Atlantic Power sells 800 MW of generating capacity in Florida and Texas; Goldman Sachs buys Imperial Valley project from FirstSolar; Duke acquires two solar plants in California; Southern Company and Turner Renewable Energy buy Campo Verde project; plus other deals and issues totaling more than $2 billion.
State complaints over FERC-granted equity returns could dry up funding for transmission expansion.
Perhaps sensing the weight of evidence allayed against them, transmission owners have thrown caution to the wind by openly and admittedly submitting an ROE analysis that doesn’t comport with FERC precedent.
Utility CEOs face disruptive trends.
Top executives at AEP, the California ISO, and El Paso Electric address key challenges and opportunities.
Delivering value in a zero-growth market.
Disruptive technologies and resource shifts are changing the utility business model. Market factors are driving companies toward four possible paths.
Original-cost ratemaking doesn’t suit the challenges facing utilities today.
Levelized rates can serve customers’ interests, while also accelerating capital investment and providing an economic stimulus to the economy.
Uncertainties remain, but recent cases provide guidance.
Levelized rates can serve customers’ interests, while also accelerating capital investment and providing an economic stimulus to the economy.
Declaring war on non-utility PV.
Recently I’ve been hearing some utility executives use a new catchphrase: “reverse Robin Hood.” The phrase is shorthand for policies on net metering and green incentives that support rooftop photovoltaics (PV) at the expense of low-income customers. We’re “robbing the poor” to pay for rich people’s fancy solar systems.
And what’s the goal: a share of load or a cut in carbon?
It’s time to rethink RPS laws. Instead of production quotas for renewable energy, why not reward reductions in carbon emissions and fossil-fuel use?
Renewable portfolio standards bring volatility to Mid-Columbia markets.