Author Archives Laura Arnold

Indiana Groups Urge Indianapolis Power and Light to Extend Feed-in Tariff Pilot Program Called Rate REP

Posted by Laura Arnold / June 27, 2012 / Posted in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), IPL Rate REP, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Uncategorized / No Comments

Indiana DG/Citizens Action Coalition/Sierra Club Hoosier Chapter

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: June 27, 2012

Contact:

Laura Ann Arnold (317) 635-1701 or (317) 502-5123

Kerwin Olson (317) 702-0461

David Menzer (317) 727-8467

RENEWABLE ENERGY, CONSUMER ADVOCACY AND ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS

JOIN TO ASK IPL TO EXTEND RENEWABLE ENERGY PILOT PROGRAM

Download News Release: IPL Rate REP News Release-FINAL-2012-06-27_as sent

Indianapolis, IN. Three statewide groups, representing renewable energy, consumer and environmental interests in Indiana, joined together to send a letter to Ken Zagzebski, President of Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL), asking the electric utility to extend and expand a renewable energy program known as Rate REP or Renewable Energy Production, commonly referred to as feed-in tariff (FIT) or Clean Local Energy Accessible Now (CLEAN programs).

"We want to commend IPL for its leadership in offering Rate REP," said Laura Ann Arnold, President of the Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance. "But due to major changes made to the program and approved earlier this year by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC), the program really needs to be extended past the initial three year pilot."

Arnold pointed out that the program is capped at 1% of IPL's retail sales. This could bring as much as 100 MW's of renewable energy into central Indiana; however, thus far, less than 2.5 MWs have been approved by IPL's Rate REP, which became effective on March 30^th, 2010.

By comparison, the electric utility that services NW Indiana, Northern Indiana Public Service Corporation (NIPSCO), recently implemented a FIT pilot program in cooperation with Indiana DG, CAC, and Sierra Club, that became effective less than a year ago on July 14^th, 2011. As of this month, NIPSCO indicates that nearly 25 MW's of solar PV, wind and biomass projects are pending under their feed-in tariff.

Therefore, it appears that NIPSCO in one year has nearly 10 times as many projects pending as the projects approved by IPL. It is generally believed that the Indianapolis Airport solar farm with 10 MW's of solar PV is still under review for a Rate REP contract at IPL.

Arnold noted that before IPL proposed making significant changes to Rate REP after only the first year of their 3 year pilot program, 170 MWs of solar PV and wind projects had already been proposed. Arnold wonders what will happen to said projects if the IPL program is discontinued.

"We are hopeful that IPL will continue this program in an effort to diversify their generation portfolio, bring investment to Indianapolis which will create desperately needed jobs, and help decrease their environmental footprint which is of great importance in the wake of new and pending EPA regulations, especially considering the risk IPL and its customers currently face due to their heavy reliance on coal fired power plants," said Kerwin Olson, Executive Director of CAC.

Dave Menzer, Campaign Representative for the Sierra Club's "Beyond Coal Campaign" stressed that more renewable energy resources need to be added to IPL's generation mix to improve Indiana's environmental quality. Menzer stated that Sierra Club is urging other Indiana utilities to consider voluntarily offering more renewable energy programs such as FITs.

"The Sierra Club supports a transition to a clean energy economy, and one of the best tools to attract private investment in solar and wind farms is to offer a fair fixed rate to the developer for the power they are producing and putting back on the grid. Given the incredible interest IPL has seen, it would a huge step backwards to allow these programs to expire."

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Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance (http://www.IndianaDG.net) is the group which is the successor-in-interest to Indiana Distributed Energy Advocates which was a participant in both the IPL Rate REP and the NIPSCO feed-in tariff cases before the IURC. IndianaDG works with national/international groups such as the Alliance for Renewable Energy which works to promote feed-in tariff programs as the most effective public policy to deploy renewable energy resources in the most cost effective way.

Citizen Action Coalition's (http:/www.citact.org) mission is to initiate, facilitate and coordinate citizen action directed to improving the quality of life of all inhabitants of the State of Indiana through principled advocacy of public policies to preserve democracy, conserve natural resources, protect the environment, and provide affordable access to essential human services. With a continued emphasis on truly clean renewables, distributed resources, and energy efficiency, CAC is a firm believer that clean, safe, and affordable energy is not only attainable, but it is our right as an essential human service.

Sierra Club- is America's largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization. Inspired by nature, we are 1.4 million of your friends and neighbors, working together to protect our communities and the planet. More information about the "Beyond Coal Campaign" can be found here: http://www.beyondcoal.org/

Download letter: Letter to IPL on Rate REP--2012-06-27--FINAL as sent

27 June 2012

Ken Zagzebski, President and CEO

Indianapolis Power and Light

One Monument Circle

Indianapolis, IN 46204

Dear Mr. Zagzebski,

We, the undersigned organizations, represent both businesses doing business with individual ratepayers and individual ratepayers of Indianapolis Power and Light (IPL). We are writing to urge that you initiate a proceeding before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) to extend and expand opportunities for IPL customers under Rate REP or feed-in tariff. As it is currently written, IPL's Rate REP pilot program is scheduled to expire March 30, 2013.

Rate REP was originally approved in Cause No. 43623 as a three year pilot program in an IURC order dated February 2^nd 2010, and became effective March 30, 2010. Most recently, Rate REP was revised by an IURC order on March 7^th, 2012, in Cause No. 44018 and at page 35 states:

"If IPL wishes to continue Rate REP or make further changes to Rate REP beyond the three-year pilot program, it must comply with the 43623 Order and initiate a proceeding at least nine months prior to the end of the three-year pilot period."

Given that the Rate REP will currently expire on March 30^th, 2013, the nine month deadline to file is this June 30^th, 2012. Hence, the undersigned strongly urge that IPL immediately contact the IURC and indicate IPL's intent to initiate such a proceeding to 1) evaluate the Rate REP pilot program and 2) consider various options to extend and expand the current Rate REP tariff for IPL customers.

If it is not possible for IPL to file a petition to initiate such a docket before June 30^th, we urge that IPL formally contact the IURC to request an extension of time to initiate such a new docket. In addition, the Commission also specifies at page 33 of the 44018 Order:

"…we will also require IPL to modify Rate REP to set aside 30% of the energy available under Rate REP to establish a reverse auction open to developers of renewable energy projects."

The reverse auction RFP was issued on June 15^th, 2012, and bids are due July 13^th, 2012. Therefore, it is not likely that IPL and others will know the response to the reverse auction until well after June 30^th, 2012. Given this information, it would appear reasonable for IPL to request such an extension of time.

Furthermore, the undersigned organizations would like to schedule a meeting as soon as practicable with IPL and all other stakeholders, including the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) and the other parties in Cause No. 44018, to discuss Rate REP, as well as all possible options to further promote renewable energy and distributed generation including but not limited to Rate REP.

We would also like to commend IPL for its leadership in promoting customer renewable energy and distributed generation by initiating Rate REP as a pilot program.

Cordially yours,

Laura Ann Arnold, President

Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance

Kerwin Olson, Executive Director

Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana

David Menzer, Campaign Representative

Sierra Club "Beyond Coal Campaign"

Cc: John Haselden, IPL

James Atterholt, Chairman, Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission

Parties to 44018:

Jason Stephenson, Counsel for IPL

David Stippler, Office of Utility Consumer Counselor

Karol Krohn, Office of Utility Consumer Counselor

Anne Becker, Counsel for Ecos Energy

Stuart Gutwein, Counsel for Bio Town Ag

David McGimpsey, Counsel for EDP Renewables

Elkhart Truth: Goshen, IN BZA board wants more guidance on solar energy requests; Can you help? Part 2 of 2

Posted by Laura Arnold / June 27, 2012 / Posted in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Uncategorized / No Comments

The Goshen Board of Zoning Appeals went with the city staff recommendations on three solar requests, but asked for more guidance on how to handle them in the future, since board members expect to see more of them.

by: Justin Leighty

jleighty@etruth.com

GOSHEN — The Goshen Board of Zoning Appeals went with the city staff recommendations on three solar-panel requests Tuesday but asked for more guidance on how to handle them in the future, since board members expect to see more of them in the future.

"Once you start seeing a trend of stuff coming to the BZA, it's something to look at," said Kelly Huffman, a board member.

The board took the recommendation of Richard Miller, who lives near an existing solar installation. "I think the staff and you as commissioners will have more and more applications, and I would hope that you could spend some time and really do some planning on what and how the zoning ordinance should affect it," Miller said.

The board approved a request by Miller's nearby neighbor, Joy Hess, to expand the existing solar panels at her home on Carter Road.

The board denied requests by residents on 14th Street and Ryegrass Court because of the city's zoning ordinance. Those residents can still install solar panels on roofs, just not as free-standing units. The city's zoning ordinance treats such units the same as a detached garage or a shed, limiting the total size on any residential lot of "accessory structures" to no more than the size of the ground floor of a home.

The board asked the city staff and the city's plan commission to look at the solar issue and see if, perhaps, the city council should change the zoning code to treat solar panels differently.

Jim Kolbus, the board's attorney, said, "I think these are going to be coming more and more to the board."

The only other major item on the board's agenda Tuesday afternoon was to find out why Old Bag Factory owner James Rupright hasn't complied with the board's requirements for using the space across Chicago Avenue from the retail center as a parking lot.

Rupright told the commission that the process cost him $12,000 more than he expected.

Board chairman Ardean Friesen said, "I think what's happening at the Old Bag Factory is a great thing and I want it to continue," but said he's concerned about safety with cars parked blocking the views of the intersection with North Indiana Avenue.

The board gave Rupright until August to start installing a sidewalk and curb to mark off the parking area and increase safety.

Elkhart Truth: Goshen, IN solar proposals may not see light of day; Want to use NIPSCO feed-in tariff; Part 1 of 2

Posted by Laura Arnold / June 26, 2012 / Posted in Feed-in Tariffs (FiT), Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO), Uncategorized / 1 Comments

Dear IndianaDG Readers:

This is Part 1 of a two-part story from the Elkhart Truth concerning zoning variance requests in Goshen, Indiana for proposed solar PV systems. There has been a great deal of interest in the NIPSCO electric service territory by customers to install solar PV systems to use the NIPSCO feed-in tariff. Customers who install solar PV systems from 5-10 kW may sign a contract with NIPSCO under the feed-in tariff program to receive $0.30/kwh for a 15 year contract. The NIPSCO feed-in tariff pilot program was approved 7/14/2011 and is scheduled to run until 12/31/2013.

I t appears there is a need for a serious conversation amongst consumers, solar installers and planning officials in NIPSCO-land to address these issues.

See Part 2 of 2 for the results of the Goshen BZA hearing.

Laura Ann Arnold

Solar installations in Goshen continue to grow, but two of the three requests before the city's Board of Zoning Appeals Tuesday may not happen because of zoning codes.

by: Justin Leighty

jleighty@etruth.com

GOSHEN — What do free-standing solar panels, a shed, a porch and garage all have in common? In Goshen, the same zoning requirements apply to all of them, which is why two proposed solar installations may die today, June 26.

There are a total of three solar panel requests coming to the Goshen Board of Zoning Appeals, but only the one that's an expansion of an existing solar setup got a recommendation from the city's staff, and that one's mounted on a roof.

The number of solar installations is growing. There are roughly 10 in the city right now, according to the building, planning and zoning departments. "One of the reasons they're becoming more prevalent is NIPSCO's incentive to buy back electricity," said Rhonda Yoder, city planning and zoning administrator.

"A lot of places, they just get attached to a roof," Yoder said.

Two of today's requests, though, seek to have ground-mounted panels in the middle of neighborhoods.

Ryan Smith, assistant planning and zoning administrator, wrote in his notes to the board, "while the planning and zoning office supports solar energy and alternative energy in general, and the 2004 comprehensive plan encourages the exploration of solar as a source of renewable energy as a means to fossil fuel reduction, this does not exempt the installation of solar panels from standard zoning consideration as an accessory structure."

He notes that state law prohibits cities, towns and counties from unreasonably restricting solar energy, but the law allows for some general regulations.

"While no specific provisions for solar panels in terms of Goshen's zoning ordinance are currently in place, the planning office's preferred configuration for solar panels are flush-mounted on building roofs," Smith wrote to the board. That gives the best access to the sun and minimizes the glare and visibility of the panels, he explained.

Yoder said any free-standing panels "are treated as accessory structures. Total accessory square footage has to be less than the first-floor square footage" under the existing ordinance.

In the case of 520 Ryegrass Court, where Jeremy Comment, Fofoa Finau and Jamie Yoder-Zingo want to install panels, the fact that the home is a split-level home means that the garage and proposed solar panels would be larger than the first floor of the home, even though the solar array itself is smaller than the first floor. Smith recommended that the board deny the request, but suggested that a smaller set of panels would fit better in the neighborhood.

The situation at the home of Jeff and Chris Kauffman at 923 S. 14th St. is tighter, with a detached garage and porch already taking up more space than the home. Smith suggested the board deny that request, too, but proposed that the Kauffmans could put solar panels on the roofs of the garage and home.

That's the case at Owen Hess' home at 506 Carter Road, where solar panels already exist on a pool house roof. The proposal, which got Smith's approval, would add another five feet of solar panels above the existing ones.

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Please find below the staff reports regarding the solar PV system variance requests for the Goshen BZA meeting 6/26/2012:

Information provided by:

Ryan Smith

Assistant Planning & Zoning Administrator

Goshen City Planning & Zoning

204 E Jefferson, Suite 4

Goshen, IN 46528

(574) 534-3505 ex. 285

Summer Solstice 2012: Why It’s the Longest Day of the Year; What did you do on the Summer Solstice?

Posted by Laura Arnold / June 21, 2012 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Dear IndianaDG Readers:

Yesterday (6/20/2012) was the 2012 Summer Solstice. I discovered this article and thought I would share it with you. In particular, the issue of exactly on which day the Summer Solstice falls, i.e. June 20, 21 or 22, and why spurred my search to find the answer to this question. I found this interesting and informative article about the topic.

So how did you celebrate the Summer Solstice? Personally, I was in class all day yesterday as I will be all this week attending a training class on solar PV. John Dee, a Trainer/Design Engineer with Ontility is our instructor for this one-week "intensive" class on solar PV. After three days of this five day 8-5 training class, my brain hurt. I learned about this opportunity for a "free-to-me" training class from CleanEdison. I have only good things to say about this training class from our classroom provided by KirbyRisk in Indianapolis to my fellow students to the training materials to the instructor, John Dee. It has all been FIRST CLASS! I know the saying "you get what you pay for" but somebody else paid for this program under some type of grant funding and the result is an AWESOME opportunity. My only regret is that this type of training is not available to more individuals here in Indiana.

This training class will provide 40 hours of essential classroom instruction for anyone wishing to seek NABCEP solar PV certification. What will be needed next is hands-on installation before sitting for the NABCEP certification that is only offered two times a year. There is clearly a need for this type of "hands-on" installation experience here in Indiana. If you have any thoughts or ideas about this please share it here on this blog. More about this in future blog posts.

Laura Ann Arnold, President, Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance

Why it's "early" this year, how it's been celebrated through centuries.

Ker Than

for National Geographic News

Updated June 20, 2012

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/06/120620-summer-solstice-2012-longest-day-sun-earth-space-science/

Summer officially kicks off today, with the summer solstice marking the longest day of the year on June 20, at least in the Northern Hemisphere.

This year's summer solstice takes place a day earlier than it's been for the past three years, due to the fact that 2012 is a leap year—this February got an extra day, to keep our calendar year of 365 days in sync with the astronomical year, which is about 365.24 days.

In general, the exact timing of the summer solstice changes from year to year, "but there's a bigger jump when you have a leap year," explained Mark Hammergren, an astronomer at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago.

"But it's still always going to be around June 20 or 21."

(Pictures: Summer Solstice Marked With Fire, Magic [2008].)

Highest Sun at High Noon

The solstices are the results of Earth's north-south axis being tilted 23.4 degrees relative to the ecliptic, the plane of our solar system. This tilt causes different amounts of sunlight to reach different regions of the planet during Earth's year-long orbit around the sun.

Today the North Pole is tipped more toward the sun than on any other day of 2012. (The opposite holds true for the Southern Hemisphere, where today is the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year.)

As a result of Earth's tilt, the path of the sun across the sky rises in the lead-up to the summer solstice, then begins descending for the rest of the summer.

(See pictures of the sun's path across the sky—an entire year in a single frame.)

At high noon on the summer solstice, the sun appears at its highest point in the sky—its most directly overhead position—in the Northern Hemisphere.

That doesn't mean the sun will be exactly overhead at noon for everyone, said Cornell University astronomer James Bell.

It depends on the viewer's latitude—the sun will shine down directly overhead at noon only along the Tropic of Cancer, an imaginary line that circles the planet at about the latitude of Cuba.

"It's still at a low angle if you're up in Alaska," Bell explained.

Solstice Is Longest Day of the Year—Not Hottest

On the summer solstice, the Northern Hemisphere receives more sunlight than on any other day of the year—but that doesn't mean the first day of summer is also the hottest.

Earth's oceans and atmosphere act like heat sinks, absorbing and reradiating the sun's rays over time. Even though the planet is absorbing lots of sunlight on the summer solstice, it takes several weeks to release it. As a result, the hottest days of summer usually occur in July or August.

"If you think about turning up an oven, it takes it a long time to heat up," explained Robert Howell, an astronomer at the University of Wyoming. "And after you turn it off, it takes awhile for it to cool down. It's the same with the Earth."

Another popular misconception, Adler's Hammergren said, is that during the summer—and especially during the summer solstice—Earth is closer to the sun than at other times of the year.

In reality, the tilt of the Earth has more influence on the seasons than our planet's distance to the sun.

"During the Northern Hemisphere summer, we're actually farthest from the sun," Hammergren said.

First Day of Summer Sparked Ancient Celebrations

The summer solstice—also called midsummer—has long been recognized and often celebrated by many cultures around the world.

The ancient Egyptians, for example, built the Great Pyramids so that the sun, when viewed from the Sphinx, sets precisely between two of the Pyramids on the summer solstice.

The Inca of South America celebrated the corresponding winter solstice with a ceremony called Inti Raymi, which included food offerings and sacrifices of animals, and maybe even people. (See a picture of an Inca winter solstice festival.)

Recently, archaeologists discovered the remains of an astronomical observatory in a long-buried Maya city in Guatemala in which the buildings were designed to align with the sun during the solstices. During such times, the city's populace gathered at the observatory to watch as their king appeared to command the heavens.

And perhaps most famously, Stonehenge in the United Kingdom has been associated with the winter and summer solstices for about 5,000 years.

Observers in the center of the standing stones can still watch the summer solstice sun rise over the Heel Stone, which stands just outside the main ring of Stonehenge. (Read about pagans' campaign to enter Stonehenge on the summer solstice and other sacred days.)

Last year modern-day Druids gathered at Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice for the first time as members of an officially recognized religion in the U.K., following a controversial vote by the national Charity Commission for England and Wales in the fall of 2011.

Summer Solstice Not What It Used to Be

For many of the ancients, the summer solstice wasn't just an excuse to party or pray—it was essential to their well-being.

Associated with agriculture, the summer solstice was a reminder that a turning point in the growing season had been reached.

"The calendar was very important—much more important than it is now," said Ricky Patterson, an astronomer at the University of Virginia. "People wanted to know what was going to happen, so that they could be ready."

But for many modern cultures—and Americans in particular—the solstices and equinoxes no longer attract the same kind of attention they once did.

"The only people who really pay attention to what's going on outside on a regular basis are like the neo-pagans in America and farmers, because it's important for their growing and harvest seasons," said Jarita Holbrook, a cultural astronomer at the University of Arizona in Tucson.

"But we're pretty much an indoor culture at this point ... so we have less of a connection to the sky."

Adler's Hammergren said he doesn't feel too bad about the declining significance of the solstices in modern society.

"Ancient cultures and some modern religions pay very, very close attention to certain natural alignments ... and there's a lot of mysticism and special supernatural significance attached to them," he said. "The fact that we don't pay attention to that stuff as much anymore, I think, is a rational thing."

The University of Arizona's Holbrook, however, thinks there are certain benefits in keeping the tradition alive.

"Paying attention to the solstices is a way of teaching mathematics, celestial mechanics, and astronomy and culture and history," she said. "It is also a pretty good party."

Watch Indiana Michigan Power Rate Increase Hearings at IURC June 18-29

Posted by Laura Arnold / June 19, 2012 / Posted in Indiana Michigan Power Company (I&M), Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) / No Comments

Evidentiary hearings presenting information by the Office of the Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC) and Intervenors as well as rebuttal testimony by Indiana Michigan Power in their rate increase case before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) in Cause No. 44075 started yesterday (6/18/2012) and will continue each day at 9:30 am through June 29.

Testimony in this rate case was prefiled by the OUCC, the cities of South Bend and Fort Wayne, Inovateus Solar and others.

Those wishing to watch the hearings on-line should visit http://www.in.gov/iurc/2624.htm

Testimony was prefiled and can be found by visiting https://myweb.in.gov/IURC/eds/, then <Search Cases> and then entering the Docket Number 44075. Please note that the prefiled testimony is quite voluminous.

ENJOY!