Renewable + Law

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Renewable + Law

FERC Grants Limited Waiver to the CAISO to Immediately Interconnect Gas Turbines

By Seth Hilton

September 20, 2021

In the wake of Governor Newsom’s July 30, 2021 Emergency Proclamation intended to mitigate the strain on the California energy grid, the California Department of Water Resources (CDWR) and the California Energy Commission have been reaching out to generation owners that could accommodate the addition of 30 MW gas turbines generators, an effort now referred to as the State Power Augmentation Project. So far, two sites have been found: Greenleaf 1 in Yuba City and…

Renewable + Law

CPUC Issues Net-Qualifying Capacity Values to Be Used for Mid-Term Reliability Procurement

By Seth Hilton

September 14, 2021

In June 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (Commission) issued its Mid-Term Reliability Procurement Decision, Decision (D.) 21-06-035, which directed load-serving entities subject to its jurisdiction (investor-owned utilities, community choice aggregators, and energy service providers) to procure at least 11,500 megawatts (MW) of net-qualifying capacity (NQC) for reliability for the period 2023 through 2026. The decision established cumulative annual procurement requirements: 2,000 MW in 2023, 6,000 MW in 2024, 1,500 MW in 2025, and 2,000…

Renewable + Law

California Energy Commission Adopts Expedited Siting Order for Energy Storage

By Seth Hilton

September 8, 2021

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has continued its efforts to implement Governor Newsom’s July 30, 2021 Emergency Proclamation, which was intended to free up energy supply to meet demand during extreme heat events and wildfires, and to expedite the deployment of additional generation. The Emergency Proclamation authorized the CEC, which is responsible for licensing thermal powerplants of 50 megawatts (MW) or more, to also license new, or expansions of, battery storage systems of 20 MW…

Renewable + Law

California ISO Holds Summer Readiness Update Call for August

By Seth Hilton

September 1, 2021

On August 31, 2021, the California ISO held its August Summer Readiness Update Call. During the month of August, the California ISO grid faired well, as temperatures were more mild, and any hot weather was localized, rather than extending across the western United States. The California ISO also noted recent transparency improvements, including publication of a daily RA Capacity Trend and 7-Day Capacity Trend, as well a Daily Day-Ahead Summer Report and a monthly Summer…

Renewable + Law

California Energy Commission Holds Workshop on Midterm Reliability; Finds No Reliability Need for Additional Gas Resources

By Seth Hilton

August 31, 2021

On August 30, 2021, the California Energy Commission (CEC) held a workshop on its Midterm Reliability Analysis and Incremental Efficiency Improvements to Natural Gas Power Plants. CEC Commissioners Gunda and Douglas were in attendance, as were California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) Commissioners Rechtschaffen and Houck. CEC staff covered midterm (2022-2026) capacity needs, and potential thermal capacity needs, as well as permitted and potential thermal capacity additions. The workshop also included a panel discussing the deployment…

Renewable + Law

Minnesota Court of Appeals Handles Supreme Court Remand by Deferring to MPUC’s Findings on Gas Plant Need

By Riley Conlin & Andrew Moratzka

August 24, 2021

As a follow up to our post here, the Minnesota Court of Appeals issued a decision on August 23 affirming the MPUC’s decisions related to the Nemadji Trail Energy Center natural gas plant (NTEC) that will be constructed in Superior, Wisconsin. Applying a deferential standard of review, the Court analyzed the appeal (on remand from the Minnesota Supreme Court) and evidence under the MPUC’s novel standard for addressing affiliated interest agreements related to power…

Renewable + Law

California Public Utilities Commission Ruling Seeks Comments on Preferred System Plan for 2022-2032

By Seth Hilton

August 24, 2021

In docket R.20-05-003, its Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) proceeding, the California Public Utilities Commission is considering its preferred portfolio of new resources for the next ten years. A lengthy administrative law judge ruling issued August 17, 2021 set out a suggested Preferred System Plan (PSP) for the proceeding, including a suggested resource portfolio through 2032, based on a greenhouse gas goal of 38 million metric tons. As part of the Commission’s IRP process, all load-serving…

Renewable + Law

Biden Administration Proposes Rollback of Trump Administration Migratory Bird Rule

By Sarah Stauffer Curtiss

July 6, 2021

This post was co-authored by Stoel Rives summer associate Lydia Heye. In May, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”) announced a proposed rule revoking the Trump administration’s final rule on incidental take under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). In the January 7, 2021 final regulation, the Trump administration interpreted the MBTA’s take prohibition (the subject of a current split in federal circuit courts), excluding the “incidental” take of migratory birds from the scope…

Renewable + Law

MEPA Review Not Required as Part of Wisconsin Gas Plant Affiliated-Interest Agreements, Says Minnesota Supreme Court

By Riley Conlin, Sarah Johnson Phillips & Andrew Moratzka

April 22, 2021

As a follow up to a previous post the Minnesota Supreme Court issued its decision on April 21, 2021, reversing the Minnesota Court of Appeals and remanding the matter for further review. In so doing, the Court concluded that the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission properly concluded that MEPA review was not required. The Court first analyzed environmental review under Minn. Stat. § 216B.48, which governs the approval of affiliated-interest agreements, finding that nothing in the…

Renewable + Law

Battery Storage Procurement: It’s the Wild West Out There

By Adam C Walters

April 7, 2021

As the energy storage industry continues on its trajectory of near-exponential growth, in the course of assisting our clients we are seeing a wide variety of battery energy storage system (BESS) offerings in the market, and we don’t always like what we see from a project finance and risk perspective. Battery system offerings are all over the board, particularly when it comes to the suite of warranties and performance guarantees available. This is not unexpected…

Renewable + Law

The Climate Policy, Renewable Energy, & Sustainability Blog

Blog Authors

FERC Grants Limited Waiver to the CAISO to Immediately Interconnect Gas Turbines

CPUC Issues Net-Qualifying Capacity Values to Be Used for Mid-Term Reliability Procurement

California Energy Commission Adopts Expedited Siting Order for Energy Storage

California ISO Holds Summer Readiness Update Call for August

California Energy Commission Holds Workshop on Midterm Reliability; Finds No Reliability Need for Additional Gas Resources

Minnesota Court of Appeals Handles Supreme Court Remand by Deferring to MPUC’s Findings on Gas Plant Need

California Public Utilities Commission Ruling Seeks Comments on Preferred System Plan for 2022-2032

Biden Administration Proposes Rollback of Trump Administration Migratory Bird Rule

MEPA Review Not Required as Part of Wisconsin Gas Plant Affiliated-Interest Agreements, Says Minnesota Supreme Court

Battery Storage Procurement: It’s the Wild West Out There

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