Shine a light on energy freedom

by | Feb 14, 2014 | Uncategorized

An opinion piece by Matt Neumann published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Friday, February 14, 2014

An especially cold Wisconsin winter like this one might get you thinking about how you keep your home warm and bright — especially when storms knock down power lines and shortages triple propane prices.

But if your thoughts turn to generating some of your power on your own property, your efforts at self-reliance might be derailed by Wisconsin law. It’s not clear if property owners in Wisconsin are allowed to pursue some of the energy options available to Americans in dozens of other states. It’s a strange way to limit liberty, and it should change.

Right now, Wisconsin law does not clearly permit third-party ownership of solar panels — an arrangement homeowners and business people in other states are using to generate power right at home, often with no up-front cost. And Wisconsin’s restrictions on net metering — which limit your right to sell power you generate back into the grid — are keeping larger businesses and institutions such as hospitals and universities from taking advantage of money-saving energy options that companies and organizations in other states are using to generate their own power, save money and help the environment.

Read the rest of Matt Neumann’s opinion…

“Massive solar plan for Minnesota wins bid over gas”

by | Jan 2, 2014 | Uncategorized

Massive solar plan for Minnesota wins bid over gas

  • Article by: David Shaffer
  • Star Tribune
  • December 31, 2013 – 8:58 PM

http://www.startribune.com/business/238322571.html

Minnesota soon could see at least a sevenfold expansion of solar power.
In
an unprecedented ruling, a judge reviewing whether Xcel Energy should
invest in new natural gas generators vs. large solar power arrays
concluded Tuesday that solar is a better deal.
If
the finding by Administrative Law Judge Eric Lipman is upheld by the
state Public Utilities Commission (PUC), Edina-based Geronimo Energy
plans to build about 20 large solar power arrays on sites across Xcel’s
service area at a cost of $250 million.
“It says
solar is coming in a big way to the country and to Minnesota,” Geronimo
Vice President Betsy Engelking said of the ruling.
Geronimo’s
Aurora Solar Project would receive no state or utility subsidies, but
would qualify for a federal investment tax credit. Engleking said it is
the first time in the United States that solar energy without a state
subsidy has beaten natural gas in an official, head-to-head price
comparison.
“The cost of solar has come down
much faster than anyone had anticipated,” she said in an interview.
“This is one of the reasons solar is going to explode.”
The
largest of the Geronimo projects would be five times bigger than the
state’s largest solar array in Slayton, Minn. Some would cover up to 70
acres of land. The proposed sites are in 17 counties, mostly in central,
eastern and southeastern Minnesota.
It is the
first time the state has used a competitive bidding process for a major
power generation project. The commission ordered the trial-like
proceeding to force energy companies to compete on price.
Xcel,
based in Minneapolis, and three other energy companies offered various
proposals, mostly generators powered by natural gas. Xcel’s plan
included a new gas generator at its Black Dog plant in Burnsville, where
the utility intends to retire the remaining coal-burning units.
In
a 50-page ruling, Lipman said “the greatest value to Minnesota and
Xcel’s ratepayers is drawn from selecting Geronimo’s solar energy
proposal …”
If the Aurora project is built, Xcel
likely would purchase the power under a long-term agreement. That could
help Xcel toward its requirement to get 1.5 percent of its power from
the sun by 2020 under a new state energy law. Xcel also is counting on
rooftop solar systems, community-owned arrays and its own large projects
to meet that goal.
Lipman said that if solar
alone can’t supply all of Xcel’s extra power needs in the next few
years, the utility could take up an offer to purchase surplus energy
from Great River Energy, the state’s second-largest power company. The
judge also said Xcel will have time to consider other generation
projects if electrical demand picks up.
Xcel
said in a statement that it appreciated Lipman’s work, but that it
disagreed with some of the findings and would file a written response.
Under the PUC’s rules, the competitors and other interests can take
exception to the judge’s ruling before the five-member commission takes a
vote.
Geronimo already does business with Xcel,
selling the output of its Prairie Rose Wind Farm in Rock County, in far
southwestern Minnesota. Two of four planned wind farms that Xcel will
add in the next two years — near Windom, Minn., and near Jamestown, N.D.
— are being built by Geronimo. The company has built two smaller wind
farms in southeastern Minnesota and is about to construct two more wind
farms in Michigan and Nebraska for other utilities.
Other competitors
The
other competitors considered by the judge were Houston-based Calpine,
which proposed a gas turbine in Mankato at its existing power plant
there and Chicago-based Invenergy, which proposed gas turbines at Cannon
Falls and Hampton. Xcel also proposed two gas units near Hankinson,
N.D.
“We are reviewing the [judge’s]
recommendations, and will evaluate our next steps in the docketed
proceeding,” Craig Gordon, Invenergy vice president of sales and
marketing, said in an e-mail Tuesday.
If the
Aurora Project is approved, Geronimo said the solar arrays would be
built in 2015 and 2016. Engelking said that Geronimo already has signed
deals for land and that it has identified more sites than needed in case
some don’t work out.
Each of the ground-mounted arrays would be next to an existing substation, avoiding transmission-line costs.
She
said the company still needs state or local permits. But the company
has visited with local governments and has pledged to make payments in
lieu of taxes ranging from $50,000 to $110,000 a year.
Geronimo,
a renewable energy developer, doesn’t intend to own the projects, she
said. Its financing partner, Enel Green Power, has the first option to
acquire them, she said. But it’s possible Geronimo could make a deal to
sell the arrays to Xcel or other energy companies, she said.
David Shaffer • 612-673-7090 • @ShafferStrib

Solar Electricity Boom Bypassing Wisconsin

by | Dec 11, 2013 | Uncategorized

RENEW Policy Summit Aims to Plug Badger State into Surging Market Sector

In a release issued earlier this week, the U.S. solar electric industry reported its second largest quarter ever, adding 930 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity between July and October 2013. Of that total, only an estimated 260 kilowatts, or a mere .02%, were installed in Wisconsin.

Graphic:  Comparing trends for new solar electric
system installations in Wisconsin versus the U.S. as a whole, Wisconsin kept
pace through 2010 but has fallen sharply off pace since.

Nationally, solar’s surge continued through October. Of the 699 MW of electric generation added that month, solar accounted for 504 MW, or 72%, of the total. All told, more than 99% of the generation capacity added in October is fueled by renewable energy resources.

Taking note of declining system prices, the Solar Energies Industry Association (SEIA) projects that a total of 4,300 MW of new solar generating capacity will come online in 2013, an increase of 27% over the previous year. RENEW Wisconsin estimates that Wisconsin’s contribution to that total will be less than 2 MW, continuing a downward trend that began in 2012 (see graph on page 2).

The question of how to reinvigorate Wisconsin’s coal-heavy electricity sector with renewable power such as solar will take center stage at RENEW’s third annual energy policy summit, set for January 10, 2014, at UW-Madison’s Pyle Center. The theme of the summit is “We Mean Business.”

“Renewable energy is driving economic development throughout the Midwest and the nation. States like Minnesota and Georgia have warmed up to solar energy’s tremendous potential, and our Midwest neighbors are investing heavily in windpower too,” said RENEW Wisconsin’s Executive Director Tyler Huebner. “We hope to apply the lessons they’ve learned through their policy initiatives to Wisconsin’s renewable energy sectors, which once set a shining example to neighboring states but are now languishing in an inhospitable policy environment.”

“Solar energy is taking flight in most parts of the country,” Huebner said. “A 10 MW installation was just commissioned at Indianapolis International Airport, the largest of its kind serving a commercial U.S. airport. Last week, New York City committed to host the largest solar facility within city limits on what was once the largest landfill in the world. And Farmers Electric Cooperative, in neighboring Iowa, just announced plans to build the Hawkeye State’s largest solar generating plant for its owner-members.

“The key difference between the leaders and the laggards is state energy policy,” Huebner said. “Expansive policies like net metering, Clean Energy Choice, and streamlined interconnection can unlock market barriers and unleash the entrepreneurs who will deliver the clean energy that customers all across Wisconsin desire. Our summit will show policymakers and the public that we mean it when we say that clean energy is good for business.”

Visit the RENEW Policy Summit website for more information and to register for the January 10th event. Early registration discount ends December 20th.

View this entire press release, including supplemental reference material.

RENEW Wisconsin Blasts PSC Over Solar Vote Flip-Flop

by | Nov 18, 2013 | Uncategorized

Chair Reverses Himself One Week After Pro-Solar Vote

Michael Vickerman, RENEW Wisconsin Policy Director

At its open
meeting on November 14, 2013, Public Service Commission (PSC) Chair Phil
Montgomery reversed his own vote taken a week earlier that would have
strengthened Wisconsin Public Service (WPS) Corporation’s net metering service
starting January 2014.  
A week
earlier, Montgomery stated his preference for ordering WPS to loosen a key
restriction applicable to new solar systems. He was joined by Commissioner Eric
Callisto in that discussion. But at the later meeting, Montgomery reversed
himself, and sided with Commissioner Ellen Nowak.  
As a result of
Montgomery’s about-face, WPS will continue to offer the most restrictive net
metering service in the state, which will depress Wisconsin’s already struggling
solar market even further.
In testimony
presented in WPS’s 2014 rate case, RENEW Wisconsin, a clean energy advocacy
organization, argued that the utility’s net metering service puts prospective
solar generators at a disadvantage relative to other utility customers. RENEW’s
testimony included figures revealing a steep drop-off in the number of solar
electric systems built in WPS territory beginning in 2012.
The
generally accepted practice among utilities is to calculate the net between
production and consumption over a 12-month period.  Alone among Wisconsin utilities, WPS
calculates the net each month, a practice that lengthens system payback.
“Though a
complicated and highly technical policy, net metering is the principal driver
for customer installations of solar.  Net
metering for solar is like rollover minutes for your cellphone, and details
like calculating the rollover annually versus monthly really matter,” said Tyler
Huebner, Executive Director of RENEW Wisconsin. “It’s clearly in Wisconsin’s
interest to establish a policy environment for solar energy that is
predictable, easy to understand, and uniformly applied from one utility to the
next,” Huebner said.
At the initial
open meeting on November 6, Commissioner Montgomery expressed support for those
principles. As captured in the Wisconsin Utility Regulation Report, “Montgomery said his preference was to direct
the applicant to adopt an annual netting structure for this tariff consistent
with what the commission decided in [We Energies]’s last rate case  . . . .”
Statement of Tyler Huebner:
“The facts
in this case did not change between the Commission’s voice votes on November 6
and 14, and the need for a stronger and more uniform net metering policy did
not diminish. But this breathtaking decision erases the PSC’s one positive
decision on WPS’s treatment of solar energy, and the result will be yet another
step backward.” 
“For those solar
installers in central and northeast Wisconsin who initially cheered the PSC’s
decision, Montgomery’s flip-flop comes as a bitter pill to swallow. Indeed, the
welcome mat that once greeted start-up solar businesses here has all but
disappeared.”
“Let’s take a step back
and look at the broader picture on electricity generated from the sun.  Nationally solar adoption increased a
whopping 76% from 2011 to 2012, yet in
Wisconsin the number of systems connected to the grid declined by 40%.  Approximately 14,000 jobs were created
nationally in the industry in 2012, a 13.2% annual employment jump, taking the
national total to 119,000 jobs.  Next,
92% of American voters agree that it is important for the U.S. to develop more
solar, and 84% of Wisconsin voters support a three-fold increase in the amount
of electricity the state gets from renewable sources like solar. Finally, based on research from
the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, solar energy creates twice as many jobs
for every dollar invested as coal, and more than twice that of natural gas.”
“Solar is a
growing industry, an industry that creates more jobs per dollar invested than
its competitors, and the people want it badly. 
Yet, in a state that claims it’s open for business, a state where we
want and need to create jobs, our public officials are impeding progress. What
a huge lost opportunity for the state. We have to go no further than Iowa to
hear a completely different tune, where Republican governor Terry Branstad said
just two weeks ago, ‘As a leader in wind energy and renewable fuels, Iowa
should be at the front of the pack in implementing programs that encourage the
use of solar energy as well.’”
“This is the
third decision that has severely hampered clean energy and Wisconsin job
creation in as many months. In September, the PSC voted to suspend Focus on
Energy renewable energy incentives through the end of the year, ensuring that
millions of dollars earmarked for this purpose will go unspent this year. Then in
October, the PSC rejected our petition to initiate a new proceeding for
improving the state’s interconnection rules.  These rules determine how easy or difficult,
and how expensive or cost-effective, it is for a potential owner of a renewable
energy system to connect into the electric grid.  Wisconsin’s rules haven’t been updated since
2004, even though  technology has changed
a lot since then.  For example, that was
four years before the first iPhone even came out. The PSC fumbled an
opportunity to step in and streamline these administrative procedures.”
“These three
recent decisions are job-killing decisions. 
If you don’t think Wisconsin is falling behind on the policies that make
solar energy flourish, take a look at how Wisconsin fares against its
neighboring states.   “For any public
official that wants to create jobs in Wisconsin, give us a call, we can help
you.”
Ranking Midwestern States on Solar Policies and Practices
How Does Wisconsin
stack up against neighboring states?
State
Net metering grade
Interconnection
grade
Illinois
B
B
Iowa
B
B
Michigan
B
C
Minnesota
B
C
Wisconsin
C
D
Source: Freeing
the Grid 2013: Best Practices in State Net Metering Policies and
Interconnection Procedures, Interstate Renewable Energy Council, 2013.  Net metering policy for renewable energy
systems is like rollover minutes for your cellphone:  it ensures that owners of renewable energy
systems get full credit for the power they generate.  Interconnection rules determine how easy or
difficult, and how expensive or cost-effective, a state’s rules are regarding
connecting distributed energy generators (such as solar, wind, and biodigester
systems) to the grid.  Wisconsin’s
interconnection rules haven’t been updated since 2004.

SOLAR: Construction begins on what will become the second-largest solar electric generation project in Wisconsin.

by | Nov 14, 2013 | Uncategorized

From the November 12th article by Tom Content
“Construction is beginning in Jefferson on a utility-scale solar project that will be one of the largest in Wisconsin.”
“Chicago-based Half Moon Ventures hired S&C Electric Co. for engineering and construction of the project, which will generate 1 megawatt of electricity, or enough to power 150 homes.“
Read the full article

Also see Half Moos Solar’s press release announcing the project.