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New Secretary
‘Bullish’ On Solar

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Ernest Moniz says in a new video that the nation should take advantage of the natural gas boom and use it as an opportunity to further develop renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, geothermal and hydropower.

Moniz, who was sworn in as energy secretary on May 21, made the comments while addressing DOE employees during his first town hall meeting.

In the video, Moniz suggests that the recent boom in natural gas production is a “boon” that has resulted in reduced CO2 emissions in the absence of overarching legislation. Moreover, increased use of natural gas should be seen as a “bridge to a very low carbon future” that offers the U.S. time and resources to make alternative and renewable energy technologies more cost-effective.

“Clearly, we need to continue our focus on wind, pushing more offshore wind, for example, where cost reduction is critical,” Moniz says. “Certainly pushing on solar across the board, and like I say, I’m very bullish on solar. I think it’s going to be a lot bigger than most people think, sooner than they think, in my view.”

 

Minnesota Sets
Ambitious Standards

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton has signed into law a bill intended to boost the percentage of solar power used in the state. The governor’s signature had been widely expected after a reconciled version of the bill passed the legislature May 16.

The so-called Solar Energy Jobs Act, which was incorporated into an omnibus economic development bill, requires investor-owned utilities to procure at least 1.5% of their electricity from solar energy by the end of 2020.

The bill signed by the governor was a compromise. On May 10, the Minnesota Senate passed a bill that would require the state’s investor-owned utilities to procure 1% of their electricity from solar power by 2025. Three days earlier, the House passed companion legislation that aimed for a 4% by 2025 solar carve-out.

Among the provisions of the new law is a requirement that at least 10% of the 1.5% carve-out must come from PV systems rated at 20 kW or less. This is intended to prompt utilities to encourage ratepayers to install their own solar systems, as electricity generated by them is included in the 1.5% target. The utilities are also required to fund solar energy incentive programs for retail customers to the tune of $5 million a year for five years.

The law makes provisions for community “solar gardens” to enable consumers whose homes or locations are individually unsuitable for solar power to participate in utility incentive programs. In addition, the law includes a “Made in Minnesota” incentive to help spur local sourcing of solar photovoltaic products.

Electricity consumed by the state’s mining and paper producers are not counted in the retail sales totals. Also, those customers are exempt from any rate increases that may be imposed by utilities in the course of satisfying solar power requirements.

The law states it is Minnesota’s goal for 10% of electric retail sales be generated by solar energy by 2030, although there were no provisions for enforcing that target.

 

Senators Introduce
Energy Storage Bill

U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; Susan Collins, R-Maine; Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.; and Angus King, I-Maine, have introduced the Storage Technology for Renewable and Green Energy Act of 2013 (STORAGE) to encourage the development of renewable energy as a source of electricity and lower consumer costs through the deployment of energy storage technologies.

“Building out more energy storage will increase the amount of renewable power on the grid, reduce our country’s need for new power plants and make the U.S. energy system more reliable,” Wyden says. “These systems don’t make energy - they make energy better. With all of the attention given to new sources of power, it’s only appropriate that energy storage gets its time in the sun.”

Wyden and Collins introduced a previous version of the bill in the last Congress. As in the 2011 version of the bill, the STORAGE Act of 2013 (S.1030) offers a 30% investment tax credit to businesses for the use of technologies that can store energy during non-peak hours and distribute it to meet peak electricity demand.

According to the senators, the latest version of the bill lowers the qualifying threshold to encourage small businesses to take advantage of on-site storage technologies. The bill also provides a 30% tax credit to homeowners who install energy storage on their property to help serve their own energy needs or capture energy from on-site renewable energy generation.

Finally, the STORAGE Act provides a 20% investment tax credit of up to $40 million per project for grid-scale storage systems. The total amount available for these projects is capped at $1.5 billion.

 

DOI To Streamline
Transmission Reviews

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell has signed a declaration of cooperation with Oregon and Washington to expedite the review and permitting of energy generation, power transmission and other infrastructure development in the Pacific Northwest.

According to the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the agreement formally establishes a pilot Pacific Northwest Regional Infrastructure team to more efficiently coordinate the permitting processes for infrastructure projects - where both state and federal agencies have review responsibilities. This state-federal team will use a cross-agency and cross-jurisdictional strategy to identify siting conflicts and mitigation early in the development and permitting processes.

The infrastructure team will focus on a variety of projects, including renewable energy generation, electricity transmission, broadband, pipelines, ports and waterways, and water resource development that are proposed in the states.

Building on a previous partnership model with California, the Pacific Northwest Regional Infrastructure team and representatives from Oregon and Washington will identify joint policy priorities for renewable energy, establish a joint forum to resolve permitting and siting conflicts, and protect wildlife and cultural resources.

The DOI notes that Pacific Northwest states have already taken a number of steps to spur infrastructure investment and expedite their permitting processes. In Oregon, Gov. John Kitzhaber released a 10-year Energy Action Plan that outlines strategies to meet energy efficiency, renewable energy, greenhouse gas reduction and transportation objectives, with goals to enhance clean energy infrastructure development by removing finance and regulatory barriers.

 

Ontario To Replace
FIT Program

Ontario is replacing its existing feed-in tariff (FIT) program for large-scale renewable energy projects with a competitive procurement process.

According to Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli, the province will work with the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) and municipalities to develop a competitive procurement process for renewable projects over 500 kW. Chiarelli says the new plan will require developers to work directly with municipalities to identify appropriate locations and site requirements for any future large renewable energy project.

To further strengthen municipal participation and support communities, Ontario says it will do the following:

• revise the small FIT program rules for projects between 10 kW and 500 kW to give priority to projects partnered or led by municipalities;
• work with municipalities to determine a property tax rate increase for wind turbine towers; and
• provide funding to help small and midsize municipalities develop Municipal Energy Plans, which will focus on increasing conservation and helping to identify the best energy infrastructure options for a community.

Ontario is also renewing its commitment to small renewable energy projects by making 900 MW of new capacity available between now and 2018 for the Small FIT and microFIT programs. This fall, the OPA will open a new procurement window for both programs, and starting in 2014, annual procurement targets will be set at 150 MW for the Small FIT and 50 MW for the microFIT.

Ontario’s FIT program, the first in North America, was ushered in as part of the Green Energy Act of 2009.

 

CT Governor
Signs Law

Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has signed into law an act raising the limit of qualifying hydropower facilities under the state’s renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 30 MW. The previous limit for a given facility had been set at 5 MW.

The state’s RPS requires 27% of utilities’ electricity to come from renewable energy resources by 2020, with a Class I requirement of 20% by 2020. Previously, qualifying Class I resources included solar, wind, fuel cells, biomass and hydropower facilities up to 5 MW.

The legislation first passed the state Senate in early May, followed by the passage of a companion bill in the state House. The legislation then went back to the Senate to iron out some differences between the two versions.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Malloy recommended the change to the RPS in March. According to a statement from the governor’s office, the new law will “allow Connecticut [to] move away from dirtier fuels like biomass to cleaner large-scale hydroelectric power.”

“Updating our renewable energy portfolio strengthens Connecticut’s competitiveness while also protecting our environment for future generations,” Malloy says in a statement. “This legislation creates clean energy jobs right here in Connecticut, moves us away from polluting fossil fuels and provides cleaner, cheaper, more reliable energy to ratepayers.”

Several environmentalist and energy groups have criticized the hydropower measure, claiming it could sidetrack local renewable energy development and provide an advantage to companies such as Canada’s Hydro-Quebec. The New England Clean Energy Council, for example, has warned the new RPS’ emphasis on hydropower could hurt Connecticut’s market for solar and other renewable energy resources.

 

Senate Passes Farm Bill; House Version Fails

In a 66 to 27 vote, the U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive farm bill that, among many other provisions, includes funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for America Program (REAP).

REAP provides grants and loans to help rural businesses and agricultural producers invest in energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives, including solar and small wind projects. The Senate-passed bill, which totals a whopping $955 billion over 10 years, includes $68.2 million in mandatory REAP funding and $20 million in appropriated REAP funding annually for fiscal years 2014 through 2018.

Meanwhile, the U.S. House of Representatives unexpectedly failed to pass its version of a farm bill in a floor vote June 20. The House bill did not include any REAP funds and a late effort to add them in an amendment was shot down. The future of the farm bill was uncertain at press time.

Congress has not passed a farm bill since 2008. Last year, efforts to pass similar legislation failed, with the 2008 version being extended to Sept. 30.

Lloyd Ritter, co-director of the Agriculture Energy Coalition, has applauded the Senate for including REAP funding in its newest bill iteration.

“Farm bill renewable energy and energy efficiency programs have a solid track record in supporting growth in agriculture, manufacturing and new employment opportunities in rural America,” Ritter said in a statement. “They ensure that critical investments are made in agriculture energy development, which brings energy security and environmental benefits to the entire United States. We urge the House of Representatives to include the same funding of farm bill energy programs in its version of the legislation.”

 

Hickenlooper OKs
Expansion Bill

Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper signed into law S.B.252, which increases the renewable energy standard (RES) for cooperative associations that provide wholesale electricity in the state and large electric associations that provide service to at least 100,000 meters. The bill expands Colorado’s RES to 20% by 2020, while capping retail cost increases at 2%.

The bill, “Setting Renewable Energy Standards for Rural Colorado,” authorizes the co-ops to collect a monthly surcharge to offset the cost of meeting the target. Hickenlooper also signed an executive order calling for the creation of a panel to study if the goal is achievable and if ratepayers get enough protection from the rate cap on the surcharge.

S.B.252 expands access to wind, solar and other clean energy for rural Colorado at a time when major renewable investments are being made across the region.

“We believe that this legislation, while imperfect, is necessary to keep diversifying electric generation and reaping the associated rate, economic and environmental benefits,” Hickenlooper said. “Vetoing this bill and waiting until the 2014 legislation session for a more perfect version would set Colorado back one year in our pursuit of a more diverse energy portfolio. We cannot afford to lose this valuable time, especially with the expiration of the federal production tax credit on wind generation at the end of this year.”

According to Western Resource Advocates (WRA), large cooperatives, such as Tri-State Generation and Transmission, have bet heavily on coal as a primary energy source and predicted that S.B.252 could lead to skyrocketing energy costs.

But according to the Colorado Energy Office, the 2% rate cap would limit average household bill increases to no more than $2 a month. Moreover, notes WRA, the falling costs of and increasing investment in renewable technologies like wind and solar, and the fact that there are no fuel costs associated with renewables, could ultimately lower electricity costs for consumers. S