ISO New England’s draft plan aims to strike a middle ground. While the grid operator’s working proposal eliminates the automatic price floor for subsidized resources, a similar calculation should still “be applied in certain situations,” ISO New England explained in a presentation to stakeholders in September. “In June, when we launched the effort to remove the MOPR from the capacity market, we made clear that we will do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize either power system reliability or competitive pricing in the capacity market,” Matt Kakley, senior communications specialist at ISO New England, said in an email.

Energy Policy Transmission Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

ISO New England’s draft plan aims to strike a middle ground. While the grid operator’s working proposal eliminates the automatic price floor for subsidized resources, a similar calculation should still “be applied in certain situations,” ISO New England explained in a presentation to stakeholders in September. “In June, when we launched the effort to remove the MOPR from the capacity market, we made clear that we will do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize either power system reliability or competitive pricing in the capacity market,” Matt Kakley, senior communications specialist at ISO New England, said in an email.

Energy Policy Transmission Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

ISO New England’s draft plan aims to strike a middle ground. While the grid operator’s working proposal eliminates the automatic price floor for subsidized resources, a similar calculation should still “be applied in certain situations,” ISO New England explained in a presentation to stakeholders in September. “In June, when we launched the effort to remove the MOPR from the capacity market, we made clear that we will do so in a way that doesn’t jeopardize either power system reliability or competitive pricing in the capacity market,” Matt Kakley, senior communications specialist at ISO New England, said in an email.

Energy Policy Transmission Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont

Ted Petersen, Environmental Program Supervisor for the Iowa DNR, was on-site with Wylie in October on another matter when he noticed the blades. The DNR did not feel any action was necessary at that time but after Stancil made the official complaint to the DNR about the blades and that grinding had taken place outdoors, the DNR ordered that no further grinding occur at the site until authorization from the DNR Air Quality Bureau is obtained. A permit may also be required for the grinding process.

General Iowa

A Bondurant company plans to use large wood chippers to grind old wind turbine blades into bits to recycle them, but its work site near Earlham has drawn scorn and pushback from anti-turbine residents in Madison County. ...Stancil raised alarm with the city, county, DNR and Iowa Attorney General’s Office, in part because Renewablade was in talks with MidAmerican to potentially take possession of about 500 old turbine blades. 

General Iowa

“We are relieved and gratified that the Highland Wind Farm project has been stopped, once and for all. We thank the leadership of Leeward for dong the right thing for our community, but also for the environment,” said Jaime Junker, chair of the Forest Town Board. “Although I am only one board member and it is not practical for the town board to make a formal statement as a board without a board meeting, in time the board will have a chance to put perspective to its and the residents of Forest more than ten-year opposition of the Highland Wind Farm,” he said.

General Wisconsin

LIPA in 2017 decided to move ahead with the South Fork Wind Farm project despite internal findings that its ability to produce energy during critical summer-peak times would be limited to around half the days it was needed, according to a confidential review done for LIPA. A copy of that review released earlier this year as part of a lawsuit filed by a ratepayer says even with the wind-farm operating, there'd still be power shortfalls on 77 of the 152 peak-summer days given the weaker summer winds and the South Fork's soaring appetite for energy.

USA New York

LIPA in 2017 decided to move ahead with the South Fork Wind Farm project despite internal findings that its ability to produce energy during critical summer-peak times would be limited to around half the days it was needed, according to a confidential review done for LIPA. A copy of that review released earlier this year as part of a lawsuit filed by a ratepayer says even with the wind-farm operating, there'd still be power shortfalls on 77 of the 152 peak-summer days given the weaker summer winds and the South Fork's soaring appetite for energy.

New York USA

A Boulder City solar farm construction site has racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines this year for air quality violations, according to Clark County regulators. Since April, the county has fined Rosendin Electric nearly $220,000 for failing to control dust during construction of a roughly 1,000-acre solar farm off of Interstate 11. In all but one of the eight instances, Rosendin has not contested the fines. The county says the company is putting its business interests ahead of complying with air-quality standards.

General Nevada

The decision to switch to monopiles "comes as a shock, given the lack of consulation," the NRDC wrote in a letter to Equinor. "The potential sudden reversal will undermine the initial trust and goodwill that Equinor has developed thus far … " Added Carl LoBue, NY oceans program manager for the Nature Conservancy, called it, "disappointing on multiple levels to lose that quiet foundation as an option. Going forward, we’ll be working to make sure the [pile driving] provisions are protective of marine life in New York, where we have whales basically year-round."

Impact on Wildlife USA New York

The decision to switch to monopiles "comes as a shock, given the lack of consulation," the NRDC wrote in a letter to Equinor. "The potential sudden reversal will undermine the initial trust and goodwill that Equinor has developed thus far … " Added Carl LoBue, NY oceans program manager for the Nature Conservancy, called it, "disappointing on multiple levels to lose that quiet foundation as an option. Going forward, we’ll be working to make sure the [pile driving] provisions are protective of marine life in New York, where we have whales basically year-round."

Impact on Wildlife New York USA

Most of those changes were proposed by board member Emily Haxby, who has spearheaded changes to the regulations this year, making them more restrictive. Some of her changes that were approved included extending the setback requirement for commercial wind turbines from two times the height of the turbine to one mile from the property line of a nonparticipating landowner and lowering an allowance that turbines can exceed the maximum decibel level for a limited amount of time from five to three decibels.

Zoning/Planning Nebraska

The moratorium is scheduled to expire May 5 and is expected to give the Planning Board time to update the town’s outdated subdivision ordinance and draft regulations for commercial projects. The board wants to require a decommissioning plan and a visual impact assessment for solar and wind farms, according to officials.

Zoning/Planning Maine

Representatives of Ørsted and Eversource, the companies that will be constructing the South Fork Wind farm off Montauk, told local residents this week that the final designs for the installation call for the electrical cable to be buried far deeper below the Wainscott beach where it will emerge from the ocean than originally planned, and will require fewer of the large underground “vaults” than early designs showed.

Offshore Wind Transmission New York

The Dean of the National Energy Center of Excellence at Bismarck State College says winds in the teens are ideal. When wind gusts climb into the high 40s and 50s, wind turbines are at risk of damage. “The blades are always turning at the same speed, but just that force and that pressure on the blades can damage the blades, put more stress on the gear box.” 

General North Dakota

“Fifteen years ago, Alameda County and the wind companies settled a lawsuit with the Audubon chapters and committed to reduce bird deaths by 50% by 2009. With the approval of this project, the County is putting the Altamont Pass back on pace to kill as many Golden Eagles as it did 15 years ago,” said Glenn Phillips, Executive Director of the Golden Gate Audubon Society.

Impact on Birds Legal California

The tax credits that underwrote America’s renewable energy revolution are set for a makeover as part of the $1.75 trillion reconciliation bill. As written, the Democratic proposal would dramatically revamp the subsidies available to wind and solar projects, requiring developers to use union labor and American-made products to receive the full value of the subsidy. The bill also includes a bonus for projects built in former coal communities.

Taxes & Subsidies USA

This delay has put the project into a bad spot regarding the private funding necessary to get the project completed. The U.S. Department for Energy is ready to pull its grant ($37 million yet unspent) because the timeframe in which it needs to be used will expire, and the foreign investor, Norwegian wind energy builder Fred Olson Renewables, which was likely going to invest a large part of the $173 million needed to complete the project and have some ownership, might pull out.

Offshore Wind Ohio

The company that once was awarded — then lost — a contract to build what was to be Long Island’s first wind farm off Jones Beach announced Friday that it’s taking another crack at the market.

Transmission New York

The commission ended up voting 3-1 to approve a recommendation that the township’s board reject the ordinance they had spent months drafting. Horney, the sole no vote, said his opposition to the motion was merely procedural. ...The board ultimately rejected the solar rules at a meeting on Nov. 4, closing the door, at least for now, on solar projects in the township.

Zoning/Planning Michigan