|
Server : Apache/2.4.62 System : FreeBSD fbsdweb2.web.rcn.net 14.1-RELEASE FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE releng/14.1-n267679-10e31f0946d8 GENERIC amd64 User : www ( 80) PHP Version : 8.3.8 Disable Function : NONE Directory : /domains/enrgy/statelin/ |
Upload File : |
<html>
<head>
<title>July 2007: Maine, Delaware and Pennsylvania Increase RPS Requirements</title>
<style>
<!--
span.term1
{font-weight:bold}
-->
</style>
</head>
<body style="font-family: Arial" vlink="#808080">
<div align="center">
<table border="0" cellpadding="8" cellspacing="0" width="98%" bgcolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td width="100%" valign="middle"><a name="top"></a>
<img src="../images/pmamagsm.gif" alt="PMA Online Magazine" border="0" align="right" width="229" height="100"></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div><div align="center"><center>
<table border="0" cellpadding="8" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="15%" valign="top" align="center">
<!--webbot bot="Include" U-Include="sl_sidebar.htm" TAG="BODY" startspan -->
<table border="2" cellpadding="8" width="15%" id="table1" bordercolor="#FFFF00" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%" valign="top" align="center"><map name="FPMap0_I1">
<area href="http://www.powermarketers.com/adrates.html" shape="rect" coords="14, 297, 97, 322">
<area href="http://www.powermarketers.com/pmajobs.htm" shape="rect" coords="11, 230, 95, 257">
<area href="http://www.powermarketers.com/main.htm" target="_parent" shape="rect" coords="12, 163, 96, 189">
<area href="http://www.powermarketers.com/power2.htm" target="_blank" shape="rect" coords="12, 95, 96, 121">
<area href="../pmamag.htm" shape="rect" coords="11, 29, 96, 54"></map><img rectangle="(12,163) (96,189) http://www.powermarketers.com/main.htm##_parent" rectangle="(12,95) (96,121) http://www.powermarketers.com/power2.htm##_blank" rectangle="(11,29) (96,54) ../pmamag.htm" src="../images/magmenu.gif" alt="PMA OnLine Magazine Menu" border="0" align="center" usemap="#FPMap0_I1" width="110" height="350"><p><a href="../searchpma.htm"><img src="../images/archives.gif" alt="Archives Search" border="0" align="center" WIDTH="70" HEIGHT="40"></a></p>
<p align="left"><strong><small><font face="Arial">About The Author:</font></small></strong></p>
<p align="left"><font face="Arial" style="font-size: 9pt">Robert A. Olson is a partner in the law firm of
Brown, Olson & Gould, P.C. which maintains a nationwide practice in energy law,
public utility law and related commercial transactions.</font></p>
<p><small><font face="Arial"><font style="font-size: 9pt">He can be reached at:</font><br>
<br>
<b><font color="#0000FF">Brown, Olson & Gould, PC</font></b><br>
2 Delta Drive<br>
Suite 301<br>
Concord, NH 03301<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a><br>
(603) 225-9716<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]"></a></font></small></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="#top"><img src="../images/b-t-top.gif" alt="Back To Top" border="0" width="71" height="35"></a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<!--webbot bot="Include" i-checksum="45188" endspan --></td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">
<img src="../images/statelin.gif" alt="STATELINE by Robert Olson" border="0" width="375" height="75">
</center><center>
<p ALIGN="left"><b><u><br>
<br>
July</u></b><u><b> 2007</b></u><font size="6"><b><br>
</b></font></p><b>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center">
<font size="6">MAINE, DELAWARE AND PENNSYLVANIA<br>
INCREASE RPS REQUIREMENTS</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left">By Robert A. Olson, Esq. and
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt">David J. Shulock, Esq.</span><strong> --
Brown, Olson and Gould, P.C.<br>
</strong>
</b><font face="Arial" size="2"><i>(</i><em>originally published by PMA
OnLine Magazine: 2008/01/19</em><i>)</i></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left">During this
legislative session, the states of Maine, Delaware, and Pennsylvania have
amended their renewable portfolio standards.</p>
<center>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left"> <br>
On June 22, 2007, Maine’s governor John Baldacci signed into law LD 1920 “An
Act to Stimulate Demand for Renewable Energy.” This bill adds a new class
to the Maine RPS by requiring competitive electricity providers to include
in their energy portfolios a certain percentage of energy from “new
renewable capacity resources.” New capacity resources include small power
production facilities under FERC rules in effect on January 1, 1997 or
generators with a capacity of 100 MW or less relying upon fuel cells, tidal
power, solar arrays, wind power, geothermal installations, hydroelectric
generators that meet all federal and state fish passage requirements and,
biomass generators. To qualify as “new,” the facility must have an
in-service date after September 1, 2005, or must have resumed operations
after that date and after a two-year or longer hiatus from operations, or
must have been refurbished after September 1, 2005 and be operating beyond
its previous useful life or be employing an alternate technology that
significantly increases the efficiency of the generation process. The
percentage requirement for new capacity resources begins at one percent in
January 2008, and escalates by one percent per year to ten percent in 2017.
Competitive electricity providers may comply with this requirement through
the use of renewable energy credits (“RECs”) or alternative compliance
payments (“ACPs”) to be set by the Maine Public Utilities Commission. The
bill permits the Maine PUC to suspend increases in the percentage
requirement if it finds that investment in new renewable capacity resources
is insufficient and the resulting use of RECs or ACPs has burdened
electricity customers, or if ACPs are used to meet the requirements for
three or more consecutive years. </p>
<center>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left">On July 1,
2007, the State of Delaware General Assembly passed Senate Bill 19 “An Act
to Amend the Delaware Code to Increase the Renewable Energy Portfolio
Standard.” The bill doubles the state’s RPS requirement. Delaware first
adopted an RPS requirement in 2005, to become effective in 2007. The RPS
adopted in 2005 would have required investor-owned utilities to provide ten
percent of their energy from renewables by 2019. Senate Bill 19 now
requires investor-owned utilities to provide twenty percent of their energy
from renewables by 2019. Percentage requirements for the first three years,
2007-2009 remain as they were under the 2005 law, and then increases to five
percent in 2010. Municipal and cooperative utilities do not have to comply
with the RPS requirements. The only investor-owned utility in Delaware is
Delmarva Power, which provides approximately twenty-eight percent of
electricity in the state.</p>
<center>
<center>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left"> </p>
<center>
<center>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left">On July 17,
2007, Governor Edward Rendell of Pennsylvania signed into law House Bill
1203, “an Act Amending the Alternative Energy Portfolio Standards Act.”
This bill clarifies that alternative energy credits are to “remain the
property of the alternative energy system until the alternative energy
credit is voluntarily transferred by the alternative energy system” and that
“Unless a contractual provision explicitly assigns alternative energy
credits in a different manner, the owner of the alternative energy system .
. . owns any and all alternative energy credits associated with or created
by the production of electricity . . .” House Bill 1203 also modifies the
definition of Tier I Alternative Energy Source to include solar thermal
energy and provides yearly step increases for the amount of energy sold that
must be from solar technologies beginning with 0.0013% in 2007 and ending
with 0.5% in 2020 and thereafter. Under previous legislation, the step
increases were larger and occurred only once every four years, although the
ultimate requirement of 0.5% was the same.</p>
<center>
<center>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0" align="left">
<br>
</p>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<font FACE="Palatino" SIZE="2">
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<p ALIGN="left"></p>
<p ALIGN="left"></p>
<p ALIGN="left"></p>
<p ALIGN="left"></p>
</font><center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<center>
<!--webbot bot="Include" u-include="sl_bottom.htm" tag="BODY" startspan -->
<hr color="#FFFF00">
<blockquote>
<p align="left"><font face="Arial">
<small>Robert A. Olson is a partner in the law firm of Brown, Olson &
Gould P.C.
which maintains a nationwide practice in energy law, public utility law and related
commercial transactions. He can be reached at:</small></font><p align="center">
<font face="Arial"><small><font color="#0000FF"><b>Brown, Olson & Gould, PC</b></font><br>
2 Delta Drive, Suite 301<br>
Concord, NH 03301 <br>
<br>
<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> | (603) 225-9716<a href="mailto:[email protected]"></a></small></font>
<!--webbot bot="Include" i-checksum="27861" endspan --></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="15%" valign="top" align="center">
</td>
<td width="75%" valign="top">
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p align="center"><a href="#top">
<img src="../images/b-t-top.gif" alt="Back To Top" border="0" width="71" height="35"></a></p>
</body>
</html>