Energy Storage Installations Hit Record In Fourth Quarter
March 29, 2022
by Peter Maloney
APPA News
March 29, 2022
The U.S. energy storage market set a record in the fourth quarter with new system installations totaling 4,727 megawatt hours (MWh), according to Wood Mackenzie and the American Clean Power Association’s latest U.S. Energy Storage Monitor report.
Even with project delays, there was more energy storage capacity installed in fourth-quarter 2021 than there was in the first three quarters of the year combined, the report said. And, on an annual basis, deployments of grid-scale energy storage nearly tripled year-over-year to 3 gigawatts (GW), 9.2 gigawatt hours (GWh).
Despite a record year, the grid-scale energy storage market did not meet expectations in 2021, the report said. Supply chain challenges delayed more than 2 GW of capacity into 2022 and 2023. Supply chain pressures and delays within interconnection queue processing will persist through 2024, Wood Mackenzie forecast.
“2021 was yet another record for the U.S. energy storage market, with annual installations of multiple gigawatts for the first time,” Jason Burwen, vice president for energy storage at American Clean Power, said in a statement. “Even in the face of continued macro-economic headwinds, interconnection delays, and lack of proactive federal policy, increasing demand for resilient clean energy and volatility in the price of fuel-based generation will drive energy storage deployment forward,” he said, adding, “despite supply tightness leading to some project delays, the grid-scale market is still on track for exponential growth.”
In the non-residential market sector, there were 131 MWh of non-residential energy storage installations in the fourth quarter which brought total annual deployments in 2021 to 162 megawatts (MW), 350 MWh.
Increased storage attachment rates in community solar markets of New York and Massachusetts were the main driver of demand for storage in the non-residential market, the report said.
The residential energy storage market had its strongest quarter to date with 123 MW installed, beating the previous quarterly record of 110 MW in the first quarter of 2021, the report said.
Increasingly effective solar-plus-storage sales in markets outside of California helped establish the new quarterly benchmark and resulted in a national annual total of 436 MW, according to the report.
By 2026, annual installations in the residential market segment are expected to hit 2 GW, 5.4 GWh, with California, Puerto Rico, Texas, and Florida leading the residential market, the report said.
California will continue to be the largest residential energy storage market with three-and-a-half times more storage installed annually in 2027 compared with 2021, the report found.
APPA Recognizes 138 Public Power Utilities For Outstanding Safety Practices
March 29, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 29, 2022
One hundred thirty-eight utilities have earned the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) Safety Award of Excellence for safe operating practices in 2021, APPA said on March 29.
318 utilities from across the country entered the annual Safety Awards. Entrants were placed in categories according to their number of worker-hours and ranked based on the most incident-free records during 2021.
A utility’s incidence rate, used to judge entries, is based on its number of work-related reportable injuries or illnesses and the number of worker-hours during 2021, as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
The Safety Awards have been held annually for more than 65 years.
A complete list of winners is available at www.PublicPower.org.
Appeals Court Reverses Judge’s Injunction Against Federal Social Cost Of GHG Order
March 29, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 29, 2022
The U.S. Appeals Court for the Fifth Circuit recently reversed a federal judge’s decision to grant a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by 10 states that had argued that they will be harmed as a result of an early 2021 Biden Administration move to set interim estimates for the social cost of greenhouse gas emissions for federal agencies to use.
Background
In April 2021, 10 states filed a complaint against the federal government seeking declaratory and injunctive relief as a result of Executive Order 13990 (EO 13990).
EO 13990 reinstated the Interagency Working Group on Social Costs of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. In addition, the Interagency Working Group (IWG) was directed to publish interim estimates for the social cost of carbon, nitrous oxide, and methane — collectively referred to as SC-GHG estimates — for agencies to use when monetizing the value of changes in greenhouse gas emissions resulting from regulations and other relevant agency actions.
The states that filed the complaint are Louisiana, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Dakota, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
A Louisiana-based federal judge agreed with the states and granted a motion for a preliminary injunction filed by the 10 states in February 2022.
In response, the federal government moved to stay the injunction pending appeal arguing, among other things, the states lack standing, their claims are not ripe, and the interim estimates are not final agency action under the Administrative Procedures Act.
Appeals Court
In conducting cost-benefit analyses, agencies consider the impact of the emissions of greenhouse gases. The impact of these emissions on various factors like health, agriculture, and sea levels, can be quantified into dollar amounts per ton of gas emitted—i.e., the SC-GHG, the appeals court noted in its March 16 opinion.
“Because we conclude the government defendants have made a strong showing that they are likely to succeed on the merits, and the balance of harms to the parties favors granting the stay, we grant the government defendants’ motion,” the appeals court said.
The appeals court said that the government defendants are likely to succeed on the merits because the states lack standing. “The Plaintiff States’ claimed injury is ‘increased regulatory burdens’ that may result from the consideration of SC-GHG, and the interim estimates specifically. This injury, however, hardly meets the standards for Article III standing because it is, at this point, merely hypothetical.”
Moreover, the appeals court said that the interim estimates on their own do nothing to the states, adding that the states’ claims “amount to a generalized grievance of how the current administration is considering SC-GHG.”
The appeals court said that the government defendants have shown they will be irreparably harmed absent a stay.
It is unclear how the states’ “qualms with the interim estimates justify halting the President’s IWG. All of this effectively stops or delays agencies in considering SC-GHG in the manner the current administration has prioritized within the bounds of applicable law,” the appeals court said.
“The preliminary injunction’s directive for the current administration to comply with prior administrations’ policies on regulatory analysis absent a specific agency action to review also appears outside the authority of the federal courts. We therefore find the government defendants are irreparably harmed absent a stay of the injunction.”
Public Power Utilities Recognized By APPA For Reliable And Safe Electric Service
March 28, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 28, 2022
Fifty-four of the nation’s more than 2,000 public power utilities earned the Reliable Public Power Provider (RP3) designation from the American Public Power Association (APPA) for providing reliable and safe electric service.
The RP3 designation, which lasts for three years, recognizes public power utilities that demonstrate proficiency in four key disciplines: reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement. Criteria include sound business practices and a utility-wide commitment to safe and reliable delivery of electricity.
This year, 54 utilities earned the designation and, in total, 275 of the more than 2,000 public power utilities nation-wide hold the RP3 designation.
“Running a reliable and safe utility has never been as important as it is today,” said Aaron Haderle, Chair of APPA’s RP3 Review Panel and Manager of Transmission and Distribution Operations at Kissimmee Utility Authority, Florida, in a statement. “Utilities that have earned this designation have demonstrated commitment to serving their communities and constantly looking to improve.”
This is the seventeenth year that RP3 recognition has been offered.
A full list of designees is available at www.PublicPower.org.
Public Power Lineworkers Earn Trophies At APPA National Rodeo
March 28, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 28, 2022
Twelve teams and 14 individuals won awards at the American Public Power Association’s (APPA) twentieth annual Public Power Lineworkers Rodeo, held March 25-26, in Austin, Texas.
Fifty-five teams and 96 apprentices from not-for-profit, community-owned electric utilities across the nation participated. The rodeo is a series of competitive events demonstrating lineworker skills and safe work practices.
“I don’t think you’ll find anyone prouder of their craft than lineworkers,” said Alex Hofmann, vice president of technical and operations services at APPA. “Seeing them out there demonstrating their skill with a focus on safety is awesome. The rodeo promotes comradery and helps support mutual aid,” he added.
The awards honor lineworkers’ expertise, and the events are judged based upon safety, work practices, neatness, ability, equipment handling, and timely event completion.
All safety rules established by APPA’s Safety Manual were observed during events.
There are two levels of competition within the rodeo — journeyman and apprentice. The journeyman teams consist of three members — two climbers and a ground person — and can include an optional alternate.
Journeymen have years of experience within the electric utility trade, while an apprentice lineworker is newer to the craft.
2022 PUBLIC POWER LINEWORKERS RODEO WINNERS
Apprentice – Overall
1st – Bynjamin Cropley, SMUD, California
2nd – Thomas Steverson, City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida
3rd – Matthew Coakley, OUC, Florida
4th – Drew Wingington, SMUD, California
5th – Dustin Pearce, SMUD, California
Apprentice – 90-Degree Crossarm Relocation
1st – Evan Englert, OUC, Florida
2nd – Carlton Blake Paul, Lafayette Utilities System, Louisiana
3rd – Ethan Shellabarger, Kissimmee Utility Authority, Florida
Apprentice – Hurtman Rescue
1st – Carlton Blake Paul, Lafayette Utilities System, Louisiana
2nd – Matthew Barlow, Roseville Electric, California
3rd – Seth Kelley, Lafayette Utilities System, Louisiana
Apprentice – Double Dead-End Bell Change-Out
1st – Zan Habetz, Lafayette Utilities System, Louisiana
2nd – Karl Glass, Kissimmee Utility Authority, Florida
3rd – Jordan Reddick, City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida
Apprentice – Pole Top Pin Insulator Change-Out
1st – Carlton Blake Paul, Lafayette Utilities System, Louisiana
2nd – Zan Habetz, Lafayette Utilities System, Louisiana
3rd – Jordan Reddick, City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida
Apprentice – Written Test
1st – Bynjamin Cropley, SMUD, California
2nd – Jack Schintz, Shakopee Public Utilities Commission, Minnesota
3rd – Thomas Steverson, City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida
Journeyman – Overall
1st – Nashville Electric Service, Tennessee: Adam Harris, Josh Jones, Derek Pennington, and Mike Shannon
2nd – Turlock Irrigation District, California: Raphael Battig, Josh Klikna, and Dustin Krieger
3rd – Colorado Springs Utilities: Tyler Dimenza, John Rombeck, Mario Sanchez, and Cody Strong
4th – Santee Cooper, South Carolina: Austin Griswold, Dow Hardee, Joe Sawyer, and Chad Williams
5th – City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida: Randall Crum, Josh Helton, Justin Johnson, and Coy Judd
Journeyman – 4kV Crossarm Change-Out
1st – Roseville Electric, California: Kyle Giesser, Phillip Hartnett, Robert Myles, and Tom Pontes
2nd – Santee Cooper, South Carolina: Austin Griswold, Dow Hardee, Joe Sawyer, and Chad Williams
3rd – JEA, Florida: Chance Jones, Caleb Macabitas, Cody Stokes, and Adam Strickland
Journeyman – Obstacle Course
1st – Nashville Electric Service, Tennessee: Tommy Barksdale, Durwood Burks, Daniel Pease, and Cody Roberts
2nd – Santee Cooper, South Carolina: Jamie Anderson, Drew Boatwright, Josh Sawyer, and Charlie Thompkins
3rd – SMUD, California: Tanner Barnes, Justin Estes, and Colt Hodgkin
Journeyman – Hurtman Rescue
1st – JEA, Florida: Chance Jones, Caleb Macabitas, Cody Stokes, and Adam Strickland
2nd – Ponca City Energy, Oklahoma: Tomas Alvarez, Chris Crain, and Cory Waite
3rd – Roseville Electric, California: Kyle Giesser, Phillip Hartnett, Robert Myles, and Tom Pontes
Journeyman – Suspension Insulator Change-Out
1st – Santee Cooper, South Carolina: Jamie Anderson, Drew Boatwright, Josh Sawyer, and Charlie Thompkins
2nd – City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida: Randall Crum, Josh Helton, Justin Johnson, and Coy Judd
3rd – JEA, Florida: Dan Baye, Kelvin Jasper, Gregory Scott Johnson, and Franklee Taylor
Journeyman – Transformer Banking
1st – Santee Cooper, South Carolina: Austin Griswold, Dow Hardee, Joe Sawyer, and Chad Williams
2nd – Nashville Electric Service, Tennessee: Tommy Barksdale, Durwood Burks, Daniel Pease, and Cody Roberts
3rd – City of Tallahassee Electric Utility, Florida: Randall Crum, Josh Helton, Justin Johnson, and Coy Judd
Colorado Springs Utilities To Operate, Maintain Fort Carson’s Electric And Gas Infrastructure
March 28, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 28, 2022
Colorado Springs Utilities will begin operating and maintaining Fort Carson’s electric and natural gas infrastructure outside of buildings in early 2023 under an agreement announced March 16.
Col. Nate Springer, commander, U.S. Army Garrison Fort Carson, and Aram Benyamin, CEO of Colorado Springs Utilities, signed the pact, known as an Intergovernmental Support Agreement (IGSA), during a utilities board meeting at Colorado Springs Utilities.
“Because Colorado Springs Utilities is so much larger than our base operations contractor, it immediately makes us more resilient,” Springer said.
Army leaders and utilities board members indicated that the agreement for Colorado Springs Utilities crews to operate and maintain outdoor infrastructure has been in the works for close to three years and that it will allow the Mountain Post to harness the local utility’s means, methods, supply chain and network.
The partners said it will not impact other utility customers and that it should be a seamless process for Fort Carson.
“We have staff, a warehouse system and bigger buying power that we can leverage to support (Fort Carson), which will help keep costs minimal as well as lower costs in some areas,” said Travas Deal, chief operations officer, Colorado Springs Utilities.
This IGSA is slated to begin in January 2023 and last for 10 years, with one-year renewal options.
Springer explained that it’s just one of many energy projects and efforts that the post has planned for the near future.
FERC Designates Pipeline Certificate, GHG Emissions Policy Statements As Drafts
March 28, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 28, 2022
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on March 24 voted to seek additional comments on two policy statements it issued in February that provide guidance regarding the certification of interstate natural gas pipelines and consideration of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in natural gas project reviews.
FERC last month issued an update to its 1999 Certificate Policy Statement and also issued an interim policy statement focused on the Commission’s assessment of the impact of a project’s GHG emissions. FERC had originally called for comments on the interim policy statement on GHG emissions by April 4, but the agency did not provide for further comments on the updated certificate policy statement.
After further consideration, the Commission at its March open meeting designated both documents as draft policy statements on which the Commission is seeking further public comment.
The two draft policy statements will not apply to pending project applications or filed applications before the Commission issues any final guidance in these dockets.
FERC Chairman Richard Glick noted in a statement that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has on several occasions, including as recently as March 11, “cast significant doubt about the approach the Commission has been taking to site natural gas pipelines and LNG facilities. The policy statements were intended to provide a more legally durable framework for the Commission to consider proposed natural gas projects.”
However, in light of concerns that the policy statements created further confusion about the Commission’s approach to the siting of natural gas projects, “the Commission decided it would be helpful to gather additional comments from all interested stakeholders, including suggestions for creating greater certainty, before implementing the new policy statements,” Glick added.
He confirmed that FERC will process pending gas certificate applications under the Commission’s longstanding 1999 policy statement, as further interpreted by FERC and judicial precedent. Glick also highlighted a number of gas infrastructure projects approved at the March 24 FERC meeting.
Glick also said at the meeting that “the policy statements, when they are finalized, will apply only to subsequently filed applications for pipeline and LNG facility approval.”
Comments on the policy statements are due by April 25, 2022, with reply comments due May 25, 2022.
All five FERC Commissioners earlier this month testified before a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to review recent actions of FERC relating to permitting construction and operation of interstate natural gas pipelines and other natural gas infrastructure projects.
Click here for FERC’s order on the draft policy statements.
South San Joaquin Irrigation District Bid To Replace PG&E As Power Provider Advances
March 27, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 27, 2022
The California Supreme Court on March 16 denied Pacific Gas & Electric’s (PG&E) petition for review of a decision by the Third District Court of Appeal, validating the San Joaquin County Local Agency Formation Commission’s determination that South San Joaquin Irrigation District (SSJID) has the ability and authority to provide electric utility service to its customers.
As a result, the SSJID can pursue acquisition of investor-owned PG&E’s electrical assets through eminent domain of the PG&E service area in the SSJID district boundaries, which includes the cities of Escalon, Manteca, and Ripon, and surrounding rural areas.
As part of the denial, PG&E will be required to pay legal costs to SSJID incurred while appealing this case in court over the past four years.
A December 2021 decision issued by the Third District Court of Appeal validated the Local Agency Formation Commission’s approval of SSJID’s ability and authority to provide retail electric utility service to its customers. The decision also allows the district to move forward with the ability to provide those services by purchasing PG&E’s facilities through the process of eminent domain.
The SSJID expects to resume its eminent domain efforts in San Joaquin County Superior Court within the next year.
SSJID was established in 1909 and is headquartered in Manteca, Calif.
SSJID provides agricultural irrigation water to about 56,000 acres surrounding Escalon, Ripon and Manteca, and wholesale drinking water to the cities of Manteca, Lathrop, Tracy, indirectly serving over 193,000 residents, and in the future, the city of Escalon.
SSJID, along with Oakdale Irrigation District, owns and operates the Tri-Dam Project, a series of storage reservoirs and electric generation facilities that produce zero-carbon hydropower in the Stanislaus Riverwater shed.
Target Tests First Net Zero Energy Location
March 27, 2022
by Vanessa Nikolic
APPA News
March 27, 2022
Target Corporation recently announced its most sustainable store yet, which will test multiple innovations that generate renewable energy and reduce the building’s emissions.
Located in Vista, California, the store will take part in a remodeling project to help guide the retailer’s efforts to achieve its sustainability goals.
The Vista location will generate renewable energy through more than 3,000 solar panels across its roof and recently installed carport canopies.
Target has applied for a net zero energy certification from the International Living Future Institute. The California store is expected to produce up to a 10% energy surplus each year that it can transmit back to the local power grid.
The building features additional environmentally friendly elements to further reduce emissions, including its HVAC heating that is powered through the rooftop solar panels, instead of natural gas. The store also made the switch to carbon dioxide refrigeration, a natural refrigerant that Target plans to implement chain-wide by 2040 to reduce its direct operations’ emissions by 20%.
Target is building on reducing its carbon footprint to support the company’s sustainability strategy Target Forward. One of the company’s commitments include achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions enterprise-wide by 2040.
While the Vista store is the most sustainable Target location to date, the company has other action items in progress. Target’s offsite solar and wind energy contracts are effectively guiding the company toward its renewable energy goal, as it has secured new partnerships that will allow it to purchase nearly half of its electricity from renewable sources later this year.
Many Target locations already use LED lighting instead of conventional lighting which has helped to conserve 10% of its stores’ energy use.
Additionally, the recycling and donations operations at the Vista store, along with other Target facilities, support the company’s goal to move 90% of its U.S. operations’ waste away from landfills by 2030 as it aims to work toward a Zero Waste certification.
The Vista site also offers electric vehicle (EV) charging spaces to support Target’s nationwide EV efforts, as the retailer offers more than 1,350 spaces at over 150 locations across 20 states.
Kansas City Board of Public Utilities Pandemic Response Recognized
March 25, 2022
by Paul Ciampoli
APPA News Director
March 25, 2022
The Kansas City Board of Public Utilities (BPU) was recently named the winner of the PR News 2022 Nonprofit Awards in the social responsibility category for its on-going efforts to assist and help customers and the community manage challenges during the pandemic.
These national awards recognize organizations, individuals, and initiatives in the nonprofit sector that work to better their communities and the world around them.
BPU noted that COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted Wyandotte County, Kansas, over the last 24 months, both from a health perspective and economically, with many experiencing lost income and wages, food insecurity and psychological strain.
“As a socially responsible partner in the community, BPU undertook a variety of initiatives and programs and educational efforts during that period to assist customers, including those experiencing financial hardship and/or difficulty managing their utility payments, helping them access or utilize all of the various resources available,” the public power utility said.
This included campaigns to promote and connect the community to various local, state, and federal programs and resources to assist, including the state-managed KERA program, direct financial assistance and relief from BPU in concert with the United Way (more than 600 families assisted in last 12 months), enactment of temporary disconnection moratoriums, remote opportunities for bills payment/questions in order to be safe, and much more.
These communications efforts included the use of direct mailers, website and other customer service enhancements, flyers and media promotions to help the community be safe and more easily access the resources they required.
This latest award is one of several BPU has received in recent months for its on-going commitment to the community and its COVID response efforts, which included being named a local Corporate Champion by Ingram’s magazine at the 2021 Philanthropist of the Year Awards in December of 2021.
BPU has been serving Wyandotte County for more than 100 years, and was recently highlighted on the PR News 2022 Nonprofit Awards webpage, along with other award recipients.