Author Archives Laura Arnold

Inovateus Solar breaks ground on I&M’s first solar facility south of Marion, IN

Posted by Laura Arnold / July 24, 2015 / Posted in Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), solar, Uncategorized / No Comments

Photo from Inovateus Solar

South Bend company breaks ground on I&M's first solar facility

Posted: Fri 1:57 PM, Jul 24, 2015

By: Brandon Kusz

A South Bend solar products company broke ground Friday on Indiana Michigan Power's first solar generation facility.

Inovateus Solar was contracted to design and build the facility, which will be located just south of Marion, Indiana.

The facility will consist of about 10,000 solar panels on nearly 17 acres of ground. It will have a capacity of 2.5 megawatts and is expected to begin generating energy by the end of this year.

I&M also expects to begin construction on a facility in Mishawaka by the end of the year. Facilities are also planned west of South Bend and near Watervliet, Michigan.

Learn more about Inovateus Solar at www.inovateussolar.com

From Indiana Michigan Power:

Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), an operating unit of American Electric Power (NYSE: AEP), broke ground today on its first solar generation facility.

The facility will consist of about 10,000 solar panels on about 17 acres of ground just south of Marion, Indiana, adjacent to an I&M service center. The facility will have a capacity of 2.5 megawatts and is expected to begin generating energy by the end of this year.

The Deer Creek solar facility is the first to be owned and operated by I&M and its parent company, AEP.

“This is truly an historic day for I&M and for Marion,” said Paul Chodak III, President and Chief Operating Officer of Indiana Michigan Power. “Adding this clean, renewable energy further diversifies I&M’s generation portfolio, and it is an important step toward recognizing the increasing preferences of our customers, our company and our government for green energy.”

The Marion facility is one of four solar facilities that will generate up to about 15 megawatts of energy for I&M by the end of 2016.

“Together, these facilities will provide I&M an opportunity to gain valuable experience in the design and construction of utility-scale solar projects,” Chodak said. “They will enable I&M to become proficient in operating solar generation and integrating it reliably into the energy delivery grid. This knowledge will be of use to I&M and its customers as we move toward adding utility-scale solar in the coming years.”

Marion is an appropriate location for I&M to deploy cutting edge technology. More than a century ago, a transmission line was built to connect Marion’s local utility with Muncie’s – the first interconnection between electric utilities in the nation. Those two utilities were among the first the newly formed American Gas and Electric, AEP’s forerunner, purchased in 1907.

I&M contracted with an Indiana company, Inovateus Solar of South Bend, to design and build the facility.

Construction is expected to begin within a few weeks.

The panels are expected to generate the most energy when it is needed most – during hot, sunny summer days.

Later this year, I&M expects to begin construction on a second facility in Mishawaka. Facilities are also planned west of South Bend and near Watervliet, Mich.

US Senate Finance Tax Extenders: Good News Approved 23 to 3; Bad News Sen. Coats Voted “N”

Posted by Laura Arnold / July 24, 2015 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Key senate committee approves wind tax credit extension

By Herman K. Trabish | July 23, 2015

Dive Brief:

The Senate Finance Committee voted Tuesday to approve a package of extensions for some 50 tax incentives, including the $0.023 per kWh production tax credit (PTC) for wind energy projects. The package included an investment tax credit and expensing and bonus depreciation provisions to support wind development.
The package of extensions must now win approval by the full Senate and a matching package must be approved by the House. When Congress failed to extend the tax incentives in 2013, development fell 92% and 30,000 wind industry jobs were lost. The 2014 restoration of the credit brought back 23,000 jobs, according to the wind industry.
The package, which would extend the PTC through the end of 2016, was approved by a 23 to 3 vote. Wind advocates were encouraged by the lopsided count and say it reflects bipartisan support for wind.

Dive Insight:

Over 70% of congressional districts have wind turbines, wind manufacturing facilities, or both.

The wind industry brought a record 1,661 MW of new capacity online in the second quarter of 2015, according to the just-released quarterly industry market report. There are 100-plus wind projects under construction in 24 states, representing over 13,600 MW of capacity and $20 billion in private investment. Utilities signed PPAs for over 800 MWs of new wind capacity in Q2.

Hewlett Packard announced a 112 MW PPA and Facebook announced a 200 MW PPA, both with Texas projects, and two projects with corporate purchasers went online in Q2, IKEA’s 98 MW Illinois project and a 211 MW Mars-owned Texas project.

Florida’s Gulf Power signed a 180 MW PPA and the Arkansas Electric Cooperative signed a 108 MW PPA, both with Midwest producers. Iberdrola Renewables broke ground on the first utility-scale wind project in the Southeast, the 208 MW Amazon Wind project, which will provide its output to Amazon Web Services.

So how did they vote?

Results of Executive Session on Extend Certain Expiring Tax Provisions July 21, 2015

Amendment #2, Grassley/Cantwell/Thune #2; Biodiesel Tax Incentive Reform Act – approved by voice vote.

Amendment #68, Stabenow/Heller/Menendez/Isakson/Brown/Casey/Cardin #4, as Modified; Refinement to the Mortgage Forgiveness Tax Relief Act to Provide More Certainty to Struggling Homeowners – approved by voice vote.

Final Passage of an Original Bill to Extend Certain Expiring Tax Provisions – approved by roll call vote of 23 ayes, 3 nays.

Ayes: Hatch, Grassley, Crapo, Roberts, Cornyn (proxy), Thune (proxy), Burr, Isakson (proxy), Portman, Heller, Scott, Wyden, Schumer, Stabenow, Cantwell, Nelson (proxy), Menendez, Carper, Cardin, Brown (proxy), Bennet, Casey, Warner (proxy).

Nays: Enzi, Toomey, Coats.

Motion to close an executive session meeting pursuant to paragraph 5(b) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate to consider the committee’s report on the IRS handling of tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code 501 (c)(4) – approved by voice vote.

Tippecanoe Valley School Corp. looking at solar projects using NIPSCO Feed-in Tariff (FIT)

Posted by Laura Arnold / July 21, 2015 / Posted in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) / No Comments

TVSC LOOKING INTO SOLAR PROJECT

AKRON — Many in the Akron-Mentone area are familiar with Tippecanoe Valley School Corporation’s wind turbine.

[See http://tippecanoevalleyschools.com/wind-turbine-information-center/]

Now, the corporation is looking into another renewable energy project, this time with solar power.

At a public work session held last evening, Monday, July 20, at the school administration building, TVSC Superintendent Brett Boggs introduced Northern Indiana Power Supply Company’s Feed-In Tariff program, an option the school corporation is looking into as a way to earn some revenue.

Known as NIPSCO FIT 2.0, the program allows locations with small-scale renewable energy projects to sell excess energy back to the grid. Boggs identified Mentone Elementary School and Burket Educational Center as two ideal locations within the school corporation for such a project.

Present at the meeting were Jim Straeter and son, Mike Straeter, of Ag Technologies, Rochester. Straeters have experienced firsthand the benefits of this type of renewable energy and have worked with and developed their own solar power systems. They were also able to explain several options available through the FIT program.

On July 8, NIPSCO conducted a lottery, choosing 20 participation request forms from among 77 that were submitted by locations interested in the program. Both Mentone and Burket were selected.

Among all of TVSC’s schools, Mentone and Burket were entered because they are located in NIPSCO’s service area, making them eligible for the program. In addition, both have the 1.5-acre space required for the solar arrays.

The idea behind the project is twofold. First, to reduce energy costs by allowing Burket and Mentone Elementary to create their own energy and, second, to generate additional income for the schools by selling excess energy back to the grid, making between 2.5 cents and 3 cents per kilowatt hour.

As with all major undertakings, this new project comes with initial expenses. The next step is for TVSC to find a tax-eligible investor. This needs to be accomplished by July 8, 2016.

At this point, TVSC has not made a final decision, but will continue looking into different options available for each of the two locations.

For REMC’s: “How Much Will Solar Power Cost You?” Your thoughts on this analysis?

Posted by Laura Arnold / July 21, 2015 / Posted in solar, Uncategorized / No Comments

How Much Will Solar Power Cost You?

By Victoria A. Rocha | ECT Staff WriterPublished: July 20th, 2015

Are you thinking about building a solar energy system at your electric cooperative?

Check out a convenient tool now available from NRECA that helps estimate the costs of constructing, financing and operating utility-scale solar projects.

Developed as part of the Solar Utility Network Deployment Acceleration (SUNDA) project, the Cost and Financing Screening Tool can be found on NRECA’s website and is available to all cooperatives.

The tool takes into account more than 80 variables to estimate the cost of producing electricity from photovoltaic cells. Variables include array and inverter costs, labor rates and historical meteorological data collected by the federal government.

“It’s intended to let you go in and kick the tires and play around with elements like system size or expected life to generally see if solar makes sense for your co-op,” said tool developer Paul Carroll, technical liaison and consultant to NRECA.

To get an estimate, users must supply the prospective site’s ZIP code and array size. After that, you can type in other information—such as details on local labor rates, state incentives for solar programs or construction costs—to refine the estimate.

“The model is powerful, yet flexible, and can be easily modified to suit your needs,” said Carroll.

To access the tool, users need the Google Chrome browser or they can download a spreadsheet version on NRECA’s website. There’s also an online tutorial.

For questions and more information, contact Andrew Cotter at Andrew.Cotter@nreca.coop, or Paul Carroll at Paul.Carroll-contractor@nreca.coop.

Ohio Energy Mandates Study Committee could urge reducing benchmark annual increases

Posted by Laura Arnold / July 21, 2015 / Posted in solar, Uncategorized, wind / No Comments

EAMON QUEENEY | DISPATCH FILE PHOTO Wind turbines generate electricity on a farm straddling Paulding and Van Wert counties in northwest Ohio.

Ohio’s clean-energy mandates likely to be cut as legislative panel ends work

Result could be reduction, not repeal, of benchmarks

By Dan Gearino The Columbus Dispatch • Tuesday July 21, 2015 12:09 AM

Ohio’s clean-energy benchmarks are more likely to be reduced than repealed, according to the leaders of a special legislative panel that has been studying the topic.

The Energy Mandates Study Committee held its final meeting on Monday, and its members have until Sept. 30 to deliver recommendations to Ohio House and Senate leaders.

The panel’s work is required by a bill passed last summer that also placed a two-year freeze on state standards for renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The committee’s goal is to study the costs and benefits of the standards and consider making changes before the freeze lifts at the end of 2016.

“I think everything is still on the table,” said Sen. Troy Balderson, R-Zanesville. He leads the committee along with Rep. Kristina Roegner, R-Hudson.

Some observers have speculated that the panel might wait to see the potential effects of pending federal carbon rules. That is not the case, Roegner said. “We’ll move forward and do what’s right for the state of Ohio,” she said.

So, if the panel is going to make recommendations, what might they be?

Balderson supports one particular approach: “I’d like to see the standards go down somewhat,” he said.

By that, he means he favors a reduction in the annual increases in the benchmarks.

Under current law, when the freeze ends in 2016, electricity utilities will need to make annual increases in their purchases of renewable energy, working toward a goal of 12.5 percent of their total by 2027.

For energy efficiency, utilities will need to have programs that help consumers reduce energy use, extending toward a goal of 22 percent savings by 2027.

It remains to be seen how a reduction in benchmarks would work.

Some legislators want to see a repeal of the benchmarks. That has not attracted enough support to receive a full debate, partly because of doubts that Gov. John Kasich would sign such a measure.

The clean-energy benchmarks came into being with a 2008 law, and the freeze was passed last summer after a long and bitter debate.

Electricity utilities and some large businesses argued that the rules were too costly to follow and would lead to increases in utility bills.

The rules have been defended by environmental groups, clean-energy businesses and consumer advocates.

Committee member Rep. Mike Stinziano, D-Columbus, said he continues to support the energy benchmarks and hopes the rules remain at least mostly intact.

“At the end of the day, I don’t think I heard much (in committee hearings) that would lead me to think we shouldn’t maintain the standards and have Ohio continue to be a leader in energy-efficiency standards,” he said.

dgearino@dispatch.com

@DanGearino