ISO-NE 2018 CELT projects future energy usage declines

The operator of New England's bulk electric grid projects that both energy usage and peak demand from the utility grid will decline slightly in the region over the 10-year period between 2018 and 2027, primarily due to the deployment of energy efficiency measures and behind-the-meter solar arrays.

ISO New England Inc. is the regional transmission organization responsible for the electric grid and electricity markets across most of New England. On April 30, 2018, ISO-NE published its 2018-2027 Forecast Report of Capacity, Energy, Loads, and Transmission, or CELT Report. The grid operator prepares annual CELT reports which describe the assumptions used in ISO system planning and reliability studies. These assumptions include the total generating capability of in-region resources, as well as a long-term forecast for growth in energy consumption and peak demand.

According to ISO-NE's 2018 CELT Report, overall regional electricity use will grow 0.9% annually over the 10-year period. But when energy efficiency and behind-the-meter generation are taken into account, ISO-NE's forecasts for both regional energy usage and peak demand project slight declines over the 10-year period. The grid operator projects an annual decrease in net energy usage by -0.9% annually, with seasonal peak demands projected to decline by -0.2% to 0.7% annually. ISO cites "continuing robust installation of energy-efficiency measures and behind-the-meter solar arrays throughout the region" as the primary factors driving this decline.

FERC denies tidal pilot license extension

U.S. hydropower regulators have denied a request to extend the term of the country's first hydrokinetic project pilot license, instead holding that the original license's 10-year term should be enough time for the developer to complete testing and to decide whether to apply for a subsequent license.

At issue is Verdant Power, LLC's  Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy Project No. 12611 (RITE Project). The 1,050-kilowatt hydrokinetic tidal project site is located in the East River near New York City. In 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued the project a "pilot project license" under a newly developed process designed to allow entities to test new hydrokinetic technologies, identify appropriate sites, and confirm the technology's environmental or other effects. That pilot license allowed the construction, operation, and maintenance of the RITE Project for a 10-year period, expiring on December 31, 2021.

In 2017, the company described plans to install the pilot project's first phase in the 2019-2020 timeframe. On December 29, 2017, Verdant filed a request to extend the term of its pilot license for the RITE project by five years, to give it more time to acquire operational monitoring data that will inform subsequent phases of the pilot project and the relicense application.

But by order dated May 3, 2018, the Commission denied Verdant's request for a license extension. The Commission noted that the pilot license bore a 10-year term, twice as long Commission staff's original conceptions of hydrokinetic pilot project licenses for up to 5-year terms for testing purposes. The Commission noted, "Barring extraordinary circumstances, 10 years – double the period set forth in the white paper – should be enough time to complete a testing program and to make a decision on whether to file an application for subsequent license. Verdant has not demonstrated such circumstances."

Noting the remaining time left on Verdant's license, as well as the time left to Verdant before any application for a new license, the Commission denied the company's request for a license extension.