December 09 Connecting to the Grid Newsletter
Editor: Laurel Varnado NC Solar Center, NC State University HOW TO SUBSCRIBE The Connecting to the Grid newsletter is published electronically every month by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) and the North Carolina Solar Center at North Carolina State University. This is a free publication. Click here to subscribe. FORMAT While customer-sited net…
Editor: Laurel Varnado
NC Solar Center, NC State University
HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
The Connecting to the Grid newsletter is published electronically every month by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, Inc. (IREC) and the North Carolina Solar Center at North Carolina State University. This is a free publication. Click here to subscribe.
FORMAT
While customer-sited net metering and interconnection are primarily state issues, they are also becoming important on a regional basis. This newsletter has been designed to capture any subtle, emerging regional trends. The state news is presented in geographic categories, primarily because the standard NERC and/or RTO/ISO regions do not always align with state boundaries. Please direct comments and questions about the newsletter to Laurel Varnado.
December_2009_Connecting_to_the_Grid
WHAT’S NEW AS OF DECEMBER 2009?
Note from the Editor: The 2009 annual report cards are in!
They’ve tallied the scores and the grades are in. Last month the Network for New Energy Choices (NNEC) released Freeing the Grid 2009, an annual report on state net metering and interconnection policies, which it has been publishing since 2007. It is remarkable to note the progress that states have made in such a short time span since the first edition was published. The sidebar below shows this progression by comparing the number of states that fell into each grade category in 2009 as compared with 2007.
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As progressive states, like the 2009 best practices feature state of Oregon, improve their policies, they continually raise the bar for everyone else. In order to capture these trends NNEC works to fine-tune the scoring methodology. It is possible that some states might have moved up or down a grade even though they didn’t change their policy. The pertinent change was a new category that awards points for the allowance of power purchase agreements (PPAs) in state net metering policies. At the end of FTG ’09 (beginning on pg. 95) there is a great synopsis of the bolstering effect that PPAs have on solar markets in states where they are allowed to operate. [Continued in Newsletter]
State News in Detail:
Northeast States
Maine PUC rules on solar company’s petition to be classified as a distribution utility
Massachusetts net metering tariffs in effect
New York authorizes PACE financing model for renewable energy investments
Mid-Atlantic States
D.C. OPC Comments clarify net metering NOPR
New Jersey BPU answers questions and extends deadline for Renewable Energy Grid Connected Program
West Virginia enacts bill to establish REC tracking
Midwestern States
Missouri-based utility announces plans for solar projects, rebates for customers
Kansas to host Midwest electricity law seminar
Kentucky and TVA sign clean energy pact
Ohio PUC places net metering tariffs into effect
Wisconsin’s Advanced Renewables Tariff discussion recap
Southern States
Florida PSC notes that renewable energy and residential interconnections are on the rise
Georgia PSC approves “solar only” modification to Georgia Power’s green energy tariff
Western States
Arizona’s SRP announces installation of 14 solar PV systems at area schools
California’s PG&E increases net metering cap; CPUC approves space-based solar PPA
Montana Municipal utility fined for lack of RPS compliance
Nevada PUC issues draft rules for net metering in conjunction with incentives
Miscellaneous News
NREL State of the States Report Released
DOE Launches New Website to Bring Energy Technology Information to the Public
Neighborhood Batteries Coming to Ohio, Detroit
Solar Company Sells Solar Panels at Big-Box Retail Stores
Conferences and Events
