Applications filed to date in New England and California.

New England and California are hotbeds of merchant plant activity, as shown by a list of proposed projects submitted for certification with the appropriate state agencies as of early November. In New England alone, some 63 projects totaling generation of more than 31,000 megawatts (and growing) were proposed. It is generally understood, however, that of the 31,000 MW of generating capacity represented by those projects, only 7,000 to 8,000 MW will be built.

New England. As shown in the first table, opposite page, only some of the applications for projects in New England have been filed with the governing body for the state in which the plants are to be built. Whenever the information could be confirmed, the table indicates (in the column marked Description, Status) whether the sponsor has applied for certification to the appropriate state agency. In Massachusetts, that body is the Energy Facilities Siting Board, which falls under the jurisdiction state's Department of Telecommunications and Energy, led by chair Janet Gail Besser. In Connecticut, it's the Siting Council. New Hampshire has a Site Evaluation Committee, which is comprised of representatives from the various state agencies. Companies who wish to build in Maine, which has no siting body, need only apply to the Department of Environmental Protection.

For projects not yet filing applications, or in cases when such information could not be confirmed, the table lists the date of application to ISO-New England, or the date of filing of any study agreement (an agreement among the company, the ISO and the transmission line owners to conduct feasibility studies). The study agreement date conveys some idea of the age of the project proposal.

California. The table that follows details proposed projects filed with the California Energy Commission. Included are projects filing Applications for Certification plus those whose sponsors have filed only a Notice of Intention with the Commission. Dates of requests for exemptions from filing Notices of Intention are included in the last column.

More Information. For more information about merchant plant activity in New England, including company addresses and phone numbers, access the ISO New England website, at http://www.iso-ne.com. For activity in California, consult the website for the California Energy Commission, at www.energy.ca.gov/index.html. Still another helpful source is the Merchant Power Scoreboard, posted on the Internet by the Virginia law firm of McGuire, Woods & Battle, at http://www.mwbb.com/services/energy-mp.htm.

Carl J. Levesque is an editorial assistant for Public Utilities Fortnightly.

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