Article Archive

Climate Exposure

Submitted by meacott on Mon, 2011-12-19 17:03
A state supreme court ruled last fall that damage resulting from climate change allegedly caused by power plant emissions was “reasonably foreseeable,” and therefore litigation expenses were not covered under a general liability insurance policy. The ruling creates an unworkable standard and raises questions about insurance coverage for climate-change liabilities.

While the policyholder was left adrift by Steadfast, the climate change insurance ship certainly hasn’t sailed.

On Sept. 16, 2011, the Supreme Court of Virginia became the highest state court in the country to rule on the issue of insurance coverage for climate-change claims under a general liability policy. In AES Corp. v. Steadfast Ins.

Frequency Regulation

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2011-12-01 17:03
In a recent order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said that by paying the wrong price for the ancillary service known as frequency “regulation,” system operators have encouraged too many gas-fired turbines and other conventional fossil power plants to supply regulation service.

Putting market economics ahead of reliability, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has told regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and other grid system operators (ISOs) to rethink the prices they pay for the ancillary service known as frequency “regulation.”

In short, FERC wants all power plants to do what they do best — recognizing that some may be well adapted to providing regulation service, but others perhaps not.

What's Solar Really Worth?

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2011-12-01 17:03
Requests for proposals to supply solar power facilities frequently specify prices to be stated in only one way—dollars per watt DC, or dollars per kilowatt-hour, for example. But a one-dimensional approach to pricing leads to skewed valuation, because different technologies and system designs produce value in different ways.

As the competition for commercial and utility scale photovoltaic (PV) projects increases, a better method for comparing proposal prices is needed to accurately value each offer. Currently, a common practice is to evaluate projects on a dollar-per-watt ($/W) basis, either DC or AC. This assumption is only valid as long as all the proposals have their DC or AC system sizes the same.

Transmission Rate Incentives

Submitted by meacott on Tue, 2011-11-08 17:03
In an October order, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) trimmed the authorized rate incentive for the RITELine transmission project by one-third. The action prompted Commissioner Moeller to ask whether the commission is retreating from its incentive policy on needed transmission lines.

FERC’s move might appear calculated to send a message to the power industry.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in mid-October granted a trimmed-down set of rate incentives for the proposed $1.6 billion RITELine transmission line project.

Going Once ...

Submitted by meacott on Thu, 2011-10-27 18:03
Mergers and acquisitions can help companies balance their asset portfolios and improve their financial strength. But economic and regulatory forces are driving more buyers into the market, and the demand for attractive targets might soon outstrip the supply.
Mergers and acquisitions can help companies balance their asset portfolios and improve their financial strength. But economic and regulatory forces are driving more buyers into the market, and the demand for attractive targets might soon outstrip the supply.