Scott Pruitt Out At EPA; Former Coal Lobbyist To Step In For Now

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

There’s always a creative tension about covering the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a solar reporter. On the one hand, they don’t have anything directly to do with energy policy, so some solar reporters feel it’s not worth covering.

On the other hand, as a solar reporter, it’s impossible to completely separate the environment and the Solar Revolution, since one of solar’s biggest selling points is that it helps reduce greenhouse gases and thereby helps the environment. Therefore, policy set by the EPA can have an indirect effect on the solar industry whether it wants it to or not.

But sometimes there’s a news story so big you have to cover it no matter what, and such is this afternoon’s news that the scandal-plagued EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned one step ahead of the law. And his replacement at the agency, on at least an interim basis, is former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler.

[wds id=”3″]

This, as you might imagine, is not good news.

As the Department of Energy hatches plans to bailout failing coal and nuclear plants, it’s not out of the realm of possibility to see Wheeler finish the job Pruitt so clearly had started. Both men savor the idea of eviscerating any environmental protection regulations currently in place, and Wheeler may have an added incentive – in the form of his former coal colleagues calling him on the phone – to finish slashing regulations on coal mines faster than ever before.

Here’s where things get particularly ugly for the solar industry: Though Wheeler is only the interim EPA chief, he can hold the post for up to seven months under the Vacancies Reform Act because his appointment to the agency has already been confirmed by the Senate. And 210 days is plenty of time for Wheeler to work in concert with Secretary of Energy to finish the coal/nuclear bailout plan and give coal its time in the … sun … again.

Oy vey.

Instant Solar Permitting, The Most Important Issue Facing Solar? (Podcast)

By Yann Brandt, Managing Editor

This may be the most important topic to be organized in solar since the start of net metering. The permitting process in the US adds almost $1/watt to the cost of the installations and increases the cancellation rate for customers looking to go solar.

In this episode of SolarWakeup Live! I speak with Andrew Birch who was a co-founder of Sungevity. Andrew tackles this issue by spearheading a two-day meeting which happened last week along with his co-chairs Billy Parish of Mosaic and Lynn Jurich of Sunrun. SEIA and The Solar Foundation will be intimately involved in the process.

The idea is to get solar to be a retroactive permit, registered with the AHJ after having been installed. Sell on one day and install the next. If you agree that this ultimate goal is ideal for your business, listen to this conversation and get involved.

More:

Liberty Utilities Wants To Own Your Behind-The-Meter Battery System (And Why That’s A Bad Idea)

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Liberty Utilities, New Hampshire’s largest utility currently has a docket before the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission that sounds like a good idea.

At issue is the state’s largest pilot program in history that would allow New Hampshire solar users to install batteries at no cost to them. Sounds good, right?

And although the intent of the program – to see how batteries will affect grid resiliency and performance – is pretty benign, solar advocates in the state have concerns about the size of the program and what it could mean for the long-term future of battery storage in the Granite State.

After all, the proposal as it is currently written gives only customers with utility-owned batteries access to time-of-use rates or monthly peak reduction payments, meaning the goal of the pilot program isn’t really to test how batteries operate on the grid. It’s to give the utility an unnecessary monopoly on battery storage, which should be granted only when a clear market failure demands it.

Instead of attempting to grab new monopoly powers where they don’t clearly exist, advocates suggest that Liberty Utilities should scale back its own pilot program and let other companies – in some cases local companies employing New Hampshire citizens – compete on a “Bring Your Own Battery” system. In other words, set rates based on performance and let the market – not a state-sponsored monopoly – decide who should handle the solar + storage systems in the state.

As it is, battery storage is something new for monopoly utilities in most cases (and most certainly in Liberty Utilities’ case), whereas multiple companies in the private sector are already deploying solar + storage in many states, giving them insights into the particular challenges and opportunities such systems provide. Why should New Hampshire residents become the guinea pigs for a large-scale pilot program that would effectively shut out the competition?

No one is suggesting Liberty Utilities shouldn’t set up a pilot program or that that the NHPUC shouldn’t grant them one. But make it a reasonably sized one that forces utilities to compete in the market – which would allow all ratepayers, solar consumers and non-solar consumers alike, to win.

Wisconsin Utilities Agree To Add 300 MW Of Solar To Portfolios

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

By Frank Andorka, Senior Correspondent

Get ready for 300 MW of solar projects coming your way, Badger State.

Two of the state’s utilities – Madison Gas and Electric (MGE) and WEC Energy Group (WEC), through its Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) – will be partners in two projects in the state. The projects will be developed Invenergy and NextEra Energy Resources, according to applications filed with the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSCW) at a cost of approximately $390 million.

If approved by the end of 2018, construction of both projects is expected to begin by spring 2019, with both plants being operational by the end of 2020.

[wds id=”3″]

WPS would own 200 MW and MGE 100 MW of the combined output at two locations. Each plant is 150 MW, In both cases, WPS will 100 MW and MGE will own 50 MW of the output.

The Badger Hollow Solar Farm would be located in southwestern Wisconsin in Iowa County, and the Two Creeks solar project would be located in northeastern Wisconsin, near the Point Beach Nuclear Power Plant.

“This is another step forward as we move toward a more sustainable energy future and deep decarbonization,” said Jeff Keebler, MGE president and CEO. “These projects align with MGE’s short- and long-term carbon reduction goals. If approved, we look forward to the opportunity to grow cost-effective, clean energy to reliably serve our customers into the future.”

“Both of these projects represent opportunities for MGE to partner with proven solar developers with projects ready to begin the regulatory process,” Keebler added. “Renewable energy has decreased in cost and increased in efficiency in recent years. As with our Saratoga wind farm project currently under construction, Badger Hollow and Two Creeks are economic projects that lower long-term costs for our customers while meeting their energy needs for decades to come.”

“Investing in these solar projects is the first step in our overall plan to add solar capacity to our generation portfolio and save WPS customers more than $100 million over the economic lives of the projects, as compared to projected prices in the power market,” said Gale Klappa, CEO of WPS.