Mojave Water Agency conduit hydropower project qualifies

A California wholesale water provider has received a written determination from federal regulators that its proposed hydroelectric power project qualifies for easier regulatory treatment under federal law.  The project entails replacing a pressure reducing valve on an existing water supply pipeline with a hydropower turbine and generator, to create renewable electric energy.  Crucially, its qualification as a conduit hydropower project under a 2013 federal law enables its construction without a license under the Federal Power Act.

Under the Federal Power Act, most hydropower projects must be licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  But the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 amended the Federal Power Act to ease the regulatory burden on certain projects described as "conduit hydropower" -- those generating electricity using only the hydroelectric potential of a non-federally owned conduit, such as a tunnel, canal, pipeline, aqueduct, flume, ditch, or similar manmade water conveyance that is operated for the distribution of water for agricultural, municipal, or industrial consumption, and is not primarily for the generation of electricity.  The 2013 reform law exempted qualifying conduit hydropower facilities from needing licensure, and created an expedited process for soliciting public comment and determining whether the exemption applies.

This reform has led to a resurgence of interest in developing in-conduit hydroelectric projects.  For projects meeting the qualifying criteria, the FERC can act swiftly in issuing a determination that no licensure is required.  In some cases, this determination can come less than 60 days after an applicant files its notice of intent.

FERC's first conduit hydro docket in fiscal year 2016, CD16-1, illustrates this pace.  In that docket, the Mojave Water Agency was able to secure a written determination that the project it proposed meets the qualifying criteria under section 30(a) of the Federal Power Act, and thus is not required to be licensed under Part I of the FPA.

Among other operations, the Mojave Water Agency stores and distributes water in California's High Desert region.  An existing 48-inch pipeline conveys raw water sourced from the State Water Project to the Mojave River Basin for groundwater recharge.  Currently, pressure is reduced through a sleeve valve before discharging the SWP water to the Mojave River Basin by gravity flow.  But under the proposed Deep Creek Hydroelectric project, a hydroelectric turbine will perform the pressure reducing function while powering a generator capable of producing renewable electric energy.  According to the Mojave Water Agency, the hydroelectric station capacity will be 800 kW, with annual estimated power generation of 5,424 MWh.

On October 13, 2015, the MWA applied to the FERC for a determination that the Deep Creek project is a Qualifying Conduit Hydropower Facility, meeting the requirements of section 30(a) of the Federal Power Act (FPA), as amended by section 4 of the Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2013 (HREA).

On October 15, 2015, Commission staff issued a public notice that preliminarily determined that the project met the statutory criteria for a qualifying conduit hydropower facility, and thus was not required to be licensed under Part I of the FPA. The notice established a 45-day period for entities to contest whether the project met the criteria. No comments or interventions were filed in response to the notice.

As a result, on December 3 the FERC issued a letter constituting a written determination that the Deep Creek Hydroelectric Project meets the qualifying criteria under FPA section 30(a), and is not required to be licensed under Part I of the FPA.

Other proposed conduit projects have benefited from this quick timeline and relatively streamlined process.  Qualifying conduit hydropower facilities remain subject to other applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations.

Topaz Solar becomes largest solar power project

A recent expansion has made a California solar energy project the world’s largest solar facility. Built in three phases, MidAmerican Renewables LLC’s Topaz Solar project in San Luis Obispo County now sports 550 MW total generating capacity.

A small distributed solar photovoltaic installation in Arches National Park, Utah -- much smaller than the Topaz Solar project.

Iowa-based MidAmerican Renewables LLC is a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Energy formed to handle its expansion into the unregulated renewables market.  Its subsidiaries MidAmerican Solar, MidAmerican Wind, MidAmerican Geothermal and MidAmerican Hydro each focus on particular types of renewable energy generating technology.  In all, MidAmerican controls over 3,000 MW of renewable generating capacity in the U.S.

MidAmerican acquired the Topaz Solar project from First Solar in January 2012, after First Solar had acquired previous project developer OptiSolar, Inc.  Project construction began in November 2011, and proceeded in three phases.  Earlier phases came online in February 2013 and in January 2014, for a total of 300 MW of capacity.  With the recent expansion, the 550-megawatt project includes over 8 million photovoltaic modules, installed on 4,700 acres of the Carrizo Plain in the southern California desert.

The power produced by the project is sold to utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company under a 25-year power purchase agreement.  Topaz Solar won the long-term contract rights through its response to a 2007 solicitation by PG&E for renewable power.

According to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the Topaz Solar project is now the world's largest solar energy plant.