California Community Choice Aggregator Looks To Boost Geothermal Development
March 25, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 25, 2022
California community choice aggregator Sonoma Clean Power (SCP) recently issued a request for information (RFI) to select entities to enter a public-private partnership aimed at accelerating the development of incremental geothermal resources in a Geothermal Opportunity Zone spanning Sonoma and Mendocino counties, Calif.
SCP is ultimately looking to enable 500 megawatts (MW) of incremental local geothermal development while maintaining existing regional geothermal capacity.
SCP has an interest in entering into a partnership agreement with selected entities to collaborate on transmission planning, community engagement, regulatory advocacy, public education, and state and federal grants to enable development of additional geothermal capacity in the Geothermal Opportunity Zone.
SCP is also interested in opportunities that sustain the longevity and efficiency of existing resources.
SCP’s intent is to be the off-taker for as much as 150 MW of the capacity from resources developed through the partnership and will leverage its relationship with other load-serving entities to assist marketing all Geothermal Opportunity Zone output.
In the RFI, SCP said that it recognizes the opportunity for a large resurgence in geothermal resource development, particularly in California.
“An increasing penetration of intermittent renewables, ambitious environmental targets, and retirement of nuclear and natural gas plants are creating an attractive market for the reliability and capacity attributes of geothermal power,” it said.
“Meanwhile, technology transfer from the oil and gas sector, expanding research and development activities related to geothermal resource assessment and power generation technologies, and increased public and private investment provides the potential to greatly expand the application of geothermal power and reduce costs,” the CCA said.
SCP is looking to “reinvigorate local geothermal development through a focused initiative to address the barriers for geothermal resource development, such as by providing an off-taker and building community support for preferred projects.”
As part of this initiative, SCP is pursuing the following activities in parallel with the solicitation:
- Directly engaging current geothermal operators, developers, and technology companies to survey the state of the industry and understand barriers to development;
- Undertaking an enhanced assessment of the geothermal resource within the area of interest;
- Briefing county staff and elected officials on the scope and objectives of the initiative; and
- Discussing the capability of current transmission in the region with the California Independent System Operator
Responses to the RFI are due April 29, 2022, 5:00 p.m. PDT and the RFI is available here.
The American Public Power Association has initiated a new category of membership for community choice aggregation programs.
LS Power Affiliate Developing Up To 800-MW Wind Farm In Southern Idaho
March 21, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 21, 2022
Magic Valley Energy, an affiliate of LS Power, has announced plans to develop a wind power project in southern Idaho with a capacity of up to 800 megawatts (MW).
The Salmon Falls Wind Project is sited on lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Twin Falls County.
The project is in the initial stages of the development, which includes interactions with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as outreach to local stakeholders.
Magic Valley Energy expects construction of the project could begin as early as 2024.
The company said the proposed site is situated at the confluence of several key siting characteristics, including favorable wind resources, availability of suitable land, compatibility with existing land uses, a general absence of sensitive biological resources, and proximity to existing and future planned high voltage transmission lines to deliver the wind energy to market.
Magic Valley Energy is also developing the Lava Ridge Wind Project, a 1,000-MW wind farm southeast of Shoshone, Idaho, proposed for federal land in Lincoln, Minidoka, and Jerome counties.
APPA Awards NYPA $102,000 Grant For Agriculture And Solar Energy Production Study
March 14, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 14, 2022
The New York Power Authority (NYPA) has been awarded a $102,000 grant through the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Demonstration of Energy & Efficiency Developments (DEED) program to evaluate and report on innovative approaches to integrating dual-land use for agriculture and solar energy production.
Funding through the DEED grant will empower NYPA, in collaboration with the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), to encourage the establishment of best practices that will enable farmers, communities, developers, industry partners, equipment vendors, utilities and other stakeholders to better understand the benefits of sustainable land use practices and co-location of agriculture with solar generation
NYPA noted that agrivoltaics is the simultaneous use of land for typical agricultural practices, such as grazing, crops, and beekeeping, and photovoltaic (PV) power generation through the use of solar panels.
Agrivoltaic systems can be designed in a variety of ways. For high-value crops like tomatoes, lettuce, or herbs, solar arrays must allow sufficient sunlight to pass to ground crops while capturing light to generate electricity.
NYPA will study how native vegetation, pollinators, low maintenance plants, agricultural crops and grazing livestock may coexist within the space of solar co-land management. The results of the study will be published to advise proper techniques and tools that optimize sustainable vegetation, agriculture yield and PV electricity generation.
“The APPA’s DEED grant will help NYPA explore the potential benefits of solar generation in agricultural settings,” said NYPA Senior Director of Research, Technology Development and Innovation Alan Ettlinger in a statement. “By studying agrivoltaic systems, NYPA will be able to create a blueprint that will articulate sustainable land practices and help guide New York to a more sustainable, carbon-free future.”
“This is exactly the kind of innovation that the APPA’s DEED program is built to fund,” said APPA Vice President of Technical and Operations Services Alex Hofmann. “We can’t wait to see how the project plays out and to share the learnings with other public power utilities.”
This research initiative is one of NYPA’s many projects supporting New York’s goal to generate 70 percent of the state’s electricity from renewables by 2030.
In addition to NYPA’s agrivoltaics program, New York State has established the Farmland Protection Working Group and the Agricultural Technical Working Group. These working groups are designed to ensure solar siting that is responsive to the needs of New York’s agricultural communities.
NYPA is a long-time DEED program partner and received $250,000 to fund two demonstration projects in 2021, one that is analyzing the impact of ice on a hydropower plant and one testing an advanced technology that evaluates the health of high voltage assets in a substation.
The DEED program, which funds research, pilot projects and education to improve the operations and services of public power utilities.
DEED members can learn more about the NYPA project in the DEED Project Library. Additional details about the DEED program are available here.
SMUD Signs Its First Combined Solar And Battery Storage Energy System PPA
March 8, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 8, 2022
D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments and California’s Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) on March 7 announced the signing of SMUD’s first combined solar and battery energy storage system renewable power purchase agreement sized at 200 megawatts/400 megawatt hours.
According to D.E. Shaw, the project is the largest combined solar and battery energy storage system generation facility announced in northern California under PPA contract at this time.
The project will be located on the east side of Sacramento County and is expected to reach commercial operation no later than 2024.
The agricultural ranch that currently operates on the proposed project site will continue to run in parallel to the energy facility, and the project will incorporate key aspects of environmental sustainability into design and ongoing operations. Affiliates of Bona Terra Energy, LLC assisted as co-developers in the project.
As part of the project, the SMUD Clean Energy Community Leaders-Mark Gall Memorial Scholarship will be funded by D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments.
The scholarship will help cultivate local workforce talent and support students in the greater Sacramento area who demonstrate interest in renewable energy development.
Offshore Wind Energy $4.37 Billion Lease Sale Is Highest Grossing Offshore Sale In History
February 25, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 25, 2022
The Department of the Interior (DOI) on Feb. 24 announced the results of the nation’s highest-grossing competitive offshore energy lease sale in history, including oil and gas lease sales, with the New York Bight offshore wind sale.
“These results are a major milestone towards achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030,” DOI said.
The lease sale offered six lease areas totaling over 488,000 acres in the New York Bight for potential wind energy development and drew competitive winning bids from six companies totaling approximately $4.37 billion.
Before the leases are finalized, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission will conduct an anti-competitiveness review of the auction, and the provisional winners will be required to pay the winning bids and provide financial assurance to Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.
DOI said that the New York Bight offshore wind leases include innovative stipulations designed to promote the development of a robust domestic U.S. supply chain for offshore wind energy and enhance engagement with Tribes, the commercial fishing industry, other ocean users and underserved communities. The stipulations will also advance flexibility in transmission planning, it noted.
BOEM initially asked for information and nominations of commercial interest on 1.7 million acres in the New York Bight. Based on BOEM’s review of scientific data and extensive input from the commercial fishing industry, Tribes, partnering agencies, key stakeholders, and the public, BOEM reduced the acreage offered for lease by 72% to avoid conflicts with ocean users and minimize environmental impacts. BOEM will continue to engage with the public, ocean users, and key stakeholders as the process unfolds.
The Biden Administration has already approved the groundbreaking of the nation’s first two commercial-scale offshore wind projects in federal waters: the 800-megawatt Vineyard Wind project and the 130-megawatt South Fork Wind project.
BOEM expects to review at least 16 plans to construct and operate commercial offshore wind energy facilities by 2025, which would represent more than 22 gigawatts of energy.
In addition, this past fall DOI announced a new leasing path forward, which identified up to seven potential lease sales by 2025, including the New York Bight and offshore the Carolinas and California later this year, to be followed by lease sales for the Central Atlantic, Gulf of Maine, the Gulf of Mexico, and offshore Oregon.
CMUA Policy Paper Assesses, Advises on California’s 2045 Clean Energy Goal
February 20, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
February 20, 2022
Reliability and affordability will be key to California’s efforts to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, according to a new policy paper by the California Municipal Utilities Association (CMUA).
Reaching California’s target of 100 percent clean energy by 2045 rests on four principles: predictability, reliability, affordability, and flexibility, the paper, Powering California’s Future with Clean, Affordable and Reliable Energy: Four Principles for Success, argues.
“Part of our mission is to be a thought leader,” Barry Moline, executive director of CMUA, said. “We have a responsibility to put good ideas in front of policy makers and to set standards going forward. We are part of the solution and need to be part of the solution in a particular way.”
California’s utilities have already made significant progress toward the state’s goals by reducing electric sector GHG emissions by at least 40 percent since 2006. Much of that progress can be ascribed to collaborating with the state on the many laws and agencies that govern and regulate the state’s energy sector and promote initiatives aimed at mitigating climate change.
In addition to SB 100, also known as the 100 Percent Clean Energy Act of 2018 – a seminal law that put California on the path to 100% clean energy by 2045 – two laws were passed in 2021 that supplement the SB 100 planning process. And, California has a full-time legislature, that annually proposes a continual parade of new bills. Last year, 2,400 bills were introduced in the state’s legislature with about 140 of them related to energy, a “pretty average number,” Patrick Welch, CMUA senior director of energy policy and strategy and author of the paper, said.
“When the laws and regulations driving renewable and clean energy procurement are constantly changing, it can harm the financial stability of utilities, causes project delays, jeopardizes climate progress, and impose costs on California utility customers,” the paper said.
“We have strong foundational clean energy laws in California with a robust planning process to pave the road to 100% clean energy. If legislators want to create new laws, we think they should be looking at removing barriers, and should be cautious about imposing new requirements that change the rules of the game,” Welch said.
“Predictability doesn’t mean just saying, ‘No,’” Moline said. “We want new laws that help achieve goals already established.”
The paper also advises on challenges that the sate’s clean energy goals will present to affordability. Meeting the state’s 2045 target will require more than doubling the energy resources on the grid, including nearly 120 gigawatts (GW) of new clean resources, including utility-scale solar, batteries, and wind farms, and potentially up to 173 GW of new resources.
That “record-breaking” pace of resource expansion over the next 25 years “will come at a cost” of about an additional $4.6 billion annually by 2045 charged to California ratepayers, the paper said, adding that eliminating all fossil-fuel combustion for electricity generation would cost another $8 billion every year.
Citing a Legislative Analyst’s Office report from 2017, the CMUA paper noted that electric rates in California were about 50% higher than the national average. The are multiple factors contributed to those rates, including how fixed costs are recovered, declining energy consumption due to energy efficiency implementation, and state mandates such as the state’s renewable portfolio standard and its carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program.
CMUA also cited a February 2021 paper released by the California Public Utilities Commission that found that rate and bill increases could make other climate policy goals more difficult to achieve.
And a joint agency report to the governor, said that 2021-2030 overall bundled residential rate forecasts for California’s three large investor-owned utilities are expected to grow at a pace that exceeds inflation for many years in the coming decade.
Those concerns could be compounded as the state turns to electrification to address emissions reductions in other parts of the economy, such as the transportation sector, Moline said. “If rates ratchet up too much, people are not going to want to switch to those technologies,” such as adopting electric vehicles. If legislators and regulators are not paying attention to those problems, we want to make sure they are on the marquee,” Moline said.
And while public power utilities such as the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and the Glendale Department of Water & Power have made progress toward reducing GHG emissions, the paper said that they also face more challenges as the level of renewable and clean resources on their systems grow, particularly as they approach the last 10 percent of the 100 percent goal.
“It will be particularly important, as utilities meet their 2030, 60 percent renewable energy goals and continue to plan for 100% clean energy by 2045, for there to be latitude and flexibility in resource selection,” Welch said. “As we approach those thresholds, having a narrow focus doesn’t work from a reliability or cost standpoint.”
“A lot of low hanging fruit has been picked,” Moline said. So, it will be important to have flexibility with respect to the “buckets” that currently specify acceptable types of renewable resources. “Are we stuck in some old school idea or are we open to innovating?” he asked, noting that CMUA is advocating for hydropower to be counted toward meeting emission reduction goals above the 60 percent threshold.
In short, the policy paper should serve as a guideline for lawmakers and regulators, Moline said. The clean energy principles in the paper will move the state toward its goals “faster and with a solid foundation of outstanding service to the people of California,” he said.
Construction Starts On Offshore Wind Farm That Will Provide Energy To LIPA
February 12, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 12, 2022
Construction of New York’s first offshore wind project kicked off last week. The South Fork Wind project was selected under a 2015 Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) request for proposals to address growing power needs on the east end of Long Island.
“In 2017, the forward-thinking approach of the LIPA Board of Trustees led to the approval of the South Fork Wind project at a time when there were no other power purchase agreements for offshore wind in the country,” said LIPA CEO Thomas Falcone. “As the first offshore wind farm in New York, South Fork Wind is the beginning of a new industry for our region that will be vital to New York meeting its goal of a zero-carbon electric grid by 2040.”
The start of construction was recognized at an event attended by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, alongside Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and other elected officials.
The project will be located about 35 miles east of Montauk Point and its 12 Siemens-Gamesa 11 MW turbines will generate approximately 130 megawatts of power.
Its transmission system will deliver clean energy directly to the electric grid in the Town of East Hampton.
The construction milestone follows the approval by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) last month of the project’s Construction and Operations Plan (COP).
The COP outlines the project’s one nautical mile turbine spacing, the requirements on the construction methodology for all work occurring in federal ocean waters, and mitigation measures to protect marine habitats and species.
BOEM’s final approval of the COP follows the agency’s November 2021 issuance of the Record of Decision, which concluded the thorough BOEM-led environmental review of the project.
New York State has five offshore wind projects in active development, the largest portfolio in the nation. This current portfolio totals more than 4,300 megawatts (MW).
Achieving the State’s 9,000 MW by 2035 goal will generate enough offshore wind energy to power approximately 30 percent of New York State’s electricity needs.
Department of Defense, General Services Administration Seek Information On Power Supplies
February 4, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
February 4, 2022
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) on Feb. 3 issued a request for information (RFI) to gather market information and capabilities in supplying carbon emissions-free electricity to the federal government.
The DOD is the largest energy user in the federal government and one of the largest electricity purchasers in the world.
The objectives of this RFI are to:
- Demonstrate the intent to achieve 100 percent carbon emissions-free electricity for federal operations by using a whole-of-government approach;
- Understand the ability of industry to supply 24×7 hourly matched carbon emissions-free electricity, and gather pricing information based on scale; and
- Gather information from industry on potential approaches to meeting the targets set by the Federal Sustainability Plan.
The RFI follows President Biden’s signing of the Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability (EO 14057), which directed the federal government to use 100% carbon emissions-free electricity on a net annual basis by 2030, including 50% on a 24/7 (hourly matching) basis.
To access the RFI, please click here.
PJM, N.J. Regulators File Agreement With FERC Tied To Offshore Wind
January 30, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 30, 2022
The PJM Interconnection and the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) recently filed a first-of-its-kind joint agreement with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Jan. 27 outlining how New Jersey will put PJM’s competitive planning process to work in pursuit of its offshore wind goals.
The agreement details the contractual commitments and responsibilities of the NJBPU and PJM regarding the competitive selection of transmission solutions to enable New Jersey’s goal of delivering 7,500 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind generation to its residents by 2035.
The filing advances the process from a study agreement FERC approved last year. PJM is asking FERC to issue an order no later than April 15.
PJM is in the process of evaluating 80 proposals submitted in a competitive solicitation window for wind that ran from April 15 to Sept. 17, 2021.
PJM anticipates recommending to New Jersey by May the most cost-effective and efficient transmission solutions. The NJBPU expects to decide whether to sponsor selected transmission projects by September. Each proposal offers solutions to deliver offshore wind generation to the existing bulk electric grid.
Typically, PJM’s Regional Transmission Expansion Plan (RTEP) includes projects driven by reliability or market-efficiency criteria. The state agreement approach provides an avenue to incorporate public policy goals into the process, PJM said.
New Jersey is the first state to make use of the state agreement approach, which enables a state, or group of states, to propose a project to assist in realizing public policy requirements as long as the state (or states) agrees to pay all costs of any state-selected buildout included in the RTEP. Those costs would be recovered from customers in those states.
DOE Unveils Several New Initiatives Aimed At Removing Community Solar Barriers
January 28, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
January 28, 2022
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on Jan. 25 unveiled several new initiatives to remove barriers to the deployment of community solar.
Together, the initiatives will help achieve the National Community Solar Partnership’s (NCSP) target to enable community solar to power the equivalent of five million households and create $1 billion in energy bill savings by 2025, DOE said.
The American Public Power Association is a member of NCSP, which is a coalition of community solar stakeholders working to expand access to affordable community solar.
Attendees at NCSP’s annual summit on Jan. 25 discussed NCSP’s “Pathway to Success,” a plan to address persistent barriers to equitable access.
The plan has five focus areas: developing community solar knowledge and know-how, expanding state-level programs, improving access to financing, reducing customer acquisition barriers and broadening awareness of the benefits of community solar programs.
The initiatives supporting this pathway include:
- A new States Collaborative, engaging nearly half of the nation’s states and the District of Columbia, which will support expansion and development of new community solar programs at the state level. This will be made up of state energy officials and program administrators and by providing best practices, technical assistance, and opportunities for direct peer-to-peer learning.
- The Credit Ready Solar Initiative, which will help community solar developers better access project financing. This initiative will bring together lenders, philanthropic institutions, and community solar developers — especially those that are community-based or serve low- to moderate-income households — to create standard processes and a marketplace for deploying project capital.
- A $2 million NCSP Technical Assistance program, which is offered on a rolling basis at no cost to NCSP partners and provides personalized support to help them accelerate implementation, improve the performance of their program or project, and build capacity for future community solar development.
Additional information about NCSP is available here.