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Michigan’s Net Metering Program Gets an “A”
January 4, 2011
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) today noted that Michigan’s net metering program received a grade of “A” in the 2010 edition…
MPSC: Number of Net Metering Customers Up 85 Percent in Last Half of 2009
November 01, 2010
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) staff today issued its net metering report for the…
Michigan’s Net Metering Program Gets an “A”
January 4, 2011
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) today noted that Michigan’s net metering program received a grade of “A” in the 2010 edition of Freeing the Grid (http://www.newenergychoices.org/index.php?page=nm07_WhatIsNM&sd=nm), a policy guide that grades states’ net metering programs.
Under a net metering program, when customers produce electric energy in excess of their needs, power is provided back to the serving utility, permitting the customer to receive a credit for power they place on the system.
“Michigan has seen explosive growth in the number of electric customers that have installed renewable energy generation systems on their homes and businesses,” noted Commissioner Monica Martinez. “This comes as a direct result of Public Act 295 of 2008, which put in place a net metering program that has proven popular with customers. It is gratifying to see the state’s net metering program recognized by this national report.”
The Freeing the Grid report is produced annually by the Network for new Energy Choices (NNEC) in partnership with Vote Solar, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council and the North Carolina Solar Center.
The MPSC’s renewable energy website includes information on net metering basics (http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,1607,7-159-16393_38274—-,00.html) and how to become a net metering customer (http://www.michigan.gov/mpsc/0,1607,7-159-16393_48212—-,00.html).
The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth.
MPSC: Number of Net Metering Customers Up 85 Percent in Last Half of 2009
November 01, 2010
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) staff today issued its net metering report for the last six months of 2009, which shows that the number of net metering customers jumped by 85 percent.
Under a net metering program, when customers produce electric energy in excess of their needs, power is provided back to the serving utility, permitting the customer to receive a credit for power they place on the system.
“The year 2009 proved to be a banner year for net metering in Michigan,” said MPSC Chairman Orjiakor Isiogu. “Both wind and solar installations increased tremendously as customers continued to bring their renewable energy systems online.”
The MPSC in May last year adopted net metering and interconnection rules for small, renewable electric generation projects onsite, as required by Public Act 295 of 2008. The report issued today said the number of net metering customers increased from 137 at the end of June 2009 to 254 at the end of December 2009. Wind proved the most popular with the number of installations increasing from 96 to 163 installations during the six-month period, while solar installations increased from 39 to 89 during the same time period.
Customers are located throughout the state.
The entire report is available on the MPSC’s website: michigan.gov/netmetering.
Regulators Approve First Offshore Wind Farm in U.S.
By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE
Published: April 28, 2010
BOSTON — After nine years of regulatory review, the federal government gave the green light Wednesday to the nation’s first offshore wind farm, a highly contested project off the coast of Cape Cod.
The approval of the 130-turbine farm gives a significant boost to the nascent offshore wind industry in the United States, which has lagged far behind Europe and China in harnessing the strong and steady power of ocean breezes to provide electricity to homes and businesses.
With Gov. Deval Patrick standing beside him, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced at a news conference at the Massachusetts Statehouse that the government had approved a permit for Cape Wind Associates, a private venture, to build the farm.
“I am approving the Cape Wind project,” Mr. Salazar said. “This will be the first of many projects up and down the Atlantic coast.”
The Cape Wind turbines would lie in Nantucket Sound, about five miles from the nearest shoreline, and cover 24 square miles, roughly the size of Manhattan. The tip of the highest blade of each turbine would reach 440 feet above the water.
But the project is hardly shovel ready. Several regulatory hurdles remain, and opponents of the wind farm have vowed to go to court, potentially stalling Cape Wind for several more years.
For years the Cape Wind project has been the focus of pitched battles splitting politicians and environmental groups. While some environmentalists are prepared to go to court to stop the project, other major groups, including the Sierra Club and Greenpeace, support it.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, whose family compound overlooks Nantucket Sound and who died last year, had opposed the project, saying it was a giveaway to a private developer.
Senator Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, issued a statement opposing the decision immediately after it was announced, saying it would hinder tourism and boating in the area.
But Mr. Patrick, also a Democrat, has supported it.
“America needs offshore wind power, and with this project, Massachusetts will lead the nation,” Mr. Patrick declared at the Statehouse on Wednesday. While there are differences of opinion, he said, “on balance, Cape Wind is good for our environment and good for our energy needs.”
He added that construction could begin within a year. “We are on our way,” he said. “If we get clean energy right, the whole world will be our customer.”
Ian Bowles, secretary of the Massachusetts executive office of environmental affairs, called the announcement “the shot heard ’round the world for American clean energy.”
At least half a dozen offshore wind farms have been proposed along the East Coast and the Great Lakes. Their relatively shallow waters make wind energy more feasible than off the West Coast, where the ocean floor drops off precipitously.
Supporters say the $1 billion Cape Wind project would provide a clean, renewable source of energy that could meet up to 75 percent of the power needs on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. They also say it would provide hundreds of construction jobs, decrease the region’s reliance on fossil fuels and benefit the environment by lowering emissions of greenhouse gases.
Opponents say it would be an industrial blot in an area of pristine beauty and change the region’s historic character. They also warn that the costs to consumers are likely to be double or triple the costs for conventional power. Improvements to the region’s electrical grid and transmission lines could cost $10 billion.
Audra Parker, president and chief executive of the Alliance to Protect Nantucket Sound, said that several groups would go to court to halt the project. While the permit is “a significant piece of the puzzle,” she warned, other pieces must still be put in place to get the project under way.
The Federal Aviation Administration has yet to make a final determination on the project, which it has rated “a presumed hazard” because of potential interference with airplane radar, she said. And Cape Wind has yet to sign a contract with the local utility, National Grid, to carry the wind power, she noted.
She said that nine state and local permits were still being appealed in the courts. And nearly a dozen parties have filed notices of intention to sue, saying the project violates various environmental rules and regulations.
Asked about future hurdles, Mr. Salazar said, “This is the final decision of the United States of America.” While delays could result from challenges, he said, he was “confident” that the courts would uphold his decision.
Officials said the official record of the decision, to be made available later, would spell out ways in which the government could mitigate any negative effects on coastal views by adjusting he number, orientation and color of the turbines.
The coastal Wampanoag tribe, which requires unobstructed views of the sunrise for sacred ceremonies, said Monday that it was preparing to challenge the project for violations of tribal rights.
“We will not stand by and allow our treasured public lands to be marred forever by a corporate giveaway to private industrial energy developers,” Ms. Parker said.
U.S. POLL SHOWS WIND WORKS FOR AMERICANS
Voters Overwhelmingly Support Increased Use of Wind Power and a Strong National Renewable Electricity Standard
Voters overwhelmingly support increasing the use of wind power in the U.S. and adopting a strong Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), according to a national poll released today by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
“The poll’s bottom line is clear: An overwhelming majority of American voters, on a bipartisan basis, want more wind power and support a national RES to increase its use,” said Anna Bennett and Neil Newhouse, partners respectively with Bennett, Petts & Normington and Public Opinion Strategies, the firms that conducted the poll.
“Wind works for America and that is why voters want Congress to pass a strong national RES” said AWEA CEO Denise Bode. “Americans understand that an RES will mean new manufacturing jobs, less dependence on imported energy, and more pure, clean, affordable energy for our country.”
Poll highlights include:
—An overwhelming, bipartisan majority—89%—of American voters (including 84% of Republicans, 88% of Independents and 93% of Democrats)—believe increasing the amount of energy the nation gets from wind is a good idea.
—A majority of Americans—56%—disapprove of the job Congress is doing on renewable energy and 67% believe Congress is not doing enoughto increase renewable energy sources such as wind.
—A majority of Americans—82%—believe the nation’s economy would be stronger (52%) or the same (30%) if we used more renewable energy sources like wind.
—A majority of Americans—77%—support a national Renewable Electricity Standard. This support extends across party lines and includes 65% of Republicans, 69% of Independents, 92% of Democrats.
The poll was conducted March 27-28 by Neil Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Anna Bennett of Bennett, Petts & Normington. The poll sampled a national survey of 600 likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus four percentage points.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. wind industry broke all previous records by installing nearly 10,000 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity in 2009 (enough to serve over 2.4 million homes), but still lags in manufacturing, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) said today in its Q4 report.
These new projects place wind power neck and neck with natural gas as the leading source of new electricity generation for the country. Together, the two sources account for about 80% of the new capacity added in the country last year.
“The U.S. wind energy industry shattered all installation records in 2009, chalking up the Recovery Act as a historic success in creating jobs, avoiding carbon, and protecting consumers,” said AWEA CEO Denise Bode. “But U.S. wind turbine manufacturing – the canary in the mine—is down compared to last year’s levels, and needs long-term policy certainty and market pull in order to grow. We need to set hard targets, in the form of a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), in order to provide the necessary stability for manufacturers to expand their U.S. operations and to seize the historic opportunity we have today to build up a thriving renewable energy industry.”
Early last year, before the Recovery Act (ARRA), the industry anticipated that in 2009 wind power development might drop by as much as 50% from 2008 levels, with equivalent job losses. The clear commitment by the President to create clean energy jobs and the swift implementation of ARRA incentives by the Administration in mid-summer reversed the situation. Recovery Act incentives spurred the growth of construction, operations and maintenance, and management jobs, helping the industry to save and create jobs in those sectors and shine as a bright spot in the economy.
At the same time, the continuing lack of a long-term policy and market signal allowed investment in the manufacturing sector to drop compared to 2008, with one-third fewer wind power manufacturing facilities online, announced and expanded in 2009. The result was net job losses in the manufacturing sector, which were compounded by low orders and high inventory. Looking forward, the critical Recovery Act manufacturing incentives that were announced only at the start of this year will also need to be supplemented with the hard targets of a national Renewable Electricity Standard.
With 4,041 MW completed, this fourth quarter was the strongest in the year but still lower than the fourth quarter of 2008.
The 9,922 MW installed last year expand the nation’s wind plant fleet by 39% and bring total wind power generating capacity in the U.S to over 35,000 MW. The five-year average annual growth rate for the industry is now 39%, up from 32% between 2003 and 2008. U.S. wind projects today generate enough to power the equivalent of 9.7 million homes, protecting consumers from fuel price volatility and strengthening our energy security.
America’s wind power fleet will avoid an estimated 62 million tons of carbon dioxide annually, equivalent to taking 10.5 million cars off the road, and will conserve approximately 20 billion gallons of water annually, which would otherwise be withdrawn for steam or cooling in conventional power plants.