Renewable + Law

California Judicial Council Announces Expedited CEQA Litigation Court Rules for Qualifying Development Projects

William H. Holmes — Mon, 14 May 2012 15:34:32 -0800

As Juliet Cho blogged about in our California Environmental Law blog, California Governor Jerry Brown signed the Jobs and Economic Development through Environmental Leadership Act of 2011 (also known as AB 900) into law last September. The law aims to provide an incentive for applicants to move forward with their development projects by requiring that any challenge to a “leadership project” Environmental Impact Report (“EIR”) under the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) will be venued immediately in the Court of Appeal. The court will then have a maximum of 175 days to issue its decision on the challenged EIR. For a description of the qualifying criteria of a “leadership project” see Juliet’s blog post.

AB 900 also required the Judicial Council to adopt rules of court to implement the new law. Recently, the Council announced its proposed rules. These rules, which are to be adopted no later than July 1, 2012, impose a highly expedited briefing schedule and require payment of a special $100,000 fee to the Court to reimburse for costs related to the expedited handling of the case. Currently, at least one Solar PV project has applied for special handling under AB 900.

It remains a question whether the added costs for this expedited process are worth it for Solar PV and other developers. While no project has actually gone through the process as of this date, utility scale Solar PV projects should carefully consider the possible benefits. One benefit of immediate appellate review would be a dramatic reduction of the judicial review period by twelve to eighteen months. Having the Governor certify the project as an environmentally superior major job creator would also likely expedite the administrative review process before the land use agency.

DTE Energy Announces Wind RFP

William H. Holmes — Wed, 09 May 2012 13:20:08 -0800

On May 3, 2012, The Detroit Edison Company (DTE Energy) issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) seeking approximately 100 megawatts (MW) of nameplate rated capacity or approximately 300 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of annual supply (including associated RECs) from wind energy systems that will have a commercial operation date before December 31, 2013. DTE expects to contract for the output of the wind energy systems through a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA).

The RFP itself can be found here, and additional important information concerning the RFP can be found here. DTE’s contact for this RFP is Lori Taylor-Wallace, renewsuppliers@dteenergy.com, 313-235-8532.

EPA Releases Green Diesel Notice of Violation

Graham Noyes — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:37:04 -0800

Yesterday the EPA released the third major Notice of Violation ("NOV") against a biofuel producer in the past six months under the Renewable Fuel Standard ("RFS"). The NOV states that EPA has determined that Green Diesel, LLC of Houston, Texas, generated 60,034,033 invalid Renewable Identification Numbers (“RINs’) with a current market value of perhaps $85 million. Coming on the heels of 31 settlement agreements relating to the Clean Green Diesel and Absolute Fuels RINs, this NOV is likely to trigger immediate market reaction. The EPA has been enforcing invalid RIN cases first against the RIN generator then subsequently against the obligated party, i.e., the company that uses the RINs for compliance with RFS. Obligated parties under the RFS are petroleum refiners and importers in the U.S. About a month after the Clean Green Fuel filing, the EPA filed NOVs against the obligated parties. It remains to be seen whether EPA will do so again. The agency may instead rely upon its past actions and its recently released Interim Enforcement Response Policy to motivate corrections by obligated parties.

Some market participants have criticized the EPA for their managing of the RFS program and questioned the RFS program itself. In response, the biofuel industry and particularly the National Biodiesel Board have taken significant steps to address the validity issues. While there is significant time delay as many of the alleged activities date back to 2010, it appears that the EPA enforcement activities have motivated substantial due diligence activities that will serve the RFS program participants well in future years. The immediate challenge is in addressing the new Green Diesel NOV and the resulting contractual implications for market participants who transacted in these RINs. The rapid growth in the value of the RIN market has certainly presented substantial challenges. Nonetheless, private market responses to date suggest that the resourceful biofuel and petroleum industries can weather these storms and ultimately make the RFS program more effective toward its goals of reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil imports and reducing GHG emissions.

SCE and SDG&E Announce 2012 RAM 2 RFOs

William H. Holmes — Tue, 01 May 2012 09:30:37 -0800

On April 30, 2012, SCE announced the launch of its second Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) RFO (RAM 2). SCE's RAM program is open to all RPS eligible technologies not greater than 20 MW and interconnected within any of the service territories of SCE, Pacific Gas & Electric or San Diego Gas & Electric. The RAM RFO will be conducted using the RFO website provided by Accion Group, the independent evaluator for the RAM 2 RFO. According to SCE, Interested parties should visit the RFO website for more information, to submit an Offer, or to ask a question. On May 11, 2012, SCE will host a RAM Program Forum at the SCE office in Rosemead. More information can be found on the RFO website. .

SDG&E announced its RAM 2 RFO on May 1, and the details can be found here. SDG&E notes that its RAM program is designed to procure a total of 155 MWs over the course of four solicitations. The company's first RAM solicitation, held in November of 2011, resulted in the procurement of 15 MWs, leaving 140 MWs to procure over the course of the next three solicitations. In the RAM 2 solicitation, SDG&E intends to procure 45 MWs pursuant to 10, 15 and 20-year RAM Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with independent power producers. SDG&E plans to hold one pre-bid conference on May 7, 2012 from 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM in San Diego-- instructions for registering can be found on SDG&Es RAM 2 web page.

PG&E announced yesterday that it planned to issue its RAM 2 RFO today. Details can be found on PG&E's RAM 2 website.

For a discussion of changes to the RAM process recently approved by the CPUC, see Allison Cook's recent blog on the topic.

PG&E Announces 2012 RAM RFO

William H. Holmes — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:53:04 -0800

PG&E announced today that it expects to issue its Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) RFO on May 1, 2012. Offers under the RAM RFO will be due no later than 12:00 noon (PPT) on May 31, 2012.

PG&E will host a Bidders’ Conference at the company's headquarters on May 16, 2012, from 1:30 PM to 3:00 PM. The Bidder's Conference will also be available via Webinar. Attendees are required to register for the Bidders' Conference.

Following the Bidders’ Conference, PG&E will hold a Bidders’ Forum. The Forum will cover survey results and lessons learned from the first RAM RFO. It will also address the valuation of resource adequacy and proposals to address excess transmission costs.

For more information and program specifics, visit PG&E’s website.

The CPUC recently implemented some changes to the RAM program--see Allison Smith's recent blog entry for details.

CPUC Implements Changes to the California Renewable Auction Mechanism

Allison C. Smith — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 10:18:31 -0800

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) has adopted several changes to the state’s Renewable Auction Mechanism program (RAM), created in 2010. The RAM program operates as a reverse auction, offering a standard contract with the state’s three largest investor-owned utilities for energy from renewable distributed generation facilities of up to 20 megawatts (MW). The utilities will procure up to 1,000 MW of renewable energy under the program over two years. The first RAM auction took place in November 2011 and the second auction is schedule for next month. Resolution E-4489, adopted last Thursday, modifies the CPUC decision creating the RAM program, Decision 10-12-048, and Resolution E-4417, which served to implement details of the program. Resolution E-4489 approves changes to align the RAM with recent updates to Southern California Edison’s Solar Photovoltaic Program and incorporate a change requested by Pacific Gas & Electric Company.

First, Resolution E-4489 extends the deadline for RAM project developers to bring a facility online – from 18 months to 24 months from the date of approval of the RAM contract by the CPUC. Second, project developers will have the option to bid their projects as energy-only or with full capacity deliverability status. For full capacity deliverability status bids, the utilities will consider the benefits of a project providing resource adequacy and the costs of deliverability upgrades. The utilities will explain how they value resource adequacy in their forthcoming RAM bidding protocols.

The CPUC also approved PG&E’s request to reallocate its procurement solicitation in the next RAM auction across the three eligible energy product categories: baseload, peaking as-available, and non-peaking as-available. PG&E requested permission to solicit a total of 85 MW of peaking as-available energy and 10 MW from each of the other two categories, rather than 35 MW from each of the three product categories.

The Commission declined to provide utilities with a unilateral right to terminate a RAM contract in the event that the expected costs of ratepayer-funded transmission system upgrades necessary to accommodate a facility increase significantly beyond estimates provided in the facility’s RAM bid. The Commission did order the utilities, however, to include a stakeholder discussion in their RAM program forum agendas related to a unilateral termination right to protect ratepayers from excessive network upgrade costs.

The changes to the RAM will go into effect in time for the second RAM solicitation for eligible facilities, closing on May 31, 2012. The Commission noted that it will consider more comprehensive RAM program modifications later this year.

New Army Corps Nationwide Permits for Renewable Energy Facilities

William H. Holmes — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 05:15:03 -0800

Stoel Rives partner Aaron Courtney will speak about the New Army Corps Nationwide Permits for Renewable Energy Facilities during a one-hour expert analysis telebriefing on Wednesday, April 25.

Learning objectives include:

How the nationwide permit program works
The scope and limitations of the two new nationwide permits for renewable energy facilities
Other nationwide permits that remain available to authorize renewable energy facilities
How the general, regional, or state Clean Water Act could affect the use of the nationwide permits
Implications for the development of onshore and offshore renewable energy facilities

Click here for full details.

NHA Publishes Interactive Hydro Supply Chain Snapshot

William H. Holmes — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 06:51:15 -0800

Posted on behalf of Stoel Rives partner Cherise Oram.

The National Hydropower Association (NHA) recently published a new interactive map resource showcasing the vibrant contribution of hydropower in the American energy economy. Titled the Hydro Supply Chain Snapshot, the map showcases nearly 2,000 companies involved in the non-federal hydropower supply chain, including project developers, generators and major suppliers.

Visit the NHA website to view the Snapshot resource.

Enterprise Forum Northwest Seminar: Energy Storage for the Grid - May 8, 2012

William H. Holmes — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 12:52:07 -0800

Stoel Rives is pleased to sponsor this Enterprise Forum Northwest energy seminar. Moderated by our own Bill Holmes, the seminar’s panel of industry experts will address the where, how, why and at what scale questions regarding large-scale energy storage today. Topics covered in the event will include:

The most promising energy storage strategies
How the different storage methods could work together with the grid in the Northwest and nationally
How entrepreneurs, the changing energy marketplace, grid operators, and utilities are responding to the call to build the foundation for clean energy

For more information and to register, please visit http://www.mitwa.org/events/enterprise-forum-program/energy-storage-grid-watchful-waiting-or-perfect-storm

What:	*Energy Storage for the Grid: Watchful Waiting or the Perfect Storm?*
When:	Tuesday, May 8, 2012 5:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Where:	MOHAI, 2700 24th Avenue East, Seattle WA

DOE Concludes 1603 a Big Job Creator

Greg Jenner — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 13:06:39 -0800

A surprise to no one involved in renewable energy, the DOE (via NREL) has just issued a report concluding 1603 created tens of thousands of new jobs.

See the report at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy12osti/52739.pdf

First California Cap-and-Trade Auction Delayed, Lawsuit Filed to Challenge Offset Protocols

Lee Smith — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 12:38:07 -0800

From Allison C. Smith and Lee N. Smith:

Last week was busy for the California Cap-and-Trade Program, adopted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) last December under A.B. 32. First, last Tuesday, CARB Chairman Mary Nichols announced at a Senate hearing that the first scheduled Cap-and-Trade allowance auction, scheduled for August 2012, will be a “practice” auction rather than a “real” auction for the purchase of actual allowances. Reportedly, the delay is to allow industry to gain an understanding of how actual, future auctions will work. The first “real” auction is still scheduled for November 1, 2012.

On Wednesday, March 28, two environmental groups, the Citizens Climate Lobby and Our Children's Earth Foundation filed suit in San Francisco Superior Court challenging the use of greenhouse gas emission offsets by entities regulated under Cap-and-Trade to meet their Cap-and-Trade compliance obligations. Although the suit will not necessarily delay implementation of Cap-and-Trade and the offset program, if the lawsuit ultimately invalidates the offset protocols and eliminates the use of offsets to meet Cap-and-Trade obligations, the cost of compliance for industry could be substantially increased. Plaintiffs are alleging that the offset program, with its four adopted offset protocols, are reductions that would have occurred in the normal course of business, and are therefore not "additional” greenhouse gas reductions and threaten the overarching integrity of the Cap-and-Trade Program. The plaintiffs request a repeal of the four offset protocols approved in December 2011 and a prohibition on using offsets in place of greenhouse gas allowances to meet Cap-and-Trade obligations.

PG&E Announces 2012 PV PPA RFO

William H. Holmes — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:25:17 -0800

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) announced yesterday that it had issued its 2012 Photovoltaic Program Power Purchase Agreement Request for Offers (“PV PPA RFO”). PG&E seeks to procure PPAs for 50 MW of new photovoltaic resources to be located in PG&E’s service territory.

Copies of the solicitation protocol and related information and materials are now available on PG&E’s website . In its announcement, PG&E advises prospective bidders to "use the current versions of the documents when submitting an offer for this RFO." Offers are due by May 3.

PG&E will host a Participants’ Webinar on April 11 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM Pacific time. To register for the Webinar, complete the Webinar Registration Form and return it to PVProgram@pge.com by April 6, 5:00 PM PPT.

For information or questions about PG&E’s 2012 PV PPA RFO, please email PVProgram@pge.com.

Upcoming Webinar on Order No. 755 (Frequency Regulation) and Energy Storage

William H. Holmes — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 08:33:47 -0800

In October 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 755, which requires regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) to pay for frequency regulation services based on the actual amount of service provided in response to actual or expected frequency deviations or interchange power imbalances. The order directs RTOs and ISOs to implement a two-part payment for frequency regulation services consisting of (1) a capacity payment that includes the marginal unit's opportunity costs, and (2) a performance payment that reflects the quantity of frequency regulation service that a resource provides when it is accurately following the dispatch signal. In February 2012, FERC issued Order 755-A, denying a motion for rehearing filed by Southern California Edison.

On Tuesday April 10, 2012, 11 am to 12:30 pm Eastern time (8 am to 9:30 am Pacific), I'll be moderating a Webinar produced by that Infocast to discuss the implications and effect of Order No. 755. We'll review the Order itself, the process that is underway in the RTOs and ISOs to implement the Order, and the Order's implications for energy storage, demand response and other aspects of the frequency regulation market.

Infocast has assembled an excellent panel for this Webinar. Jacqueline DeRosa, Director of Regulatory Affairs, California, Customized Energy Solutions and Rahul Walawalkar, PhD, CEM, CDSM, Vice President, Emerging Technologies Markets, Customized Energy Solutions, will jointly provide a cross-market overview of the current approaches and proposed responses to Order No. 755 in key ISOs and RTOs (i.e., PJM, NYISO and CAISO) . Eric Hsieh, Regulatory Affairs Manager, A123 Systems, Inc., (which participated actively in the Order No. 755 docket) will offer a technology provider's perspective on the order and the ongoing process. Praveen Kathpal, Director of Marketing and Regulatory Affairs, The AES Corporation, will provide the perspective of a technology-neutral independent energy storage developer.

You can register for the Order No. 755 conference here. Use the Stoel Rives discount code (“128505”) to reduce the tuition to $150.

In the meantime, for those who are following energy storage, I'm "tweeting" regularly on that topic at @BillHolmesStoel (#energystorage).

FERC Conditionally Approves MISO Queue Reform

Sarah Johnson Phillips — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 12:29:57 -0800

On Friday, March 30, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the "Commission") conditionally approved a proposal from the Midwest Independent System Operator ("MISO") to change its generator interconnection queue procedures to address backlogs and late-state terminations of generation interconnection queue agreements (FERC Docket No. ER12-309-000). The new procedures are effective January 1, 2012. The reforms approved on Friday are MISO's third set of significant queue reforms since 2008 as MISO has continued to shift its procedures for processing interconnection applications from a "first-come, first-served" approach to a "first-ready, first-served" approach.

For developers, the most critical changes are the new cash-at-risk milestones required for projects to enter the Definitive Planning Phase and after execution of a Generator Interconnection Agreement ("GIA"). The purpose of these new milestones is to require interconnection customers to put more money at risk earlier in the process so that projects that advance through MISO's queue to the Definitive Planning Phase will be more likely to reach commercial operation. Other important changes include revised timelines, new study procedures, and Net Zero Interconnection Service.

Click here to continue reading this alert.

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines

Allison C. Smith — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:56:27 -0800

On March 23, 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its highly anticipated final Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines. The Guidelines present a tiered approach for the consideration and analysis of potential impacts to wildlife and habitat from onshore wind energy development. The five-tier process and other guidance found in the Guidelines aim to efficiently avoid and minimize impacts to wildlife and habitat by guiding the decisions of developers from the initial stages of site selection through the development of project design and the ultimate construction and operation of a project.

While the Guidelines are voluntary, this new publication represents the informal rulebook by which the USFWS will judge the appropriateness of a site or project design and the adequacy of mitigation, including for purposes of enforcement. The new Guidelines replace the interim guidance published by the USFWS in 2003 and are effective immediately. The final version of the Guidelines does not significantly differ from the September 2011 draft version that was issued for public comment.

Click here to continue reading.

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. - "363 Sale" of Solar Business Unit

William H. Holmes — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 15:02:04 -0800

From my colleagues Erin Eliasen and David Levant:

Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (“ECD”) and its subsidiary United Solar Ovonic LLC (“USO” and together with ECD, the “Debtors”), which manufacture lightweight, flexible PVs, have filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and seek to sell USO’s solar business unit pursuant to section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

The Debtors seek qualified bidders for the purchase of USO’s stock or assets that comprise its solar business unit (the “Assets”). The deadline to submit “qualified bids” for the Assets is April 17, 2012. To be a “qualified bidder” a party must (i) execute a confidentiality agreement; (ii) provide a statement “demonstrating a bona fide interest” in the assets to be purchased and listing a “non-binding” range of value for such assets; and (iii) demonstrate proof of financial wherewithal to purchase the assets. If multiple qualified bids are received, an auction will be held on April 24, 2012. At present there is no “stalking horse bidder”, but if one comes forward and is overbid, the Bankruptcy Court has approved the payment to the stalking horse bidder of the lesser of a “break-up fee” of 2.0% of the purchase price or expense reimbursement up to $200,000. All purchases are subject to approval by the Bankruptcy Court.

This proposed sale is unusual in that it does not have a minimum bid requirement and there is no proposed stalking horse bidder. These factors may indicate an opportunity to obtain PVs and other of USO’s assets at a discount.

If you are interested in purchasing all or any of the Assets, please contact Erin Eliasen at (206) 386-7605 or David Levant at (206) 386-7601.

Gov. Kitzhaber Names Margi Hoffman as Oregon's Energy Policy Advisor

William H. Holmes — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 13:23:28 -0800

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber announced today that he has named Margi Hoffman to serve as his Energy Policy Advisor. She will join the Governor's office on April 2.

Ms. Hoffman has served as Senior Vice President and Director of Oregon Operations with Strategies360, a strategic consulting firm, and has also worked closely with Renewable Northwest Project (RNP) . The news release from the Governor's office can be found here.

Congratulations, Margi!

Upcoming Event: Energy Storage for the Grid: Watchful Waiting or the Perfect Storm?

William H. Holmes — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:40:12 -0800

I'll be moderating Energy Storage for the Grid: Watchful Waiting or the Perfect Storm? at the MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest's May 8, 2012 program at Seattle's Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) , 2700 24th Ave East. The event, which includes a networking reception, will be held from 5:00 to 8:30 pm.

The evening's panelists will be:

Terry Oliver, Chief Technology Innovations Officer, Bonneville Power
Administration
Alexander H. Slocum, Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Chris Wheaton, Chief Operating & Financial Officer, EnerG2
Nathan Adams, Manager of Development and Emerging Technologies, Puget Sound Energy

Among other topics, the panel will address:

The most promising energy storage strategies
How different storage methods could work together with the grid in the Northwest and nationally
How entrepreneurs, the changing energy marketplace, grid operators, and utilities are responding to the call to build the foundation for a clean energy economy

For more information about this event, visit MITEF Northwest's web site.

I hope to see you there! In the meantime, for those who are following energy storage, I'm "tweeting" regularly on that topic as well as Department of Defense renewables procurement at @BillHolmesStoel (#energystorage).

PG&E Announces Plans to Issue 2012 Solar PV RFO

William H. Holmes — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:11:49 -0800

Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) announced today that it expects to issue its 2012 Solar Photovoltaic PPA RFO (“PV PPA RFO”) in late March or April . PG&E's goal in this second round of the RFO is to procure 50 MW of new PV generation.

Two of the eligibility requirements of the PV PPA RFO are (1) that participants provide proof that an interconnection application has been filed, and (2) that participants must pursue Resource Adequacy for their projects. If you need to file an application, note that the current Cluster 5 window closes March 31, 2012. For program information, please visit PG&E’s 2012 PV PPA RFO website. Among other things, PG&E notes on the RFO website that it has developed an interactive, Google-based map of its service territory as a tool to help renewable energy developers identify potential project sites (although the map is not a guarantee that generators can interconnect at any particular time and place).

PG&E plans to conduct a Participants’ Webinar to discuss the 2012 PV PPA RFO shortly after its issuance. Registration for this event will be posted on the 2012 PV PPA RFO website at a later date.

Wisconsin Wind Siting Rules Effective Today

Sarah Johnson Phillips — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 13:07:34 -0800

After years of uncertainty, the Wisconsin legislature allowed statewide wind energy siting rules to go into effect today. The new rules (known as “PSC 128”) require wind turbines to be located at least 1,250 feet from the nearest residence and at a distance 1.1 times the height of the wind turbine from the nearest property line. Cities, villages, towns, and counties are prohibited from enacting an ordinance imposing more restrictive requirements than the statewide rules.

In 2009, the legislature directed the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (“PSC”) to develop rules that limit the restrictions local governments may impose on wind energy projects. The purpose of these rules was to ensure consistent local procedures and regulation of wind energy. On December 27, 2010, the PSC adopted the final wind energy siting rules (Wisc. Admin. Code Ch. PSC 128). But on March 1, 2011, the day the rules were to take effect, the legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules voted to suspend PSC 128. This year, the legislature considered a proposal to indefinitely suspend the rules, but adjourned yesterday without taking action. As a result, PSC 128 automatically became effective today.

While PSC 128 was in limbo, the legislature considered a proposal that would have imposed much more stringent setback requirements (1,800 feet from the nearest property line). The American Wind Energy Association said that these setbacks essentially would have killed the commercial wind industry in Wisconsin. News reports suggest that the uncertainty over siting rules caused several wind projects in the state to be suspended or cancelled over the last year. But with PSC 128 now in effect, Wisconsin appears to be open for wind energy business again.