APPA Grant Helps CPS Energy Test Performance Of Energy Storage Solution
September 23, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
September 23, 2021
CPS Energy, the San Antonio, Texas, public power utility, has installed a project to test the performance of an energy storage system using a grant from the American Public Power Association’s Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) program.
CPS, with its partner, Yotta Energy, installed a small-scale applied technology project at the Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Military Post. As part of the demonstration project, Yotta Energy will test the performance of its energy storage system in the Texas heat and its demand response features as a distributed energy resource (DER).
The DEED project will help CPS better understand how Yotta Energy’s renewable energy storage solution can lower costs for utility customers who elect to install distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar systems with battery storage by eliminating the need for onsite battery storage buildings while enabling the stabilization of an intermittent energy sources such as solar power.
The findings of the demonstration project will be used to provide insights on Yotta Energy’s integrated storage technology for CPS Energy. The performance data and feedback from the project will help Yotta make improvements to the features it offers in its forthcoming commercial product delivery, slated for early 2022, and for future commercial designs.
“CPS Energy is constantly searching for innovative technologies and proud to collaborate with Yotta Energy on this small-scale applied technology demonstration,” Frank Almaraz, chief power, sustainability and business development officer at CPS Energy, said in a statement. “The possibility of having a battery storage system attached to the actual solar panels excites us. It moves us one step closer to deploying cleaner, more resilient energy in our community that’s integrated and uses far less real estate.”
“We are excited to team up with CPS Energy, the largest public power company in San Antonio, to test and demonstrate the performance of our energy storage technology,” Omeed Badkoobeh, CEO of Yotta Energy, said in a statement. “Our team is also grateful for the grant funding from APPA because it will allow us to document, report, and validate our energy storage system’s performance under real-world conditions.”
CPS Energy is exploring a variety of alternative technologies, including energy storage solutions, as it deploys its Flexible Path resource plan that aims to move the San Antonio area to a decarbonized future by 2050 or sooner.
Kirk Hudson Named New General Manager of Washington State’s Chelan PUD
September 22, 2021
by Vanessa Nikolic
APPA News
September 22, 2021
Chelan County Public Utility District (PUD) in Washington State recently announced that Kirk Hudson has been selected as the PUD’s next general manager.
The PUD said it conducted an extensive national search to fill the position of the general manager vacancy and accepted community feedback about the qualities they wanted to see in a new general manager.
Customers said that they wanted the PUD to recruit a candidate with strong leadership skills, business management capabilities, background with Pacific Northwest issues, and a strong understanding of renewable energy.
Hudson has over 30 years of engineering and management experience in the energy and utility industries, and ten years of executive-level experience in strategic planning, risk management, and business planning.
He has held several positions at the PUD for the last 24 years, most recently serving as its managing director of generation and transmission.
In addition to his current role at the PUD, in 2018 Hudson led the formation of the Hydropower Research Institute, a data-driven collaborative aimed at driving the digital transformation of hydropower and improving energy generation at hydropower facilities.
Hudson will replace Steve Wright who has served as the PUD’s general manager since 2013.
Earlier this year, Wright informed the PUD’s Board of Commissioners that he does not intend to serve as the general manager beyond his contract that runs through the end of 2021.
Hudson will assume his new role on January 1, 2022.
He will be the 13th general manager since the PUD’s formation in 1936.
Chelan County PUD provides electric, water, wastewater, and wholesale broadband internet services to customers in Chelan County, located in north-central Washington.
NYPA Transmission Project Chosen By New York State For Renewable Energy Supplies
September 22, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 22, 2021
Clean Path New York, an $11 billion clean energy infrastructure project, was recently selected by New York State to deliver more than 7.5 million megawatt-hours of renewable energy annually downstate and into New York City.
The Clean Path New York project was formed as a response to a request for proposals issued by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) aimed at increasing the penetration of renewable energy into New York City. The project is a partnership of the New York Power Authority (NYPA), Invenergy and energyRe.
The project combines a 1,300-megawatt, 174-mile underground high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission line with over 3,400 megawatts of new wind and solar projects in upstate New York, with availability and reliability maximized by NYPA’s existing Blenheim-Gilboa pumped storage facility.
NYPA noted that Clean Path New York will develop a $270 million investment fund to support workforce development and education programs, health services and efficiency and electrification retrofits.
Routing and environmental work is underway on the Clean Path New York transmission line route from Delaware County, in New York’s Southern Tier economic development region, through the Mid-Hudson region to New York City. A majority of the transmission line will be built on existing rights-of-ways already used by roads and transmission lines.
“The robust and comprehensive state planning process ensures that the transmission line will follow the most optimal route, taking into account potential community impact and environmental stewardship. In particular, Clean Path New York’s route is designed specifically to minimize potential impacts to the Hudson River and avoid Haverstraw Bay,” NYPA said.
Additional information about the project is available here.
Second Transmission Project Also Chosen
New York authorities also selected the Champlain Hudson Power Express project (CHPE) to deliver hydropower into New York City.
The CHPE project involves the construction of an underground and underwater transmission line spanning approximately 339 miles between the Canada–U.S. border and New York City and is being developed by Transmission Developers, Inc. and Hydro-Québec.
The projects were selected for contract negotiation as part of NYSERDA’s Tier 4 renewable energy solicitation issued in January 2021.
Once finalized, NYSERDA will submit the negotiated contracts for these awarded projects to New York’s Public Service Commission for consideration and approval.
If the Tier 4 contracts are approved, NYSERDA payments under this award will not commence for each respective project until the project has obtained all required permits and local approvals, is constructed and delivers power to New York City, which is expected to begin in 2025 for CHPE and 2027 for Clean Path New York.
Heartland Consumers Power District Helps New Ulm Public Utilities Reap REC Windfall
September 22, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
September 22, 2021
New Ulm Public Utilities in Minnesota has been able to reap the benefits of renewable energy while boosting its revenues by about $300,000 with the help of its wholesale power supplier, South Dakota-based Heartland Consumers Power District.
New Ulm Public Utilities, like other utilities in the state, is required to generate or procure 25 percent of their total retail electric sales from renewable sources by 2025.
Aside from building a wind farm or solar power facility to generate renewable energy, one way to meet that requirement, especially for utilities that do not produce their own electricity, is to buy renewable energy credits (RECs).
Each REC is unique and represents 1 megawatt hour (MWh) of electricity. A REC can be bought or sold, or the regulatory value of the REC can be claimed by retiring it.
The validity and status of RECs is verified through the Midwest Renewable Energy Tracking System (M-RETs), which tracks renewable energy generation and assists in with renewable portfolio standard compliance and is used to manage and trade RECs.
To meet its renewable requirement, New Ulm Public Utilities acquires RECs through Heartland, whose resource mix includes wind energy from the Wessington Springs Wind Energy Center, a 51-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Jerauld County, South Dakota.
New Ulm currently receives 5.5 MW of wind energy around the clock from Heartland. Of the 167,000 MWh of energy New Ulm purchases from Heartland, about 29 percent, or 48,000 MWh is from wind energy, meaning that New Ulm acquires 48,000 RECs each year. New Ulm’s renewable energy purchases give the public power utility more wind energy than it needs to meet the state’s requirement.
In addition to providing wind energy to New Ulm Public Utilities, Heartland helps administer New Ulm’s RECs through M-RETs by maintaining a separate New Ulm holding account under Heartland’s M-RETS account.
As demand for RECs rose over the past year, pushing prices higher, Heartland approached New Ulm about selling its excess RECs. Heartland marketed New Ulm’s surplus RECs and sold them for a net price of $5.04 each, totaling over $317,000.
“Heartland continuously monitors the REC market,” Nate Jones, Heartland’s chief operations officer, said in a statement. “Like any market, the recent increase in demand for RECs has driven the price up. That proved beneficial as New Ulm had excess certificates to sell. We are happy to provide this service on their behalf.”
Heartland provides wholesale electric energy to 29 cities and municipal electric systems in South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. It also provides energy solutions to six public institutions in South Dakota and has a unit contingent contract with North Iowa Municipal Electric Cooperative Association.
CPS Energy Signs MOU To Deploy Used EV Batteries For Storage
September 21, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
September 21, 2021
CPS Energy in San Antonio, Texas, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to test recycled electric vehicle batteries to store energy produced by solar panels.
Under the MOU, signed with OCI Solar Power and Hyundai Motor Group, the parties aim to install an energy storage system. by September 2022. The storage system was developed by Hyundai, which is also providing the used, or “second life,” batteries at no cost. OCI Solar Power will procure some of the storage system components and supervise construction. CPS Energy will operate the storage system. All the partners will share data from the project.
After about seven or 10 years of use, a lithium-ion battery is no longer suitable to power an electric vehicle, but the battery still has enough capacity to be used in a stationary storage application.
Stationary storage powered by used electric vehicle batteries could exceed 200 gigawatt-hours (GWh) by 2030, according to a 2019 analysis by McKinsey & Co.
“We are taking a very important step in advancing our technology in regards to battery storage, thanks to this new collaboration with OCI Solar Power and the Hyundai Motor Group,” Fred Bonewell, chief operating officer at CPS Energy, said in a statement. “Evaluating these innovative technologies is key to discovering the next firming capacity that would be needed to replace fossil fuels.”
CPS Energy already has a 10 megawatt (MW), 1 hour duration battery storage system it installed about two years ago as part of a 5 MW solar facility. The $16.3 million project was done in partnership with the Southwest Research Institute, which provided the land.
The project aims to explore the potential for using batteries to shift solar power output to times when it is most needed on the grid. The solar-plus-storage project was also supported by a grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
At 500 kilowatts (kW), the newly announced project using second life batteries will be much smaller than the solar-storage project. And while it may connect to a CPS solar project eventually, the scope of the new project will likely be wider than solar shifting.
“We are calling it a small scale limited deployment project,” Jonathan Tijerina, senior director of business and economic development at CPS Energy, said. The battery system will likely do “a little bit of everything. We’ll try a lot of different scenarios,” he said, adding that the MOU is still in the early stages and one of the next steps will be to finalize the use cases for the new battery system.
The MOU will also evaluate the recycled batteries over the three to five year life of the project to assess how long the batteries can perform.
Late last year, CPS Energy issued a request for proposals to add up to 900 megawatts (MW) of solar, 50 MW of energy storage and 500 MW of firming capacity as part of its FlexPOWER Bundle initiative designed to replace some aging generation capacity and introduce new technologies as firming capacity to help ensure energy reliability for San Antonio.
The FlexPOWER program is part of CPS Energy’s broader Flexible Path resource plan that aims to move the San Antonio area to a decarbonized future by 2050 or sooner. The new second life battery project fits within the framework of CPS Energy’s Flexible Path plan, Tijerina said.
As of October 2020, CPS Energy had over 500 MW of solar power and more than 1,000 MW of wind power.
TVA Launches Inaugural Green Bond Offering, Sets Interest Rate Record
September 21, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 21, 2021
The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) announced and priced a $500 million offering of 10-year maturity green bonds on Sept. 13, its first offering of a sustainability-focused financial instrument.
Based on TVA’s recently released Sustainable Financing Framework, the bonds will fund ongoing capital investments that build on TVA’s environment, social and governance successes and support meeting the goals of TVA’s Strategic Intent and Guiding Principles endorsed by the TVA Board of Directors in May 2021, TVA said.
A key intent of that document is to aggressively move TVA toward a sustainable, net-zero carbon energy future by 2050 while maintaining low costs and reliability, TVA noted.
“TVA’s financial position has strengthened over the past decade, and we are continuing our disciplined financial approach as we invest in the energy system of the future,” said John Thomas, TVA Chief Financial & Strategy Officer, in a statement. “Low cost financing for our strategic capital investments will contribute to keeping energy rates as low as feasible even as we make progress toward our net-zero carbon aspirational goal.”
The bonds carry a coupon interest rate of 1.500%, which sets a record for the lowest rate ever achieved by TVA on a 10-year financing. TVA’s previous record on a 10-year maturity was set in 2012, with a rate of 1.875%. The record low rate on the bonds will save TVA over $15 million in annual interest expense compared to bonds that matured earlier in 2021.
Proceeds from the sale will be used to fund TVA’s upcoming significant capital investments for increased renewable energy generation, energy storage, transmission system upgrades and development of advanced clean energy technologies.
A potential TVA solar project in northern Alabama and a potential TVA energy storage project in eastern Tennessee — both still undergoing detailed environmental reviews — are two possible uses of the funding.
As part of the green bond format, TVA expects to report on the allocations of net proceeds of the bonds annually until proceeds are fully allocated.
“TVA’s first green bond is a milestone for our financing program,” said Tammy Wilson, TVA Treasurer and Chief Risk Officer. The record-setting transaction “demonstrates that the financial community is focused on investments in cleaner energy, and supportive of TVA’s sustainability goals.”
TVA’s green bond offering drew over $2 billion in initial orders from a variety of investors, including money managers, state governments, insurance companies, and others.
Bank of America Securities served as Green Structuring Agent for the transaction, and joint book-running manager.
Barclays, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets, and TD Securities also served as joint book-running managers for the transaction.
The new bonds will mature on Sept. 15, 2031 and are not subject to redemption prior to maturity. Interest will be paid semi-annually each March 15 and Sept. 15.
Application has been made to list the bonds on the New York Stock Exchange. The bonds will be issued, maintained and transferred through the book-entry system of the Federal Reserve Banks.
TVA said that the terms of the bonds are consistent with TVA’s Sustainable Financing Framework. The framework outlines the categories of strategic capital projects where the proceeds may be allocated, including renewables, energy storage, energy efficiency, transmission investments that support TVA’s clean energy goals, and research and development expenditures related to other categories identified in the framework.
TVA obtained a second-party opinion on its framework from global analytical firm Sustainalytics, which concluded that TVA’s Sustainable Financing Framework is credible, impactful and aligned with relevant sustainability and green bond standards and principles.
The Sustainalytics opinion and other details can be accessed from the ESG Information for Investors section of TVA’s Investor Relations website at www.tva.com/investors or directly by clicking here.
Salt River Project Brings 25-MW Battery System Online In Peoria, Ariz.
September 21, 2021
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
September 21, 2021
Salt River Project (SRP) has brought a 25-megawatt (MW), four-hour duration battery storage facility into operation at its Bolster substation next to its Agua Fria power plant in Peoria, Arizona.
The public power utility plans to charge the batteries at night when power prices are less expensive and discharge them during periods of peak energy demand.
“Battery storage is an extremely important and growing component of SRP’s 2035 Sustainability Goals to reduce our carbon footprint,” Kelly Barr, SRP’s chief strategy, corporate services and sustainability executive, said in a statement. “The Bolster Substation Battery System adds to our already considerable investment in battery storage and further allows us to offset carbon-emitting resources by storing energy and providing it to our customers when they need it most.”
The battery system consists of a series of Tesla Megapacks connected directly to SRP’s energy grid and is the largest stand-alone battery storage system in Arizona. SRP said the battery system’s renewable-charging capability will increase over time as it continues to add more solar energy resources to its grid.
This summer SRP announced an expanded commitment to add 2,025 MW of utility-scale solar energy by 2025.
Following that announcement, SRP in August announced three new solar plants that together will be capable of delivering 500 MW. Facebook will be the largest customer of the new facilities, taking 450 MW to support its newly announced data center in Mesa, Ariz., and to help meet the company’s 100 percent renewable energy commitments.
SRP recently contracted for the output from the Sonoran Energy Center, which would be the largest solar-charged battery project in Arizona and give SRP one of the largest commitments to energy storage in the nation. The utility has also contracted for the approximately 88-MW Storey solar and storage project to be built south of Coolidge. Both projects are scheduled to become operational in June 2023.
In addition to the new Bolster substation storage project, SRP receives power and collects data from two pilot battery storage projects: the Pinal Central Solar Energy Center, a 20 MW, integrated solar energy and battery storage plant in Casa Grande, and the Dorman battery storage system a 10 MW, 40 megawatt-hour stand-alone battery storage system in Chandler.
Sean Worthington Named New General Manager of Washington State’s Clallam PUD
September 20, 2021
by Vanessa Nikolic
APPA News
September 20, 2021
Clallam County Public Utility District (PUD) No. 1 in Washington State recently announced that Sean Worthington has been selected as the PUD’s next general manager upon the retirement of current general manager, Doug Nass.
Worthington is currently the finance manager and treasurer and has served the PUD for eight years.
The PUD decided it was best to select an internal candidate that has familiarity with local issues such as Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act, as well as existing relationships with regional utility organizations.
Nass will retire in January of next year. Worthington will assume his new role shortly after.
Founded in 1940, Clallam PUD is a not-for-profit electric utility that serves over 30,000 customers in Clallam County, Washington. The PUD has 145 employees.
Groups Urge Treasury Department To Offer Guidance On COVID Relief Utility Assistance Taxation
September 20, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 20, 2021
The American Public Power Association (APPA) has joined with 16 other organizations in asking the Department of Treasury to issue guidance clarifying that residential utility assistance funded through the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (CSLFRF) is not includable in individual income.
Treasury has issued similar guidance relating the Emergency Rental Assistance Program but has yet to do so for CSLFRF.
In a Sept. 15, 2021, letter organized by APPA and sent to Treasury’s office of the Undersecretary for Domestic Finance, the groups said they were writing in strong support of allowing utility assistance to households or populations facing negative economic impacts due to COVID-19 as an eligible use of CSLFRF as provided under Treasury’s Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds Interim Final Rule.
“There is a question as to whether such assistance to residential households and other non-business utility customers is includable in income,” APPA and the other groups noted. “As a result, households receiving such assistance must consider themselves at risk of additional tax liability and/or a decrease in income-based benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit.”
The groups said that this question is also of concern to agencies, departments, and utilities implementing such assistance programs because they would be required to report this assistance as income to the Internal Revenue Service.
While the Feb. 1, 2022 deadline for filing such reports “seems distant, program managers must start making decisions on meeting such requirements now,” the letter pointed out.
“Finally, this needlessly raises complicated tax administration issues, such as the allocation of the value of assistance to multi-family households and the issuance of information returns to customers without, or without a known, Social Security or taxpayer information number,” the groups went on to say.
The groups believe that the Internal Revenue Code already indicates that disaster assistance, such as that provided under CSLFRF, is not includable in income. However, guidance mirroring that provided for the Emergency Rental Assistance Program at: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/emergency–rental–assistancefrequently–asked–questions would provide needed assurances to program beneficiaries and program managers, the letter said.
LES Proposed Rate Decrease Would Mark Fifth Straight Year Without Rate Hike
September 19, 2021
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
September 19, 2021
The Lincoln Electric System (LES) Administrative Board’s Budget and Rates Committee recommended a systemwide decrease to retail electric rates in the 2022 budget and rates proposal during LES’ Administrative Board meeting Sept. 17. This would mark the fifth consecutive year without a rate increase for the Nebraska public power utility.
The rate decrease proposed for 2022 is about 1% systemwide, though most retail rate classes will see little to no change in their rate. Some residential customers may see minor changes to their monthly bills due to continued realignment of energy and facilities charges. Some large customers may see a decrease based on changes in LES cost to serve those customer classes.
The total proposed 2022 budget of $293.9 million allots $247.7 million for operating costs and the remaining $46.2 million for capital projects. This proposed budget is $12.2 million less in capital projects and $5.7 million less in operating costs than the 2021 budget.
Reductions in the 2022 budget compared to 2021 are primarily due to reductions in power costs and depreciation. In addition, the capital budget is lower following completion of the LES Operations Center.
The LES Administrative Board will take action on the 2022 budget and rates at its Oct. 15 meeting, after which it will be submitted to the Lincoln City Council for review.