A Canadian tidal power developer has installed a turbine at a test site in the Bay of Fundy. Cape Sharp Tidal's project off Nova Scotia could demonstrate the feasibility of larger-scale marine hydrokinetic power plants connected to the mainland electricity grid.
Cape Sharp Tidal is a joint venture between Canadian utility Emera Inc. and marine turbine manufacturer OpenHydro. Its project entails a grid-connected 4-megawatt array consisting of two tidal turbines. The project is located at the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE) site. Headquartered near Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, FORCE is Canada's leading research center for in-stream tidal energy, with demonstration berths, a grid interconnection capable of accepting tidal power, and environmental monitoring capabilities.
This week Cape Sharp Tidal deployed the project's first turbine-generator, a 2-megawatt OpenHydro unit. In subsequent work, crews interconnected the turbine cable tail to the FORCE site's main interconnection cable, an existing 16MW subsea export cable connected to an onshore substation.
Previous efforts to develop hydrokinetic tidal energy projects in the Bay of Fundy have met with difficulty. While the bay offers large and powerful tides, weather and sea conditions can prove challenging, as can obtaining environmental and regulatory approvals. A test tidal turbine deployed in 2009 was quickly destroyed; the turbine installed this week was originally slated for installation earlier but was delayed due to concerns over impacts to fisheries and the environment. This week's installation represents a concrete step forward for Canadian tidal power.
Cape Sharp Tidal intends to install and connect a second turbine at the FORCE site in 2017. According to the developer, its future plans -- subject to regulatory and business approvals -- could include a commercial-scale project of up to 300 megawatts capacity within 15 years.
Energy powers society; society's choices shape energy policy. A blog about our energy resources and the choices they present for society.
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label research. Show all posts
Stanford declines to divest fossil fuels
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Should university endowments be invested in fossil fuel companies? Or should they divest such holdings? Universities across the U.S. are considering these questions. In the latest development, Stanford University's Board of Trustees has released a statement on climate change, describing the university's initiatives to battle climate change, but declining to divest Stanford's roughly $22 billion endowment from the fossil fuel industry.
In the April 25 statement, the Board describes climate change as "among the most serious challenges of our time." The statement lists various elements of Stanford's strategic approach to combating climate change, including a $500 million transformative campus energy system, commitments to invest in solar, other renewable energy, wastewater recovery, green transportation, and energy efficiency in campus buildings. The statement also announces the creation of a new climate task force to be composed of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff, to solicit ideas for further action.
Much of the statement is structured as a response to a proposal by student organization Fossil Free Stanford that the university divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry. The trustees cite the university's Statement on Investment Responsibility as outlining a specific set of criteria by which the trustees may evaluate whether a company is inflicting social injury in a manner that warrants consideration of divestment. The statement notes the establishment of an Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing, which studied the issues and made a recommendation to the Board’s Special Committee on Investment Responsibility, which in turn made a recommendation to the trustees.
According to the statement, the advisory panel "recommended divestment of companies whose primary business is oil sands extraction, a method that studies have found requires more water, and releases more carbon into the atmosphere, than other forms of fossil fuel extraction." It cites Stanford Management Company as saying that the Stanford endowment has no direct exposure to companies whose primary business is oil sands extraction, so the trustees had no action to take on this point.
On the broader fossil fuel industry, the panel "concluded that it could not evaluate whether the social injury caused by the fossil fuel industry outweighs the social benefit it provides, and therefore did not recommend divestment." The trustees agreed that the criteria were not met, and declined to divest.
That said, the statement expressed the trustees' belief "that the global community must develop effective alternatives to fossil fuels at sufficient scale, so that fossil fuels will not continue to be extracted and used at the present rate... the long-term solution is for all of us to reduce our consumption of fossil fuel resources and develop effective alternatives."
But despite investment and progress in research, including by Stanford, the trustees note that "at the present moment oil and gas remain integral components of the global economy, essential to the daily lives of billions of people in both developed and emerging economies." The statement also notes the efforts of some oil and gas companies to explore alternatives. The statement notes that "the trustees do not believe that a credible case can be made for divesting from the fossil fuel industry until there are competitive and readily available alternatives."
The statement also notes that the university's investment program does take climate change into consideration when evaluating the economic attractiveness of various investments. In the trustees' words, "Prudent investors acknowledge that the world is beginning a transition away from carbon-based energy sources and that pricing for fossil fuels will reflect this transition." The statement also notes the efforts of the endowment managers to "identify and support industry best practices that, in addition to positively impacting investment results, may pay significant environmental dividends."
This is not the first time Stanford has considered divesting from fossil fuels. In 2014, after pressure from Fossil Free Stanford, the trustees announced a decision that Stanford would not make direct investments in coal mining companies, in recognition of "the availability of alternate energy sources with lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal."
In the April 25 statement, the Board describes climate change as "among the most serious challenges of our time." The statement lists various elements of Stanford's strategic approach to combating climate change, including a $500 million transformative campus energy system, commitments to invest in solar, other renewable energy, wastewater recovery, green transportation, and energy efficiency in campus buildings. The statement also announces the creation of a new climate task force to be composed of undergraduates, graduate students, faculty and staff, to solicit ideas for further action.
Much of the statement is structured as a response to a proposal by student organization Fossil Free Stanford that the university divest its endowment from the fossil fuel industry. The trustees cite the university's Statement on Investment Responsibility as outlining a specific set of criteria by which the trustees may evaluate whether a company is inflicting social injury in a manner that warrants consideration of divestment. The statement notes the establishment of an Advisory Panel on Investment Responsibility and Licensing, which studied the issues and made a recommendation to the Board’s Special Committee on Investment Responsibility, which in turn made a recommendation to the trustees.
According to the statement, the advisory panel "recommended divestment of companies whose primary business is oil sands extraction, a method that studies have found requires more water, and releases more carbon into the atmosphere, than other forms of fossil fuel extraction." It cites Stanford Management Company as saying that the Stanford endowment has no direct exposure to companies whose primary business is oil sands extraction, so the trustees had no action to take on this point.
On the broader fossil fuel industry, the panel "concluded that it could not evaluate whether the social injury caused by the fossil fuel industry outweighs the social benefit it provides, and therefore did not recommend divestment." The trustees agreed that the criteria were not met, and declined to divest.
That said, the statement expressed the trustees' belief "that the global community must develop effective alternatives to fossil fuels at sufficient scale, so that fossil fuels will not continue to be extracted and used at the present rate... the long-term solution is for all of us to reduce our consumption of fossil fuel resources and develop effective alternatives."
But despite investment and progress in research, including by Stanford, the trustees note that "at the present moment oil and gas remain integral components of the global economy, essential to the daily lives of billions of people in both developed and emerging economies." The statement also notes the efforts of some oil and gas companies to explore alternatives. The statement notes that "the trustees do not believe that a credible case can be made for divesting from the fossil fuel industry until there are competitive and readily available alternatives."
The statement also notes that the university's investment program does take climate change into consideration when evaluating the economic attractiveness of various investments. In the trustees' words, "Prudent investors acknowledge that the world is beginning a transition away from carbon-based energy sources and that pricing for fossil fuels will reflect this transition." The statement also notes the efforts of the endowment managers to "identify and support industry best practices that, in addition to positively impacting investment results, may pay significant environmental dividends."
This is not the first time Stanford has considered divesting from fossil fuels. In 2014, after pressure from Fossil Free Stanford, the trustees announced a decision that Stanford would not make direct investments in coal mining companies, in recognition of "the availability of alternate energy sources with lower greenhouse gas emissions than coal."
Climate and energy in 2016 State of the Union
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address on January 12, 2016. The White House has posted his remarks as prepared for delivery to Congress. Climate change, and related energy and environmental issues, formed a prominent theme in this year's speech.
Climate change first surfaced in the 2016 State of the Union as part of one of four "big questions" President Obama posed for the nation.
He then spent several minutes addressing climate change directly. First, he noted effective consensus that climate change is a topic worth tackling:
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| The White House. |
Climate change first surfaced in the 2016 State of the Union as part of one of four "big questions" President Obama posed for the nation.
Second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us -- especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?After announcing a "moonshot" medical research effort to cure cancer to be led by Vice President Joe Biden, President Obama said, "We need the same level of commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources."
He then spent several minutes addressing climate change directly. First, he noted effective consensus that climate change is a topic worth tackling:
Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. You will be pretty lonely, because you’ll be debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it.He then touted the economic and environmental effects of investment in renewable and distributed generation and energy storage:
But even if -- even if the planet wasn’t at stake, even if 2014 wasn’t the warmest year on record -- until 2015 turned out to be even hotter -- why would we want to pass up the chance for American businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future?
Listen, seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history. Here are the results. In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. On rooftops from Arizona to New York, solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more Americans than coal -- in jobs that pay better than average. We’re taking steps to give homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy -- something, by the way, that environmentalists and Tea Partiers have teamed up to support. And meanwhile, we’ve cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly 60 percent, and cut carbon pollution more than any other country on Earth.
Gas under two bucks a gallon ain’t bad, either.President Obama then called for changes to transition to clean energy sources:
Now we’ve got to accelerate the transition away from old, dirtier energy sources. Rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future -- especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. We do them no favor when we don't show them where the trends are going. That’s why I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. And that way, we put money back into those communities, and put tens of thousands of Americans to work building a 21st century transportation system.
Now, none of this is going to happen overnight. And, yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo. But the jobs we’ll create, the money we’ll save, the planet we’ll preserve -- that is the kind of future our kids and our grandkids deserve. And it's within our grasp.
Climate change is just one of many issues where our security is linked to the rest of the world.His final reference to climate change came while discussing international engagement, and "seeing our foreign assistance as a part of our national security":
When we lead nearly 200 nations to the most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change, yes, that helps vulnerable countries, but it also protects our kids.Climate, energy, and environmental issues thus featured prominently in the 2016 State of the Union speech. Over the coming year, these themes -- domestic and international action on climate change, investment in renewable energy and distributed generation, transition away from oil and coal -- will likely continue to play out at the federal level.
Energy Department to fund low-impact hydropower R&D
Friday, April 10, 2015
The U.S. Department of Energy has announced $7 million in funding for the research and development of advanced low-impact hydropower systems. The Energy Department's competitive solicitation is designed to fund projects that help
advance hydropower drivetrains -- the systems passing turbines' rotational energy along to their attached generators -- and structural foundations enabling low environmental impacts and reduced lifetime operating and maintaining costs.
The funding is available from the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This office, known as EERE, runs programs designed to speed up the development and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions. hydropower manufacturing.
This funding opportunity is designed to attract innovations that enable rapidly built, removable, and replaceable hydropower systems. It solicits proposals to develop alternative hydropower systems with low civil infrastructure development costs, deployable within 2 years with relatively low environmental impacts, and which can be removed or replaced after their intended life is completed. According to the funding opportunity announcement, these concepts and systems will be able to operate at a cost that is competitive with traditional sources of generation.
The complete funding opportunity announcement -- DE-FOA-0001286: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR LOW IMPACT HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT -- is available through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Funding Opportunity Exchange.
While this funding opportunity supports a wide variety of technological innovations for new hydropower development, specific areas of interest include:
The funding is available from the Energy Department's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. This office, known as EERE, runs programs designed to speed up the development and deployment of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and market-based solutions. hydropower manufacturing.
This funding opportunity is designed to attract innovations that enable rapidly built, removable, and replaceable hydropower systems. It solicits proposals to develop alternative hydropower systems with low civil infrastructure development costs, deployable within 2 years with relatively low environmental impacts, and which can be removed or replaced after their intended life is completed. According to the funding opportunity announcement, these concepts and systems will be able to operate at a cost that is competitive with traditional sources of generation.
The complete funding opportunity announcement -- DE-FOA-0001286: RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR LOW IMPACT HYDROPOWER DEVELOPMENT -- is available through the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Funding Opportunity Exchange.
While this funding opportunity supports a wide variety of technological innovations for new hydropower development, specific areas of interest include:
- New, rapidly deployable and removable hydropower technologies, such as innovative prefabricated structures, water impoundment structures, and water conveyance systems.
- Innovative methods and materials for the construction of conventional hydropower facilities, including, but not limited to, concrete alternatives, in-water construction, and innovative advanced tunneling methods.
- Design and lab testing of innovative conventional hydropower powertrain and generator components, such as advanced composite materials and replaceable blade technologies for turbine runners, new generator technologies, and materials and coatings for powertrain components.
Virginia offshore wind research lease
Friday, April 3, 2015
The U.S. federal agency responsible for leasing offshore wind sites on the outer continental shelf has executed its first wind energy research lease, giving Virginia's state energy agency the right to pursue the Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP), a 12-megawatt offshore wind test facility to be located in federal ocean waters.
Offshore wind energy offers the potential to generate large amounts of electricity from a renewable resource, but to date no commercial grid-tied U.S. offshore wind projects are operating. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is responsible for leasing sites on the outer continental shelf for energy projects, including offshore wind and other renewable energy developments. BOEM has auctioned off sites for offshore wind projects off several East Coast states, including Virginia, but had not previously issued a research lease.
On March 24, BOEM announced the execution of a wind energy research lease with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME). Under research lease OCS-A 0497 (35 pages), the Virginia agency proposes to design, develop and demonstrate a grid-connected, 12-megawatt offshore wind test facility on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia, in partnership with a local utility affiliated with Dominion Resources, Inc.
The 30-year lease covers approximately 2,135 acres of sea space east of Virginia Beach, adjacent to the Wind Energy Area leased to Virginia Electric and Power Company (dba Dominion Virginia Power) for commercial development since 2013. The lease describes the project as "a research project to generate energy using wind turbine generators and conduct any associated resource assessment activities, as well as install associated offshore substation platforms, inter-array cables, and subsea export cables." As a research lease, the Virginia agreement does not include any fees payable from DMME to BOEM "for the purpose of ensuring a fair return for the use of this lease area."
As is standard for BOEM's offshore wind site leases, the lease itself does not give the lessee the right to build or operate an offshore wind project. Rather, the lease gives the Virginia DMME the exclusive right to submit to BOEM for approval a Site Assessment Plan and a Research Activities Plan, and then to allow a designated operator to conduct whatever activities are described in those plans once they are approved by BOEM.
In this case, DMME has designated Dominion subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Company as the lease operator. Dominion's partnership with DMME on offshore wind dates back at least to 2012, when the U.S. Department of Energy announced funding awards for seven proposed Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects. Dominion won one of these 2012 awards, and partnered with DMME and others to establish VOWTAP. VOWTAP won a second funding award from DOE in 2014 for deployment activities.
Dominion and DMME have already filed a Research Activities Plan for VOWTAP. With the research lease in hand, the path forward includes approval of that plan and a Site Assessment Plan by BOEM. If the VOWTAP project is built, the data obtained and lessons learned from this project will be made publicly available and inform the future production of renewable energy within the adjacent commercial Wind Energy Area leased to Dominion.
Offshore wind energy offers the potential to generate large amounts of electricity from a renewable resource, but to date no commercial grid-tied U.S. offshore wind projects are operating. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is responsible for leasing sites on the outer continental shelf for energy projects, including offshore wind and other renewable energy developments. BOEM has auctioned off sites for offshore wind projects off several East Coast states, including Virginia, but had not previously issued a research lease.
On March 24, BOEM announced the execution of a wind energy research lease with the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME). Under research lease OCS-A 0497 (35 pages), the Virginia agency proposes to design, develop and demonstrate a grid-connected, 12-megawatt offshore wind test facility on the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Virginia, in partnership with a local utility affiliated with Dominion Resources, Inc.
The 30-year lease covers approximately 2,135 acres of sea space east of Virginia Beach, adjacent to the Wind Energy Area leased to Virginia Electric and Power Company (dba Dominion Virginia Power) for commercial development since 2013. The lease describes the project as "a research project to generate energy using wind turbine generators and conduct any associated resource assessment activities, as well as install associated offshore substation platforms, inter-array cables, and subsea export cables." As a research lease, the Virginia agreement does not include any fees payable from DMME to BOEM "for the purpose of ensuring a fair return for the use of this lease area."
As is standard for BOEM's offshore wind site leases, the lease itself does not give the lessee the right to build or operate an offshore wind project. Rather, the lease gives the Virginia DMME the exclusive right to submit to BOEM for approval a Site Assessment Plan and a Research Activities Plan, and then to allow a designated operator to conduct whatever activities are described in those plans once they are approved by BOEM.
In this case, DMME has designated Dominion subsidiary Virginia Electric and Power Company as the lease operator. Dominion's partnership with DMME on offshore wind dates back at least to 2012, when the U.S. Department of Energy announced funding awards for seven proposed Offshore Wind Advanced Technology Demonstration Projects. Dominion won one of these 2012 awards, and partnered with DMME and others to establish VOWTAP. VOWTAP won a second funding award from DOE in 2014 for deployment activities.
Dominion and DMME have already filed a Research Activities Plan for VOWTAP. With the research lease in hand, the path forward includes approval of that plan and a Site Assessment Plan by BOEM. If the VOWTAP project is built, the data obtained and lessons learned from this project will be made publicly available and inform the future production of renewable energy within the adjacent commercial Wind Energy Area leased to Dominion.
Floating offshore wind in US waters?
Monday, December 12, 2011
US coastal waters may soon see the development of floating offshore wind electric generating projects. Being able to install offshore wind turbines on floating platforms, as opposed to towers fixed to the seabed, may enable projects to tap into the vast deepwater ocean energy resource. This would represent a major step in history and technology, and could provide real data on the actual feasibility and costs of offshore wind in the United States.
2012 may bring the deployment of North America's first floating offshore wind project. The DeepCWind Consortium and the University of Maine plan to test a floating wind turbine several miles off the Maine island of Monhegan next summer. The Monhegan project is designed as a pilot project, not a commercial effort. Nevertheless, the lessons learned off Monhegan could be used to shape a larger commercial project in 2013.
Historically, this project could be the first operating US offshore wind development. As 2011 closes, US waters still host neither operating commercial offshore wind projects, nor installed pilot projects of significant size. This is not for lack of interest. Universities and businesses are investing in offshore wind research and development, while developers eagerly pursue commercial projects in nearly all US jurisdictions. Commercial proposals range from projects fully permitted projects but unbuilt, to concepts still in the formation phase.
Technologically, a floating offshore wind project would demonstrate potential solutions to the engineering challenges posed by deep water sites. At least two floating turbines have recently been deployed around the world. The first, Statoil’s 2.3 megawatt Hywind unit, was installed off Norway in 2010. In November 2011, Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal (EDP) teamed up with Principle Power, Inc. to deploy a 2 megawatt turbine on a WindFloat platform off Portugal. The semisubmersible WindFloat design allows the unit to be towed in a horizontal position to the site, then erected without the use of a lift vessel. These test projects demonstrate some of the technologies required for deepwater offshore wind projects. A US project would represent a similar demonstration of new technology.
Floating offshore wind projects appear to have some momentum in Europe, and are poised to make a splash in US waters in the next year. Whether these efforts take hold depends on broader questions of economics and policy as much as on technology. What will 2012 bring?
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| The Cuckolds Light off Boothbay Harbor, Maine, with Seguin Island Light in the distance. |
2012 may bring the deployment of North America's first floating offshore wind project. The DeepCWind Consortium and the University of Maine plan to test a floating wind turbine several miles off the Maine island of Monhegan next summer. The Monhegan project is designed as a pilot project, not a commercial effort. Nevertheless, the lessons learned off Monhegan could be used to shape a larger commercial project in 2013.
Historically, this project could be the first operating US offshore wind development. As 2011 closes, US waters still host neither operating commercial offshore wind projects, nor installed pilot projects of significant size. This is not for lack of interest. Universities and businesses are investing in offshore wind research and development, while developers eagerly pursue commercial projects in nearly all US jurisdictions. Commercial proposals range from projects fully permitted projects but unbuilt, to concepts still in the formation phase.
Technologically, a floating offshore wind project would demonstrate potential solutions to the engineering challenges posed by deep water sites. At least two floating turbines have recently been deployed around the world. The first, Statoil’s 2.3 megawatt Hywind unit, was installed off Norway in 2010. In November 2011, Portuguese utility Energias de Portugal (EDP) teamed up with Principle Power, Inc. to deploy a 2 megawatt turbine on a WindFloat platform off Portugal. The semisubmersible WindFloat design allows the unit to be towed in a horizontal position to the site, then erected without the use of a lift vessel. These test projects demonstrate some of the technologies required for deepwater offshore wind projects. A US project would represent a similar demonstration of new technology.
Floating offshore wind projects appear to have some momentum in Europe, and are poised to make a splash in US waters in the next year. Whether these efforts take hold depends on broader questions of economics and policy as much as on technology. What will 2012 bring?
February 24, 2011 - Maine offshore wind research
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Collaboration between academia and industry is key to tackling the significant technical and legal challenges associated with the development of offshore wind potential. This symposium held this week by the University of Maine and the DeepCWind Consortium gives project developers the research results they will need to make more informed bids for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine.
The report gives key data useful to any developer of a successful offshore wind project in the Gulf of Maine: data on "met-ocean conditions" (wind and wave data, weather information), the results of seabed characterization studies, electric interconnection and grid data, and information about the impacts of a given project on both the physical environment and stakeholder interests. The compilation of this information entailed a massive undertaking, performed by the University and its research partners through a federal Department of Energy-funded grant.
This report dovetails with the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s request for proposals for long term contracts for deep water offshore wind energy pilot projects. That RFP calls for initial responses from interested developers by May 1, 2011. The RFP solicits proposals to sell renewable energy, capacity, and RECs from one or more floating deepwater offshore wind energy pilot projects, with a possible carveout for tidal projects. Last year's Ocean Energy Task Force bill gives the Maine PUC authority to approve one or more long term contracts for up to 30 megawatts of installed capacity and associated renewable energy and renewable energy credits from such projects.
Who will bid in response to the RFP? Will there be a truly competitive process? What will the responsive projects cost? Will the incentives for developing these pilot projects be sufficient to attract concrete proposals?
The report gives key data useful to any developer of a successful offshore wind project in the Gulf of Maine: data on "met-ocean conditions" (wind and wave data, weather information), the results of seabed characterization studies, electric interconnection and grid data, and information about the impacts of a given project on both the physical environment and stakeholder interests. The compilation of this information entailed a massive undertaking, performed by the University and its research partners through a federal Department of Energy-funded grant.
This report dovetails with the Maine Public Utilities Commission’s request for proposals for long term contracts for deep water offshore wind energy pilot projects. That RFP calls for initial responses from interested developers by May 1, 2011. The RFP solicits proposals to sell renewable energy, capacity, and RECs from one or more floating deepwater offshore wind energy pilot projects, with a possible carveout for tidal projects. Last year's Ocean Energy Task Force bill gives the Maine PUC authority to approve one or more long term contracts for up to 30 megawatts of installed capacity and associated renewable energy and renewable energy credits from such projects.
Who will bid in response to the RFP? Will there be a truly competitive process? What will the responsive projects cost? Will the incentives for developing these pilot projects be sufficient to attract concrete proposals?
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