Smart Meters Rejected | Contentious Bills | Going Haywire
TGIF
This week we begin with a story from Greentech Media that follows-up to last week’s grid mod announcement in Massachusetts. Digging a little deeper into the smart meter portion of the order they write, “Massachusetts regulators see a future in which customers are leaving investor-owned utilities for municipal aggregators and competitive third-party suppliers, and they aren’t sure how to fit mass-market smart meter deployments into that future. Last week, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities (DPU) issued an order that ‘declined to preauthorize any customer-facing investments’ — that is, smart meter deployments.” The reasons according to the article, “it found several weaknesses in each utility’s advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) business case, based on a combination of two unusual factors prevailing in the state. First, all these utilities have already deployed simpler automated meter reading systems, which have already allowed each utility to achieve the significant meter-reading savings that account for a big chunk of the AMI business case.” And second, is the inability to tap into a constant stream of data to enable real time rates, “The problem is that each utility customer that switches to a non-utility energy provider is no longer part of each utility’s list of prospective time-varying rate (TVR) adopters, even though the utility paid for the smart meter that made them available.”
In NH, three “contentious” renewable energy bills are on their way to Governor Sununu’s desk. From the NH Business Review, “New Hampshire’s renewable industry will get a boost – though at a possible cost to ratepayers – if three bills passed last week by lawmakers are signed into law by Gov. Chris Sununu. Senate Bill 446… (increases) fivefold the size of projects that would qualify for net metering…SB 446 would extend the upper limit from 1 megawatt to 5 megawatts, allowing large businesses, municipalities and even small hydro generators to take advantage of it, paving the way for much larger renewable energy projects…SB 365…would require Eversource to pay 80 percent of the default rate to six wood-burning plants for three years…and SB 577, which would continue the current subsidized rate for the Burgess BioPower plant in Berlin.” When it comes to Bill 446, “Critics, including utilities and some business groups, claim that generators are paid too much for the power, and this amounts to a subsidy paid for by other ratepayers. Advocates say that renewable energy saves money on distribution and generation costs.” Other concerns include in increase in rates that could jeopardize manufacturing jobs in the state.
If you’re in need of an excuse for why you’re late; or bummed out that you showed up early for work one day – blame the power grid. From the AP, “Your electric clock might be running a bit cuckoo. Because of a change in federal energy regulations, some scientists say your trusty, older plug-in clock may be losing or gaining a few ticks over time…Electric clocks keep time based on the usually stable and precise pulses of the electric current that powers them. In the U.S., that’s 60 hertz (cycles per second). In the past, regulators required power companies to immediately correct the rate if it slipped off the mark. But that precision is expensive to maintain, so last year, the correction part was quietly eliminated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission…The changes could be just matters of seconds and all but unnoticeable, but the time could drift by as much as seven and a half minutes between time changes in March and November, when people reset their clocks, according to a study conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Naval Observatory.” Don’t say you haven’t been warned.
As always you can find events at Northeast Energy News. Have a great weekend.
Natural Gas/Oil/Pipeline/Drilling
Kulik: Pipeline resistance strong in House, CommonWealth magazine
Pipeline protesters shut down City Council subcommittee meeting (VIDEO), Lowell Sun
Fall River City Council condemns water deal with Invenergy, opposes plant construction, Uprise RI
Another skirmish in the pipeline wars, CommonWealth magazine
How Trump’s EPA Is Moving to Undo Fracking Wastewater Protections, EcoWatch
Gas leaks near schools: Wellesley School Committee contacts National Grid, Wicked Local
500 Greenpoint Locals Wait Days For National Grid To Restore Gas, Patch.com
Renewables Policy/Climate Change/RGGI
CT Slapped With Lawsuit Over Raid Of Clean Energy Funds, Solar Industry
3 contentious renewable energy bills head to governor’s desk, NH Business Review
On Cape Cod, Tides Could Become A Renewable Energy Source, wgbh.org
IBM joins forces with a start-up to combine crypto with environmental credit trading, CNBC
Why a 100-year-old Indian company is investing billions into renewable energy, Quartz
Americans want more clean energy. Here’s what they’re actually willing to do to get it, CNBC
Portland’s Casco Bay High School hopes to become ‘greenest’ in Maine, The Forecaster
U.S. Department of Energy announces funding opportunity for marine energy R&D, Renewable Energy World
Clean energy future the focus of Worcester environmental forum, Telegram
If Solar and Wind Hit 50% of Generation, US Wholesale Energy Prices Could Fall 25% or More, Greentech Media
New York proposes strict carbon emission limits for existing power plants, Utility Dive
NYSERDA Announces $10 Million Available to Launch New Cleantech Accelerator, NA Clean Energy
Greentown Labs and Schneider Electric Announce the Greentown Labs Bold Ideas Challenge, NA Clean Energy
Wind
Brayton Point chosen for wind turbine foundation factory, Herald News
High values are blowing in offshore winds; policymakers may need more, Utility Dive
World’s largest offshore wildlife aerial survey off NY’s coast halfway complete, Windpower Engineering (press release)
Offshore wind developer eyeing potential of South Brooklyn shipping hub, Offshore Wind Journal
Winning the battle to reduce the cost of offshore wind, Maritime Journal
State’s high court shoots down appeal against Antrim Wind; project can go forward, Keene Sentinel
Union official backs Bay State Wind, CommonWealth Magazine
Solar
Solar activists lobby for legislative attention, Sentinel and Enterprise
Solar Power: ‘Clear and Present Danger’ to RI’s Forests, ecoRI news
Sunrun Boosts Revenue 37%, Expands Partnership With National Grid, Greentech Media
RI Company Develops Solar-Powered Refrigeration System For Tractor-Trailers, Rhode Island Public Radio
CESA honors six states for clean energy excellence, Solar Power World
68-acre solar installation proposed in Tiverton, The Providence Journal
Cumberland council OKs solar farm, mulls garage move, The Forecaster
Energy Efficiency/Storage
Mobile Lab Will Test Energy-Saving Water Technology, WAMC
Efficiencies help lighten summer power demand, Sentinel & Enterprise
Groups sue Connecticut state officials for raiding clean energy and efficiency funds, New Haven Register
US House Committee Cuts Federal Energy Research, Boosts Energy Storage, Union of Concerned Scientists
Storage Might Solve Some Big Grid Problems, but Not the Ones You Think, Greentech Media
National Grid grants $1 million in energy efficiency rebates to world’s largest housing cooperative, Daily Energy Insider
Energy savings ideas topic of Energy and Environmental Conference, Eagle Tribune
Big Battery Boom Hits Another Roadblock: Fire-Fearing Cities, Bloomberg
Nuclear
1st Quarter Inspection at Pilgrim Finds No Violations, CapeCod.com News
Advocacy to Keep US Nuclear Reactors Open Picks Up Steam, Energy Collective
Small Modular Nuclear Reactors Will Soon Face a Moment of Reckoning, Greentech Media
Report Says More Nuclear Plants in Financial Trouble, Power Magazine
Nuclear-Waste Tax Case Battled at 11th Circuit, Courthouse News
EVs
Another NH utility tiptoes into a little bit of support for electric vehicles, Granite Geek
Are electric cars worse for the environment?, Politico
RMLD Celebrates New Bolt, New Charging Station, Patch.com
Markets/Grid/Policy/Prices/Etc.
Clocks may go a little cuckoo with power grid change, AP
Massachusetts rejects smart meter rollout for ‘weaknesses in the business case’, Utility Dive
Massachusetts Rejects Smart Meter Rollouts, as Competitive Energy Undermines the Business Case, Greentech Media
Exelon sets its price for keeping Everett plants open, CommonWealth Magazine
The Northeast Power Coordinating Council Reports: Annual Assessment Forecasts Adequate Electricity Supplies for this Summer, Energy Central
US Northeast, Canada to have adequate summer power supply, Platts
Eversource plans 5% summer electricity rate cut, MassLive.com
National Grid’s full-year profits rise helped by US business, Reuters
New York ISO Zone A real-time power spikes to $1400/MWh on strong demand, Platts
Eversource invests to ease tree threat to utility lines, Foster’s Daily Democrat
Eversource Aims To Restore Power By Sunday After Four Tornadoes Strike, Hartford Courant
New York in bid to shut down all coal plants by 2020, Energy Voice
Message to FERC: Think Beyond Bulk Power to Achieve Grid Resilience, Microgrid Knowledge
Editorial/Opinion
Natural-Gas Constraints Bad for Business, Bad for Environment, AIM blog
Time to update state’s appliance standards, CommonWealth Magazine
Obama saw a key role for natural gas, CommonWealth Magazine
Why the offshore wind industry is about to take off, The Conversation
Meredith Angwin: Rolling Blackouts For New England?, Caledonian Record
New York’s Green Energy Roulette, Wall Street Journal
Letter: Epping must stand up to pipeline, Concord Monitor
Letter to the editor: CMP now acts in its own self-interest, not for the benefit of Mainers, Press Herald
One Well-Placed Hurricane Will UTTERLY DESTROY Costly Offshore Wind Systems On The East Coast, Daily Caller
Rhode Island Should Lead by Example to Prevent Loss of Forestland, EcoRI
Climate disruption has real impact on health in Massachusetts and we should be doing more (Viewpoint), MassLive
Out-of-towner explains Granite Bridge opposition, Seacoastonline.com
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