“They need some more support from the Legislature in having a critical eye,” said John Farrell, of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “I think the laws that they operate under don’t give them a lot of flexibility to question…the base assumptions that Xcel is bringing to the table.” Check out the 2-minute video clip
The final stakeholder meeting took place in mid-November (right before the holiday, hence the delayed post) and Minnesota’s draft value of solar methodology reflects a thorough and careful accounting of the value of solar to the utility, ratepayers, and society. With the exception of the two issues mentioned explicitly below, I believe the robust formula will … Read More
It may be one of the oldest cooperative utilities in the country, but in the next six months, Farmers Electric Cooperative (FEC) of southeastern Iowa will be leading the nation in this 21st century energy source. Upon completion of a new solar array, the 640-member cooperative will have over 1,500 Watts of solar per customer on their system, nearly double the #2 utility. It’s also the most reliable utility in Iowa. How can this small, member-owned utility in Kalona be “America’s Most Progressive Utility”?… Read More
“We have this once-in-a-generation negotiation coming up next year and it’s a chance for Minneapolis to explore what its energy choices might be and how it could achieve its energy goals.” Earlier this week, the Minneapolis city council got an early look at an important “pathways study,” outlining the legal and policy strategies the city could … Read More
Xcel Energy has published their proposed community solar program on Sept. 30, 2013 and ILSR submitted comments on the unlawfully capped and fee-crazy program last week. Comments below Public Comments on Community Solar (Docket E-002/M-13-867) Program Design Requirements Does Xcel’s proposed plan for operating a community solar garden (CSG) meet all the program design requirements, as … Read More
I gave a presentation at the 5th Annual Conference of the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability on Nov. 8, 2013, talking about the challenges to sustainability and the opportunity presented by a transformation to distributed renewable energy in the utility sector. My remarks follow. Scroll to the bottom to flip through the slide presentation. ************ … Read More
Round 3 of Minnesota’s stakeholder process on the value of solar power (10/15/13) focused on the remaining unresolved tensions between stakeholders, and it started with a reminder of the charge, with quotes from the enabling law. A utility may apply to the Public Utilities Commission for a value of solar tariff that compensates customers through a … Read More
In an unexpected move, the CEO of the American Public Power Association writes in to the Boulder Daily Camera to defend publicly-owned utilities against the investor-owned utility’s attacks during a campaign by local citizens to take over the incumbent electric utility. … Read More
What happens when a monopoly utility sees a threat to their business model? A lot of two-faced talking to regulators about the best carbon-free energy sources. Read here for more background. Like what you see? Get a weekly email on Democratic Energy, or follow us on Twitter:
