Author Archives Laura Arnold

IURC Decision Limits Cost Recovery on Duke Energy Edwardsport IGCC Plant on Indiana

Posted by Laura Arnold / December 27, 2012 / Posted in Edwardsport IGCC Plant, Office of Utility Consumer Counselor (OUCC), Uncategorized / No Comments

Dear Indiana DG Readers:

The Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) this afternoon (12/27/12) approved a modified Settlement Agreement in the Duke Energy Indiana Edwardsport case.

Please find below the official IURC News Release. Download the IURC News Release HERE > http://www.in.gov/iurc/files/IURC_Decision_Limits_Cost_Recovery_on_Duke_Energy_Edwardsport_Plant.pdf

Download a copy of the order HERE > http://www.in.gov/iurc/files/Order_in_Cause_No_43114_IGCC_4_S1.pdf

The order is 134 pages but most of the order summarizes the case and the procedural history.

The Commission Discussion and Findings begins at p. 109.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement starts at p. 123 of the 134 page document., however, since this was not a settlement signed by all the parties to the proceeding this is likely not over. More details will be covered as they unfold. Watch this blog for further developments.

Enjoy!

Laura Ann Arnold

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IURC News Release
Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission
101 W. Washington St.
Suite 1500 E.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

For Immediate Release
December 27, 2012
Contact Information:
Danielle McGrath
Office: (317) 232‐2297

IURC Decision Limits Cost Recovery on Duke Energy Edwardsport Plant

Commission approves modified settlement agreement and credits ratepayers an additional $28 million

INDIANAPOLIS – Today the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) modified and approved a settlement agreement reached in the Duke Energy Indiana case involving the revised cost estimate for the electric utility’s new integrated gasification combined cycle facility (IGCC) in Edwardsport, Ind.

The settlement agreement set a hard cost cap for the project at $2.595 billion (as of June 30, 2012), which prohibits Duke Energy from recovering project construction costs above this amount from retail electric customers, excluding costs related to force majeure situations defined in the agreement. It also requires the utility to absorb nearly $900 million in cost overruns given the plant is now projected to cost approximately $3.5 billion.

Although Duke Energy is limited in its recovery of project costs, the settlement agreement does allow the utility to recover financing charges accrued to fund the project’s construction. This arrangement is otherwise known as allowance for funds used during construction (AFUDC) and has been approved thus far in this case in accordance with state law.

Through a modification to the settlement agreement, the IURC also provided $28 million in additional value to ratepayers by directing Duke Energy to credit customers for cost control incentive payments found to be unwarranted, given the delays that arose from the project cost overruns. The IURC also modified the settlement agreement in such a way that if Duke Energy should recover through litigation claims more than the IGCC project costs absorbed by its shareholders, any surplus recovery is required to be returned to ratepayers.

The investment recovery sharing coupled with the other terms of the settlement agreement created value that was found to be in the public interest. The settlement agreement was reached by the utility, Nucor Steel Indiana, the Duke industrial group, and the Indiana Office of Utility Consumer Counselor. Packaged with the settlement agreement is also a guarantee by Duke Energy that it will not file a rate case prior to March 2013, nor implement one before April 2014.

For your reference, the IURC’s decision under Cause No. 43114 IGCC 4 S1 can be found online at www.in.gov/iurc. To read the “Commission Discussion and Findings” section, please go to page 109. If you need to access other case‐related documents, visit our Electronic Document System at https://myweb.in.gov/IURC/eds/. Instructions on how to best use this database can be found at www.in.gov/iurc/2666.htm.
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The Commission is a fact‐finding body that hears evidence in cases filed before it and makes decisions based on the evidence presented in those cases. An advocate of neither the public nor the utilities, the IURC is required by state statute to make decisions that balance the interests of all parties to ensure the utilities provide adequate and reliable service at reasonable prices. For more information, please visit: www.in.gov/iurc.

Politico’s 13 People to Watch in 2013 Includes US Senator-elect Joe Donnelly

Posted by Laura Arnold / December 27, 2012 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Who's set to grab headlines in 2013?

From a newly appointed senator to a retired astronaut, political observers will have plenty of personalities to watch out for in the next year. And with familiar faces reinventing themselves and new potential powerhouses arriving on the scene, expect noteworthy efforts from the following group of politicians, policymakers and media leaders.

Here's POLITICO's list of 13 to watch in 2013. You won't want to miss them:

Click here to read the entire list. http://www.nj.com/us-politics/index.ssf/2012/12/13_people_to_watch_in_politics.html

I am only going to include the information about U.S. Senator-elect Joe Donnelly from Indiana.

IndianaDG will be watching Sen. Donnelly to see if he will support President Obama's efforts to address climate change.

Laura Ann Arnold

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Joe Donnelly

Joe Donnelly said it over and over on the campaign trail this year: He will bring "Hoosier common sense" to the Senate.

While his opponent, Indiana state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, made news in 2012 with his controversial comment that "even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that is something that God intended to happen," Donnelly grabbed the headlines when they counted, winning Sen. Dick Lugar's seat. Donnelly, a 57-year-old three-term congressman, delivered a seat long held by Republicans to the Democrats, and he's the first Democrat to win statewide office in Indiana since Evan Bayh was elected to his second term in the Senate in 2004.

During Donnelly's congressional career, he has been a member of the moderate and conservative Blue Dog Coalition -- a once powerful group that saw its total membership cut in half in November -- and has notably broken with party leadership on budgetary issues.

In 2013, look for the new senator, who campaigned on his moderate voting record as well as his opposition to abortion and support for gun rights, to be a force in helping the centrist wing of the Democratic Party fight for relevance in the 113th Congress. It's time to see what "Hoosier common sense" really means.

Progress, Duke want to slash payments for green energy in N.C. | RenewablesBiz; What are the implications for Indiana?

Posted by Laura Arnold / December 27, 2012 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Dear IndianaDG Readers:

This action by Duke Energy in North Carolina is troubling and probably does not bode well for us as we participate in the Stakeholder Meetings with Duke Energy Indiana as they work to prepare their Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) by November 2013.

Also watch for another post today after the weekly conference of the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) where an order on the Edwardsport plant is on the agenda. See http://www.in.gov/iurc/files/20121221153142111.pdf

Laura Ann Arnold

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At a time that Progress Energy is seeking a 14 percent rate increase for residential customers in North Carolina, the Raleigh power company wants to slash payments as much as 29 percent for electricity it buys from solar generators and other renewables producers. If approved by the N.C.

via Progress, Duke want to slash payments for green energy | RenewablesBiz.

Dec 25 - The News & Observer

If approved by the N.C. Utilities Commission, the request would reduce rates the electric utility pays for green energy to levels not seen since 1984, when there was no green energy to speak of in North Carolina.

The power company's request is tied to the plummeting cost of natural gas, which is lowering the market price of electricity nationwide. Progress contends that it is now overpaying for the green energy it has to buy under state law, and passing on those inflated costs to its customers, who ultimately bear the financial burden in their monthly bills.

The move to cut rates comes at a crucial time for solar power in the state as the industry has nearly weaned itself off a key subsidy.

Only a few years ago, power companies paid solar generators a premium of about 12 cents for every kilowatt hour of power, roughly twice as much in subsidy support as the solar producers made from selling electricity. Today, solar producers typically receive less than 1 cent a kilowatt hour as a subsidy.

The shrinking subsidy -- known as a "renewable energy certificate" -- had solar advocates congratulating themselves for creating a self-sustaining industry in relatively short order. With the subsidy expected to go away in the near future, North Carolina's solar industry is operating on razor-thin margins and could come to a standstill if Progress significantly cuts payments for electricity, advocates warn.

"There would be a big curtailment," said Richard Harkrader, chief executive at Carolina Solar Energy, a Durham developer. "The stuff under contract would go ahead, but it would be very difficult to build any new (solar projects)."

Cuts up to 29% sought

Both Progress and its parent company, Charlotte-based Duke Energy, are requesting to cut the electricity rates they pay to green energy projects with a capacity of 5 megawatts and less.

Projects larger than 5 megawatts are not covered by regulated rates. They negotiate power purchase agreements with utilities individually. However, any rate established by the Utilities Commission for the smaller producers is expected to set a precedent for the way power companies deal with the entire renewables industry, Harkrader said.

The two utility companies want to offer similar rates, but Progress, which currently pays more than Duke, is asking for a greater reduction to achieve price parity.

Progress is asking for cuts between 14 percent and 29 percent for 15-year contracts to buy power from solar, biomass and wind power producers. Duke is asking for cuts between 3 percent and 14 percent. There are more than two dozen rates, based on various factors.

"It is important that the costs paid to qualifying facilities reflect the utilities' true cost," said Progress spokesman Mike Hughes. He said utilities must "ensure that retail customers do not have to subsidize energy sources priced above the market."

Charge more, pay less?

Hughes said there's nothing hypocritical for the company to ask households to pay more for electricity while it seeks to pay less for electricity bought from solar producers. From an accounting perspective, not all electricity is equal.

The rate increase for retail customers is designed to cover the cost of transmission line upgrades, new power plant construction and other operating expenses.

The cost for electricity bought from green energy producers reflects something much more specific: the avoided cost of not having to build a "peaker" power plant that runs only a few weeks out of the year.

The N.C. Utilities Commission has scheduled a public hearing for Feb. 12. Given the complexity of the case, the commission is not expected to decide until this summer at the earliest.

Progress and Duke are required to use a certain amount of green power, even if they have to pay subsidies, to comply with a 2007 state energy law. The subsidies were intended as a temporary step to jump-start green industries.

North Carolina solar producers also benefit from a 35 percent state tax credit that can be combined with a 30 percent federal tax credit to reduce the material, equipment and installation costs of a project by more than half.

Reasoning raises questions

The utilities' requests for lower rates are based on two factors. One factor -- historically low natural gas prices -- is indisputable. The other factor is anything but: Progress and Duke say that building power plants is becoming cheaper because modern plants are more efficient and last longer.

Those claims will be scrutinized by experts hired by renewables producers and by the staff of the N.C. Public Staff, the state's consumer advocacy agency.

"They're not actually using the cost of a power plant they're building," said Gisele Rankin, a senior lawyer at the Public Staff. "They're using a hypothetical one that a consultant came up with."

Progress officials felt the urgency to reduce the rate paid for clean power was so great that they asked the Utilities Commission to approve the rate cut Nov. 1, rather than wait until next year for a decision. Facing charges of blatant unfairness, however, the company backed down and instead agreed to let the current (higher) rate apply to any green energy project proposed by Dec. 1. The Utilities Commission is expected to rule on this proposed deadline soon.

In a Dec. 5 filing to the Utilities Commission, Progress dismissed the green industry's position as self-serving: "It is unlikely that (alternative energy developers) would fault this proposal if (Progress Energy's) proposed rates were increasing, and not decreasing."

In the month leading up to the deadline, about 130 alternative energy producers, most of them solar, filed proposals for new projects representing more than 200 megawatts of power, Hughes said.

There's no guarantee all will be built, but for now they have locked in at the higher rates.

Murawski: 919-829-8932

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Visit The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) at www.newsobserver.com

Distributed by MCT Information Services

Ft. Wayne 360 Sun Solutions Partners with Indianapolis Alternate Source to Install Solar Thermal and PV at Illinois Car Wash

Posted by Laura Arnold / December 24, 2012 / Posted in Uncategorized / No Comments

Congratulations to Indiana Distributed Energy Alliance Board Members Jeff Peterson with 360 Sun Solutions in Ft. Wayne and Neil Thompson with Alternate Source in Indianapolis (actually Fishers, IN) on their partnership on this solar car wash project!

For more information contact:

Jeff Peterson with 360 Sun Solutions at (260) 494-9809 or jeffp@360sunsolutions.com
Neil Thompson with Alternate Source at (317) 937-7052 or ncthompson@sbcglobal.net

Laura Ann Arnold

Click above photo to enlarge or see below.

Neil Thompson, left, and Dustin Holt of Indianapolis-based Alternate Source assemble part of the racking system that will hold solar panals at Super Wash in Tilton. A solar voltaic system is being installed at the business. Photographer: Rick Danzl http://www.news-gazette.com/image/2012-12-21/1221-loca-super-wash26862jpg.html

Car wash owner sees payback from solar technology

Fri, 12/21/2012 - 8:00am | Don Dodson

TILTON — A Vermilion County business owner is adding solar technology to the Super Wash car washes in Tilton, Catlin and Georgetown.

Richard Nevels, the Super Wash franchisee for those locations, is adding a solar voltaic system to the Tilton car wash and installing solar voltaic and solar thermal systems to the Catlin and Georgetown locations.

When completed early next year, the solar thermal systems will heat the floors, heat the soap and polish and keep the overhead hose and rail from freezing up, he said.

The solar voltaic systems will collect solar energy that will be fed to the Ameren Illinois network, cutting Nevels' bills from Ameren.

Nevels figures the systems will trim 40 percent to 50 percent of his utility costs.

"My payback will be four to five years on the investment. From then on, it will be savings," he said.

Nevels embarked on the projects after winning federal and state grants totaling about $100,000.

One grant came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Energy for America Program; the other, from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

He also expects to get a $50,000 federal tax credit for the project. So his own investment in the approximately $200,000 project will end up being about $50,000, he said.

This is the second time Nevels has embarked on a solar project. The first came in 2010 when he installed a solar thermal system in the newly built Tilton car wash.

"We were probably the first car wash in the Midwest to use solar technology to do that," said Nevels. "We had such favorable results that we started investigating retrofitting our older car washes in Georgetown and Catlin."

He and his wife Shannon had acquired those in 2007.

The general contractor for the current project is 360 Sun Solutions of Fort Wayne, Ind. That company will install the solar thermal systems, and a contractor from Indianapolis, Alternate Source, is expected to install the solar voltaic system.

"The whole project should be completed in less than a month," Nevels said.

Nevels said the Super Wash chain, which has about 400 car washes across the United States, "is looking carefully at what's happening with me."

"Everyone is excited about the early returns," he said, adding that if the project is successful, similar installations might be done at as many as 100 other car washes.

Nevels said because commercial car washes have drains, they stand to have a smaller impact on the environment than the washing of cars in driveways. He figures the addition of solar technology will further reduce Super Wash's carbon footprint.

"It's not just good for business, it's good for the environment, and at some point, it will make good economic sense, too," he said.

Six Indiana Congregations Awarded OED CCC Funds to Install Solar Panels; Seeking to Cut Energy Use by 25 – 40 Percent, Inspire Others to Follow

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

Contact for More Information: Madeline Hirschland (812) 391-3679

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

INDIANAPOLIS – December 14, 2012 — Six Indiana congregations will install solar panels and plan to reduce their energy use by 25 to 40 percent under a $150,000 grant awarded by the Indiana Office of Energy Development (OED), Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light (H-IPL) announced today.

The six congregations in Bloomington and Indianapolis will also engage a third of their members to reduce their household energy use by one seventh (14 percent) under H-IPL’s Seventh Day Initiative, which is based upon the Judeo-Christian call to use the seventh day as a day of rest – a day to conserve energy.

H-IPL’s application was one of only 5 projects funded from among 58 applications for OED’s Community Conservation Challenge (CCC) grants, a federally funded program that promotes energy efficiency, renewable energy and alternative fuel vehicle retrofit programs.

“Energy efficiency is paramount for homeowners, businesses and communities,” said Lt. Governor Skillman. “Projects like H-IPL are innovative and creative and they’ll provide tangible energy savings for Hoosiers.”

The six congregations that will install solar panels and participate in the Seventh Day Initiative are:

Congregation Beth Shalom, Bloomington,
Englewood Christian Church, Indianapolis,
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Bloomington,
Trinity Episcopal Church, Bloomington,
Unitarian Universalist Church, Bloomington, and
Unitarian Universalist Church, Indianapolis.

“Each of our faith traditions has issued an urgent call to act on behalf of God’s creation, the poor, and future generations. Our efforts to conserve energy have tremendous potential to help us avert a climate catastrophe. When congregations from a number of faith traditions all cut their energy use significantly, they help us all see what is possible. We can do this together—now.”

Each of these congregations had already taken steps to reduce energy use and encourage conservation among their members. In three congregations, more than a third of members already have taken actions to cut home energy use by at least a seventh. The congregations also have already cut their own natural gas use by 39 percent, on average, and electricity use by 18 percent.

As part of a commitment under the grant, H-IPL and its partners will offer a series of Using Energy Prudently workshops in 10 locations throughout Indiana, beginning in the Fall of 2013. Workshop hosts will include the Oldenburg Franciscan Center in southern Indiana, the Mennonite Merry Lea Environmental Center near Albion in northern Indiana and many others throughout the state. The U.S. Green Building Council’s south central Indiana chapter will help H-IPL design these workshops for lay leaders, with a goal of reaching leaders of least 225 congregations with 27,000 members throughout the state. Other project partners include the Southern Indiana Renewable Energy Network (SIREN).

Through the workshops, H-IPL’s goal is to help congregations throughout the state reduce their energy use and support their members as they do the same. Congregations that participate in the workshops will be eligible for a discounted energy audit by the firm Goals2Green and free energy assessments for their members.

Hoosier Interfaith Power and Light, an affiliate of the national Interfaith Power and Light, seeks to inspire and equip Hoosiers of faith to respond to climate change. Its mission is to “call together Hoosiers of faith as stewards of creation in order to promote energy conservation, energy efficiency, renewable energy and related sustainable practices.”

Individuals and congregations of all faiths are welcome to join H-IPL in this effort. To learn more about H-IPL and the Seventh Day Initiative, go to www.hoosieripl.org .