Held on November 2nd, a national call-in briefing provided information on the new Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program that was included in the recently enacted Federal energy bill. The program allows eligible nonprofit entities to issue bonds to finance renewable energy projects.
Great River Energy (GRE), a Minnesota-based generation and transmission electric cooperative, has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for a total of 120 megawatts (MW) of renewable energy resources. At least 20 MW and up to 120 MW may come from Community-Based Energy Development (C-BED) proposals if the cost of the C-BED projects are not more than 10 percent above the cost of non C-BED projects.
A policy resolution was passed at the recent U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting supporting and encouraging the use of distributed generation as a way to supply cities and their citizens with more resilient, reliable and affordable energy supplies.
Full Text of the Resolution:
DISTRIBUTED GENERATION AND DECENTRALIZED ENERGY CREATION/DISTRIBUTION
In an effort to clarify and strengthen state law, lawmakers in Massachusetts have introduced legislation to enhance the ability of communities to acquire electric distribution equipment from investor-owned utilities in order to form municipally-owned electric companies.
After four years of study and pilot projects, the city of Manassas, Virginia, has become the first city in the country to fully deploy a BPL system throughout their city. The system is jointly operated by the city-owned electric utility and Commercial Technologies, Inc. [COMTek]. The city is providing the infrastructure for the BPL system and COMTek is providing the internet services.
The image of George W. Bush asking Americans to save oil by driving less brings to mind another image, that of Jimmy Carter wearing a cardigan sweater and asking Americans to save oil by turning down our thermostats. This column by my colleague David Morris encourages readers to understand the similarities and the differences of the two approaches.
A healthy dose of get-togethers around the country in October will highlight the successes and challenges of on-site power production. Take a look at what events are coming soon.
INFORMATION REMOVED SINCE EVENTS HAVE LONG SINCEPASSED.
UPDATE NOVEMBER 2006: At the November 2-3, 2005, annual meeting, the members of Basin Electric adopted a resolution that calls for obtaining renewable resources by 2010 that will be equal to 10 percent of the generating capacity needed to meet its member demand.
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Members of the primarily coal-based Basin Electric Cooperative, headquartered in Bismarck, ND, will vote in November on whether to require the cooperative to acquire 10 percent of its electric generating capacity from renewable energy.
PNM, New Mexico’s largest electric and gas utility, is seeking approval of a plan to expand on-site solar photovoltaic (PV) in its service territory. The two-pronged incentive program would pay project owners for "green" attributes and for excess electric generation.
