Trump To Throw Free Market Principles Out Window On Behalf Of Coal, Nuke Plants

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Well, that’s not very free market of him.

In a move that made George Gilder do a spit take, President Donald J. Trump may soon order grid operators to purchase electricity from failing coal and nuclear plants in an effort to keep such faltering plants alive and well, according to a Bloomberg report.

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A memo reviewed by the news organization says the Energy Department is considering using its power under the Federal Power Act – Section 202 powers, to be exact – to use emergency powers to take such action.

Bloomberg called the move “an unprecedented intervention into U.S. Energy markets,” in the master-of-understatement style for which they are known. The news organization quotes from the memo that argues:

“Federal action is necessary to stop the further premature retirements of fuel-secure generation capacity.”

The phrases “premature retirements” is the key one in the memo, as it has long been policy of this president to try to prop up failing nuclear and coal plants by any means necessary. It was what was behind the study Secretary of Energy Rick Perry ordered shortly after his appointment into the importance of “baseload power” and the completely arbitrary idea that electrical generation facilities must have 90 days of reserve power on site.

The study was expected to find that an increase in coal and nuclear plants were necessary. When it didn’t, Perry ordered the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a rule that would have provided for bailouts of failing nuclear and coal plants. FERC respectfully declined.

Which is why the ball has landed back in the Department of Energy’s court, and they appear to be on the verge of simply ordering grid operators to buy power from these plants to provide the plant operators with a financial bailout orchestrated by the federal government.

It’s no shock that this action could be coming. After all, it was President Trump who stood in front of West Virginia coal miners and offered them the impossible dream of bringing coal jobs back to the United States, despite the electricity market – including a majority of utilities – voting against such a move with their market-based plans to close the plants instead. To fulfill his campaign promise, the only way to save those jobs is to rig the system in favor of coal plants.

Bloomberg notes the order is only a draft and has not been finally decided yet, but it’s hard to imagine a circumstance under which the president wouldn’t manipulate the market this way to allow him to claim victory in the mythical “war on coal.”

More:

Trump Prepares Lifeline for Money-Losing Coal Power Plants (Bloomberg)

NV Energy Unveils Massive Solar, Storage Plans

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

NV Energy, Nevada’s largest utility, unveiled plans to add more than 1 GW of solar power and at least 100 MW of battery storage in its latest Integrated Resources Plan (IRP), filed today with the Public Utilities Commission of Nevada (PUCN).

The new projects will be evenly distributed throughout the state, with three new plants located in the north and three located in the south, pending the plan’s approval by the PUCN.

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“The six new projects position NV Energy to keep its commitment to double renewable energy by 2023 and, importantly, by diversifying our state’s electricity generation portfolio, will reduce the costs to serve customers,” said Paul Caudill, NV Energy’s CEO. “These projects also represent a step forward in the company’s long-term goal of serving Nevada customers with 100 percent renewable energy.”

NV Energy’s filing with the PUCN represents the first time the utility has included energy storage in a filing, representing a significant shift in thinking for NV Energy and is reflective of a tectonic shift going on throughout the industry. More public utility regulators, in California and New Mexico, for example, are requiring utilities to include energy storage in the IRPs.

100 MW/400 MWh of storage, given the enormous amount of solar that is being added, seems like a modest goal, and it’s logical to assume that number will increase as installations proceed. The plan as outlined in the company’s release appears to be a classic “underpromise/overdeliver” scenario.

All the projects are expected to be completed and operational by 2021. NV Energy plans to employ more than 1,700 construction workers, including union craftsman per a stipulation in the IRP. Approximately 80 new long-term, permanent jobs will be created.

A 300 MW project on tribal land is largest single project in the new portfolio. The partnership between 8minutenergy Renewables, NV Energy and Moapa Band of Paiutes will be built on the Moapa River Indian Reservation about 30 miles north of Las Vegas.

Minnesota Forges New Rules For Easier Clean-Energy Interconnection

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) decided last week to make significant changes to its interconnection procedures in an effort to make it easier for clean-energy customers to connect to the grid.

Despite its reputation as being the Midwestern leader in community solar development, outdated interconnection rules had slowed the progress of community solar garden growth and caused frustration among solar advocates within the state.

With the help of he Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), Fresh Energy and the Environmental Law & Policy Center (ELPC), the MPUC has adopted more straightforward rules and procedures that should speed up interconnection for clean-energy customers.

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Among the new rules adoptedwere

the standardization of interconnection rules based on a 2014 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission model, making the learning curve for customers less steep;

a two-tier screen process for mid-sized process, which eliminates the need for all projects to undergo the full (and sometimes costly full study process). The fast track follows the FERC SGIP model but contain a few Minnesota specific modifications;

a simplified application and review process for small rooftop solar projects less than 20 kW.

new rules that include energy storage systems in the definition of eligible projects, creating a more clear process for energy storage customers to connect their projects to the grid.

new rules allow that allow interconnection customers to request a pre-application report from their utility, which allows customers to get a sense early in the process – before they make a large investment of time and money – whether a given project is likely to integrate into the grid at that location, without triggering major upgrades.

a new requirement that required utilities with more than 40 applications a year to publish a public interconnection queue that enables customers to track the progress of interconnection projects.

With these improvements adopted, the PUC will turn its attention to updating the technical standards document to include smart inverter settings, the requirements for energy storage, and the other deferred issues noted above.

The groups involved in shaping the new rules say there is still considerable work to be done to figure out exact processes and streamlining some of the rules, but the initial decision provides a good framework from which to start the fine-tuning.

“With this interconnection standard, Minnesota has laid the groundwork for our transition to clean energy, and will help drive the Minnesota market forward by bringing certainty and transparency,” adds Laura Hannah, senior policy associate at Fresh Energy, an independent nonprofit that provides in-depth policy analysis on energy issues across Minnesota. “The utilities will be much more prepared for increasing volumes of applications and modern technologies.”

Are Renewables Being Targeted In Illinois Despite Public Support?

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

The legislature giveth with one hand and seems poised to taketh away with the other hand from the Illinois renewable energy providers.

Despite a recent survey by CleanChoice Energy that shows 83% of Illinois residents want to have the choice of clean energy as an option to supply their homes and state-sponsored support under the Future Energy Jobs Act of 2016, action in the legislature later this week could diminish solar’s growth considerably if two amendments to SB 1531 are passed as part of the bill.

At issue is the idea of “automatic renewals,” a practice widely practiced by utilities to keep customers on board. For decades, this practice allowed customers to stay with utilities automatically unless they specifically sought to change their providers.

It keeps customer-acquisition costs low – renewals of existing customers are much less expensive than getting new customers. But an amendment to SB 1531 would end the practice for “alternatives suppliers” which, in the case of Illinois, means renewable energy providers.

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There are three significant problems that the amendment would engender in the renewable energy community:

Under the new rules, renewable energy providers appear to be singled out, meaning state-sponsored utility monopolies will not have to play under the same rules. This would have the actual effect of tilting the playing field in the direction of established utilities, who could make it easier for customers to stay with them through automatic renewals.

Renewable energy providers are operating on much tighter margins than state-sponsored utilities. Even if they were being forced to operate under the same rules, utilities have the financial wherewithal to absorb additional customer acquisition costs. Most renewable energy providers do not. Therefore, the playing field is again tilted in favor of the established providers and against newcomers like solar companies.

Finally, the new rules would clearly cause problems for the newly created community solar companies ready to take advantage of the promised state support under the Future Energy Jobs Act. One of the challenges community solar providers have is the necessity for long contracts (think 25-year PPAs as an example). That’s often a much longer commitment than most community solar customers want to make. To entice them, many community solar providers will shorten the commitment to one or two years, using automatic renewals as the way to get that longer-term commitment once customers decide they are satisfied with their service. If you remove automatic renewals from community solar installations, those companies are back to arguing over 25-year commitments and frustrated consumers throwing up their hands and sticking with their traditional utility providers.

Ultimately, this is an underhanded way for utilities to keep the field tilted in their direction, and it’s one solar advocates should work to stop.

We’ll be discussing this and other issues concerning the Illinois solar market at our upcoming SolarWakeup Live! event in Chicago on June 21. Tickets are going fast, so reserve your spot now.

More:

CleanChoice Energy poll finds majority of Illinois residents want clean energy option