U.S. President Donald Trump has signed an executive order affecting domestic energy policy. His March 28, 2017 Presidential Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth includes a variety of directives, generally aimed at reducing federal regulations affecting domestic energy production. Here's a look at his Executive Order targeting Obama-administration climate regulations and other agency actions that potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced energy resources.
The Executive Order includes 8 operative sections. One provides policy statements; six call for regulatory reviews that could lead to rule changes or revocations, or directly revoke and rescind Obama-era actions. The final section includes general provisions.
Section 1 includes five policy statements, such as that "is in the national interest to promote clean and safe development of our
Nation's vast energy resources, while at the same time avoiding
regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy production,
constrain economic growth, and prevent job creation." It also sets a federal policy "that executive departments and
agencies (agencies) immediately review existing regulations that
potentially burden the development or use of domestically produced
energy resources and appropriately suspend, revise, or rescind those
that unduly burden the development of domestic energy resources beyond
the degree necessary to protect the public interest or otherwise comply
with the law."
Section 2 calls for an immediate review of all agency actions that potentially burden the safe, efficient development of domestic energy resources, "with particular attention to oil, natural gas, coal,
and nuclear energy resources." It directs agency heads to submit a memorandum to the Office of Management and Budget detailing such potentially burdensome actions, and including "specific recommendations that, to the extent permitted by law, could
alleviate or eliminate aspects of agency actions that burden domestic
energy production." With respect to actions targeted with specific recommendations in a final report, agency heads are directed to "as soon as practicable, suspend,
revise, or rescind, or publish for notice and comment proposed rules
suspending, revising, or rescinding, those actions, as appropriate and
consistent with law."
Section 3 rescinds or revokes a variety of Presidential actions and reports, including several of President Obama's executive orders regarding climate change, the President's 2013 Climate Action Plan, and the Council on Environmental Quality's 2016 final guidance for federal agencies on consideration of greenhouse gas and climate issues in performing reviews of agency actions under the National Environmental Policy Act.
Section 4 calls for the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to "immediately take all steps necessary to review" the Clean Power Plan governing electricity-sector emissions and related rules "for consistency with the policy set forth in section 1 of this order
and, if appropriate, shall, as soon as practicable, suspend, revise, or
rescind the guidance, or publish for notice and comment proposed rules
suspending, revising, or rescinding those rules."
Section 5 disbands a working group on the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions, and restricts the ways agencies may account for the monetary value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from regulations.
Section 6 calls for the Secretary of Interior to lift moratoria on federal land coal leasing activities imposed under a 2015 order, and to commence federal coal leasing activities.
Section 7 calls for review of federal regulations affecting emissions from the oil and gas sector, including 2016 emissions standards for new, reconstructed and modified sources, and a 2015 rule governing hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands, among others.
Section 8 includes general provisions, generally similar to those found in other executive orders.
Energy powers society; society's choices shape energy policy. A blog about our energy resources and the choices they present for society.
MA net metering, Single Parcel and Subdivision rules
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Massachusetts utility regulators have opened an inquiry to review the current standards and procedures by which distributed generation projects seek
exceptions
to the net metering rules and regulations that generally require each facility to be sited on a single parcel of land. The case could lead to changes in the Department of Public Utilities' Single Parcel Rule and Subdivision Rule.
On March 15, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities issued an order opening an inquiry relating to the application of its net metering rules, which it docketed as DPU 17-22. As described in that order, under Massachusetts statutes and regulations, "net metering allows customers to generate credits for excess electricity that net metering facilities generate." The rules include limitations on the size of a generation facility eligible for net metering -- below 60 kW generally, or up to 2 MW for renewable projects (or 10 MW for certain public facilities).
Because the rules include project size limits, how you define the "facility" can affect its eligibility for net metering. In one case, the Department established a "Single Parcel Rule", defining an eligible net metering facility as “the energy generating equipment associated with a single parcel of land, interconnected with the electric distribution system at a single point, behind a single meter." In 2016, the Department received 13 petitions seeking an exception to the Single Parcel Rule, an increase over three petitions in 2015 and one petition in 2014.
The Department also recognized if it was adopting parcel boundaries as a factor for defining a net metering facility, it should also set a date after which it would presume that the further subdivision of parcels was to game the net metering rule. In its Subdivision Rule, the Department required that any customer who seeks to establish a net metering facility on a parcel of land that was subdivided after January 1, 2010, file a petition demonstrating that the subdivision was not for the purpose of creating multiple parcels specifically to support multiple net metering facilities.
But in a move that could lead to changes to these regulations, in its March 15 order opening inquiry, the Department identified a series of questions on which it seeks written comment.
Questions posed by the Department relate to the aggregation of capacity, blanket exemptions and case-by-case exemptions, the treatment of multiple facilities on one parcel, the treatment of a single facility on multiple parcels, possible methods of streamlining submission and review of petitions for exceptions from the net metering rules and regulations, process requirements for petitions for exemptions, and challenges in allocating credits to multiple accounts and related solutions.
The Department has requested initial written comments no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 10, 2017. It has also scheduled a technical conference for May 3, 2017.
On March 15, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities issued an order opening an inquiry relating to the application of its net metering rules, which it docketed as DPU 17-22. As described in that order, under Massachusetts statutes and regulations, "net metering allows customers to generate credits for excess electricity that net metering facilities generate." The rules include limitations on the size of a generation facility eligible for net metering -- below 60 kW generally, or up to 2 MW for renewable projects (or 10 MW for certain public facilities).
Because the rules include project size limits, how you define the "facility" can affect its eligibility for net metering. In one case, the Department established a "Single Parcel Rule", defining an eligible net metering facility as “the energy generating equipment associated with a single parcel of land, interconnected with the electric distribution system at a single point, behind a single meter." In 2016, the Department received 13 petitions seeking an exception to the Single Parcel Rule, an increase over three petitions in 2015 and one petition in 2014.
The Department also recognized if it was adopting parcel boundaries as a factor for defining a net metering facility, it should also set a date after which it would presume that the further subdivision of parcels was to game the net metering rule. In its Subdivision Rule, the Department required that any customer who seeks to establish a net metering facility on a parcel of land that was subdivided after January 1, 2010, file a petition demonstrating that the subdivision was not for the purpose of creating multiple parcels specifically to support multiple net metering facilities.
But in a move that could lead to changes to these regulations, in its March 15 order opening inquiry, the Department identified a series of questions on which it seeks written comment.
Questions posed by the Department relate to the aggregation of capacity, blanket exemptions and case-by-case exemptions, the treatment of multiple facilities on one parcel, the treatment of a single facility on multiple parcels, possible methods of streamlining submission and review of petitions for exceptions from the net metering rules and regulations, process requirements for petitions for exemptions, and challenges in allocating credits to multiple accounts and related solutions.
The Department has requested initial written comments no later than 5:00 p.m. on April 10, 2017. It has also scheduled a technical conference for May 3, 2017.
Emerging technologies and the electric grid
Monday, March 27, 2017
A task force examining the deployment of emerging
technologies across the North
American electric grid has identified three imperatives necessary to ensure the continued reliability and efficiency of the bulk electricity
system, relating to: renewable supply and integration; greater situational awareness; and controlling an increasingly distributed energy system, with increased deployment of distributed energy resources.
The 39-page report, “Emerging Technologies: How ISOs and RTOs can create a more nimble, robust electricity system,” was published on March 16, 2017, by a group of nine Independent System Operators (ISO) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) known collectively as the ISO/RTO Council (IRC).
With respect to integrating renewable resources, the IRC noted that it "[s]upports policies and positions recognizing the electricity system’s ability to accommodate large amounts of renewables and realizing their growing potential." While remaining "agnostic to specific technologies that may faciiltate renewable integration", IRC supports policies that accommodate emerging renewable integration technologies, while "avoiding early technological lock-in."
With respect to situational awareness, the IRC notes the lack of available data on the penetration of distributed energy resources, but that a lack of data or its sharing should not limit grid operators' understanding of what's happening on the grid. IRC suggests the development of a general operational data framework, "where increasingly comprehensive operational data from the distribution system is provided as DER penetrations reach different thresholds."
The report also notes, "Because of emerging technologies, North America’s electricity systems are moving toward a more distributed arrangement." In 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it proposed rule changes "to remove barriers to to the participation of electric storage resources and distributed energy resource aggregations" in organized wholesale electric markets. Recognizing that such a rule change could set a framework for future DER growth, the IRC calls for continued coordination, data sharing, and flexibility.
The 39-page report, “Emerging Technologies: How ISOs and RTOs can create a more nimble, robust electricity system,” was published on March 16, 2017, by a group of nine Independent System Operators (ISO) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) known collectively as the ISO/RTO Council (IRC).
With respect to integrating renewable resources, the IRC noted that it "[s]upports policies and positions recognizing the electricity system’s ability to accommodate large amounts of renewables and realizing their growing potential." While remaining "agnostic to specific technologies that may faciiltate renewable integration", IRC supports policies that accommodate emerging renewable integration technologies, while "avoiding early technological lock-in."
With respect to situational awareness, the IRC notes the lack of available data on the penetration of distributed energy resources, but that a lack of data or its sharing should not limit grid operators' understanding of what's happening on the grid. IRC suggests the development of a general operational data framework, "where increasingly comprehensive operational data from the distribution system is provided as DER penetrations reach different thresholds."
The report also notes, "Because of emerging technologies, North America’s electricity systems are moving toward a more distributed arrangement." In 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in which it proposed rule changes "to remove barriers to to the participation of electric storage resources and distributed energy resource aggregations" in organized wholesale electric markets. Recognizing that such a rule change could set a framework for future DER growth, the IRC calls for continued coordination, data sharing, and flexibility.
Maine net energy billing rules, 2017 revision
Monday, March 20, 2017
On January 31, 2017, the Maine Public Utilities Commission adopted revisions to its rule chapter 313, governing net energy billing. Net metering, or net energy billing, is the metering and billing mechanism that Maine and most other states have adopted to promote the development of solar photovoltaic and other distributed renewable energy facilities. While the Commission first adopted a net energy billing rule in the early 1980s, its 2017 revisions to that rule reduce the benefits of net metering for future projects. Here's a look at Maine's revised net energy billing rules.
The Commission described its actions in a written order dated March 1, and published its final rule on the same date. Most notably, the Commission reduced the amount of future generation facility output that can be netted against its transmission and distribution utility bill -- by first introducing, then reducing, a concept called "nettable energy." Nettable energy is now the entire amount of energy generated by the facility, including the amount consumed by a customer “behind-the-meter”. This shift -- from netting on a net basis, to netting on a gross basis -- is a significant change in state policy that is unfavorable for behind-the-meter generation.
As before, a net energy billing customer with solar or other eligible generation may offset all of its energy supply bill with its nettable energy. But the Commission's new rule phases out the former 100% crediting of net energy for transmission and distribution charges. Depending on the year into which a project is placed in service, the new rule reduces the portion of the "nettable output" -- what counts for netting -- by 10% in each of the next 10 years, reaching 0% T&D crediting for customers that become net energy billing customers after calendar year 2026. The result is a gradual reduction of the incentive to net energy bill. (Note that once a customer becomes a net energy billing customer, its rate treatment will generally last for 15 years. Likewise, existing net energy billing customers may continue to net bill under the previous rule's approach for a 15-year period, after which they could continue to net for supply but not for T&D.)
The Commission also added a section covering renewable energy credit (REC) aggregation. Section 4 of Chapter 313 provides that new customers in 2018 and after may elect to have the RECs or environmental attributes of project power be aggregated by their local investor-owned utility for sale into the regional market, with the proceeds returned to participating customers. The Commission described its decision to include a REC aggregation program as "an effort to obtain on an optional basis a value stream that is not currently being monetized." If small renewable projects would qualify for RECs, but are either not doing so or are not selling the RECs, REC aggregation options may allow some projects to connect with the market. On the other hand, by selling the RECs, the project owner or power consumer cannot claim to have consumed green electricity, so there are tradeoffs.
The Commission did not change some other aspects of the rule, such as maximum project size (660 kW) or its limit on the number of accounts or meters permissible under a single net energy billing arrangement (10). It noted, "Fundamental changes to NEB in Maine and promotional programs for larger renewable and community solar projects are the purview of the Legislature as a matter of State energy policy."
Based on a list of legislative requests, the state legislature will consider at least 12 bills relating to solar energy in its 2017 session.
On March 10, the Commission published a Frequently Asked Questions document covering the Chapter 313 net metering rules. The FAQ provides answers to 10 questions, ranging from why the Commission changed the rule, to providing specific examples of how much nettable energy a customer would be able to claim depending on the year in which its project was placed in service.
The Commission described its actions in a written order dated March 1, and published its final rule on the same date. Most notably, the Commission reduced the amount of future generation facility output that can be netted against its transmission and distribution utility bill -- by first introducing, then reducing, a concept called "nettable energy." Nettable energy is now the entire amount of energy generated by the facility, including the amount consumed by a customer “behind-the-meter”. This shift -- from netting on a net basis, to netting on a gross basis -- is a significant change in state policy that is unfavorable for behind-the-meter generation.
As before, a net energy billing customer with solar or other eligible generation may offset all of its energy supply bill with its nettable energy. But the Commission's new rule phases out the former 100% crediting of net energy for transmission and distribution charges. Depending on the year into which a project is placed in service, the new rule reduces the portion of the "nettable output" -- what counts for netting -- by 10% in each of the next 10 years, reaching 0% T&D crediting for customers that become net energy billing customers after calendar year 2026. The result is a gradual reduction of the incentive to net energy bill. (Note that once a customer becomes a net energy billing customer, its rate treatment will generally last for 15 years. Likewise, existing net energy billing customers may continue to net bill under the previous rule's approach for a 15-year period, after which they could continue to net for supply but not for T&D.)
The Commission also added a section covering renewable energy credit (REC) aggregation. Section 4 of Chapter 313 provides that new customers in 2018 and after may elect to have the RECs or environmental attributes of project power be aggregated by their local investor-owned utility for sale into the regional market, with the proceeds returned to participating customers. The Commission described its decision to include a REC aggregation program as "an effort to obtain on an optional basis a value stream that is not currently being monetized." If small renewable projects would qualify for RECs, but are either not doing so or are not selling the RECs, REC aggregation options may allow some projects to connect with the market. On the other hand, by selling the RECs, the project owner or power consumer cannot claim to have consumed green electricity, so there are tradeoffs.
The Commission did not change some other aspects of the rule, such as maximum project size (660 kW) or its limit on the number of accounts or meters permissible under a single net energy billing arrangement (10). It noted, "Fundamental changes to NEB in Maine and promotional programs for larger renewable and community solar projects are the purview of the Legislature as a matter of State energy policy."
Based on a list of legislative requests, the state legislature will consider at least 12 bills relating to solar energy in its 2017 session.
On March 10, the Commission published a Frequently Asked Questions document covering the Chapter 313 net metering rules. The FAQ provides answers to 10 questions, ranging from why the Commission changed the rule, to providing specific examples of how much nettable energy a customer would be able to claim depending on the year in which its project was placed in service.
US auctions North Carolina offshore wind sites
Friday, March 17, 2017
Yesterday the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management completed a competitive lease sale for renewable wind energy development in federal waters offshore North Carolina. Avangrid Renewables, LLC won the auction-based sale with a high bid of $9,066,650. As a result, it has the right to lease 122,045 areas of ocean space in the designated Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area.
The Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area sits 24 nautical miles from shore, off the northeast coast of North Carolina by the Virginia border. The base roughly triangular area extends 25.7 nautical miles in a general southeast direction, with a seaward apex in the northeast. Using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s estimates of 3 megawatts per square kilometer, the lease area has a potential generating capacity of 1,486 megawatts.
BOEM announced the Kitty Hawk auction in January 2017. Its conclusion yesterday represents the first federal offshore wind lease sale under the Trump administration. According to BOEM, three other bidders particiated in the auction: Wind Future LLC, Statoil Wind US LLC, and wpd offshore Alpha LLC.
The North Carolina auction was BOEM's seventh competitive lease sale. In all, competitive lease sales have raised about $67 million for the federal government. While no commercial offshore wind projects are currently operating in federal waters, the Deepwater Wind Block Island project off Rhode Island began commercial operation last year.
The Kitty Hawk Wind Energy Area sits 24 nautical miles from shore, off the northeast coast of North Carolina by the Virginia border. The base roughly triangular area extends 25.7 nautical miles in a general southeast direction, with a seaward apex in the northeast. Using the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s estimates of 3 megawatts per square kilometer, the lease area has a potential generating capacity of 1,486 megawatts.
BOEM announced the Kitty Hawk auction in January 2017. Its conclusion yesterday represents the first federal offshore wind lease sale under the Trump administration. According to BOEM, three other bidders particiated in the auction: Wind Future LLC, Statoil Wind US LLC, and wpd offshore Alpha LLC.
The North Carolina auction was BOEM's seventh competitive lease sale. In all, competitive lease sales have raised about $67 million for the federal government. While no commercial offshore wind projects are currently operating in federal waters, the Deepwater Wind Block Island project off Rhode Island began commercial operation last year.
FERC to hold session on state policies, wholesale markets
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
U.S. energy regulators have scheduled a two-day technical conference to consider how state energy policies affect wholesale electricity markets.
In a March 3 notice of technical conference, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave public notice that it will hold a technical conference on May 1 and 2, 2017. The notice describes tensions between competitive wholesale energy and capacity markets and state policies. On the one hand, the Commission noted, "Competitive wholesale energy and capacity markets bring value to customers by efficiently pricing energy and capacity , taking into account the operational needs and the dynamics of the transmission system , and providing transparent signals for investment and retirement of resources." Generally speaking, these wholesale competitive markets currently select resources based on principles of operational and economic efficiency without specific regard to resource type
But on the other hand, the Commission notes recent increases in "interest by state policy makers to pursue policies that prioritize certain resources or resource attributes" (such as renewable resources, or in-state resources). That has led to what the Commission calls an "open question": "how the competitive wholesale markets, particularly in states or regions that restructured their retail electricity service, can select resources of interest to state policy makers while preserving the benefits of regional markets and economic resource selection." These topics have come up in discussions relating to several eastern regional transmission organizations and independent system operators, such as the IMAPP process in New England, and similar efforts in PJM and NYISO to consider the integration of public policy into markets.
To foster further FERC-level discussion about the development of regional solutions that "reconcile the competitive market framework with the increasing interest by states to support particular resources or resource attributes," the Commission has scheduled the May 1-2 technical conference. The notice specifically references a range in potential long-term expectations regarding the relative roles of wholesale markets and state policies in shaping the resource mix -- ranging from no state role on the one end, to state authority over resource selection that must be accounted for in wholesale market design -- and a variety of potential solutions in between.
Anyone who wishes to participate in the conference may submit a nomination form to FERC online by 5:00 p.m. on March 17, 2017.
In a March 3 notice of technical conference, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave public notice that it will hold a technical conference on May 1 and 2, 2017. The notice describes tensions between competitive wholesale energy and capacity markets and state policies. On the one hand, the Commission noted, "Competitive wholesale energy and capacity markets bring value to customers by efficiently pricing energy and capacity , taking into account the operational needs and the dynamics of the transmission system , and providing transparent signals for investment and retirement of resources." Generally speaking, these wholesale competitive markets currently select resources based on principles of operational and economic efficiency without specific regard to resource type
But on the other hand, the Commission notes recent increases in "interest by state policy makers to pursue policies that prioritize certain resources or resource attributes" (such as renewable resources, or in-state resources). That has led to what the Commission calls an "open question": "how the competitive wholesale markets, particularly in states or regions that restructured their retail electricity service, can select resources of interest to state policy makers while preserving the benefits of regional markets and economic resource selection." These topics have come up in discussions relating to several eastern regional transmission organizations and independent system operators, such as the IMAPP process in New England, and similar efforts in PJM and NYISO to consider the integration of public policy into markets.
To foster further FERC-level discussion about the development of regional solutions that "reconcile the competitive market framework with the increasing interest by states to support particular resources or resource attributes," the Commission has scheduled the May 1-2 technical conference. The notice specifically references a range in potential long-term expectations regarding the relative roles of wholesale markets and state policies in shaping the resource mix -- ranging from no state role on the one end, to state authority over resource selection that must be accounted for in wholesale market design -- and a variety of potential solutions in between.
Anyone who wishes to participate in the conference may submit a nomination form to FERC online by 5:00 p.m. on March 17, 2017.
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