If we’re able to get this through, it will put Pennsylvania back in the leadership for climate action,” Bortman said. “Going forward, there’s going to be more jobs in renewable energy than fossil fuels.”

Bortman said New Jersey has 30% more jobs in renewable energy than Pennsylvania, despite having 30% fewer people.

Haywood also touted the legislation as bipartisan, as it was co-introduced by state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9, of Delaware County. However, the state legislature’s website still lists Killion as the only Republican co-sponsor since its April introduction. The bill is currently in the Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure Committee, which is chaired by state Sen. Tommy Tomlinson, R-6, of Bensalem.

Democratic lawmakers and leaders from environmental groups also previewed a more robust legislative effort Wednesday, saying they planned to introduce a carbon “cap” bill this fall that would work to place a limit on carbon emissions in Pennsylvania. The state is currently the fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, behind only California, Texas, and Florida, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

According to press materials released at the event, the bill — the Climate Change Mitigation and Energy Transition Act — will seek to cut carbon emissions 90% by 2040.

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NJ’s Hunterdon County aims to save $123K in electric costs by using renewable energy sources

Caroline Fassett reports for NJ.com

Beginning Oct. 1, an electric service contract will require up to 48% of electric power used by Hunterdon County government to come from renewable energy sources.

In place of the current state standard JCP&L rate of 8.929 cents per kilowatt-hour, through the contract, the county will pay an electric service enhanced renewable rate of 8.103 cents per kilowatt-hour.

This could bring nearly $123,000 in electric cost savings for the county over the next two years, or between 9% and 10% of what the county spent on electricity in 2018.

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According to County Administrator Kevin P. Davis, in October, up to 43% of the electricity used by the county will be drawn from renewable sources — 23% higher than the state standard requirement.

Next year, when the state standard requirement increases from 20% to 28%, the county will receive up to 48% of its electricity from renewable sources in alignment with the electric service contract.

The contract, approved by Hunterdon County Freeholders on Aug. 20, continues to Sept. 30, 2021.

Of the 26 municipalities in Hunterdon County, nine agreed to also participate in the contract: Alexandria, Bloomsbury, Califon, Delaware, East Amwell, Flemington, Frenchtown, Kingwood and Raritan.

These municipalities will elect to either imitate the county and seek to have up to 48% of its electricity drawn from renewable sources, or purchase electricity through a provider that adheres to state renewable energy requirements.

Davis said if any of the municipalities fail to elect an option by Sept. 12, that municipality will automatically receive electricity that aligns with state renewable energy standards.

If all nine municipalities elect the “green” option, they will cumulatively save approximately $30,000 in electric costs over the course of two years, Davis said.

“The whole reason behind doing everything that we did was in an attempt to save money for the county and for the municipalities as well,” Lanza said. “If this reverse auction did not yield a satisfactory result, we were free to reject the bid. Since it worked for us and for everybody else, we accepted the bid.”

Concord Energy Services, along with the county’s Purchasing Division, organized the online reverse auction bidding process and coordinated the participation of the Hunterdon municipal governments in the shared service program at no direct cost to the county.

Davis said that he hopes more municipalities in the county will participate in the contract in 2021.

“We anticipate, in two years – if we do this again, which I think we would because shared services is a big deal in Hunterdon County – more towns will join in,” Davis said.

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NC wants to collect some of the $1B it gave in tax breaks for solar farms

Lynn Bonner reports for the Charlotte Observer

The state has handed out about $1 billion in tax breaks to companies and individuals that invested in solar farms. Now the state tax collector is looking to cancel some of those breaks and collect the money.

Anxiety among tax attorneys and companies that claimed tax credits and their fight with the state Department of Revenue has been burbling for more than a year.

This month, Monarch Private Capital, a tax-credit broker based in Georgia, asked Revenue Secretary Ronald Penny to renounce the department’s position through an administrative process called a “declaratory ruling.”

Monarch Private Capital offers state and federal tax credits to companies and individuals looking to lower their tax bills.

Schorr Johnson, a spokesman for the state Department of Revenue, said in an interview last month and in emails last month and Thursday that state law prohibits the department from discussing tax audits.

“We cannot comment on ongoing audits or any potential litigation,” Johnson wrote Thursday.

The state offered a 35% tax credit to investors in renewable energy projects. The tax credit, along with other state polices encouraging renewable energy, helped make North Carolina one of the top states in the nation in solar farm capacity, The News & Observer has reported.

The renewable energy tax credit ended in 2015, but investors were given a few more years to claim the tax breaks.

Over the last nine years, the state allowed more than $1 billion in tax breaks for investments in renewable energy property, according to theDepartment of Revenue reports.

A September public notice from the tax department said some people who invested in credits through partnerships don’t qualify for tax breaks.

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