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The Biden administration has finalized a $ 15 billion loan guarantee to California utility Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E), in the biggest outlay to a single group in the history of […]
The post Biden’s DOE Finalizes $ 15 Billion Loan Guarantee to California’s PG&E appeared first on POWER Magazine.
Marking the first-ever revival of a nuclear power plant in the U.S., the Department of Energy (DOE) on Sept. 30 finalized a $ 1.52 billion loan guarantee to Holtec International to […]
The post DOE Finalizes $ 1.52B Palisades Loan for First-Ever U.S. Nuclear Plant Recommissioning appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The post FERC Finalizes PURPA Rule Reforms appeared first on POWER Magazine.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finalized a long-awaited rule revising regulations that govern qualifying small power producers and cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). While FERC said the rule was necessary to respond to significant market changes, the action drew mixed reactions from industry.
FERC’s final rule issued on July 17 is the first major change to regulations it issued in 1980 under the pivotal law, which most experts agree has spurred the growth of smaller generators and played a major role in reshaping power sector business models.
While Congress enacted PURPA to reduce U.S. dependence on oil and natural gas, and encourage the development of alternative generation, including cogeneration and small-scale renewable generation, FERC has long-discussed updating its regulations under PURPA because it says the energy industry has since undergone many significant changes.
“It’s been my view from the start that FERC should modernize our regulations in ways that not only meet our statutory obligations, but also protect consumers and preserve competition,” said FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee.…
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) on December 14 finalized the latest version of its rule governing permitted levels of eagle deaths at wind turbine farms.
The rule, first issued in 2009, governs the FWS’s administration of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, which makes it a criminal offense to kill or injure a bald or golden eagle. However, the law allows for certain “incidental take”—unintentional deaths due to otherwise lawful activities—leaving it to the FWS to decide what activities qualify and how they are to be monitored.
The deaths of eagles and other birds at wind turbine farms has become a highly charged issue in recent years, one that cuts across many of the usual political battle lines. Some environmental and wildlife groups have lobbied for stricter controls while others have argued the impact of replacing fossil fuels with wind represents a net gain for bird populations. Many of the companies that own and operate wind farms in the U.S.…