Back in July 2015, FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) cleared the way for Colorado’s Delta-Montrose Electric Association (DMEA), as well as other local electricity service provider co-op members, to step outside the bounds of a 40-year power supply contract with Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association and tap into local renewable energy resources.
FERC's ruling, which was unanimous, clarified what had been deemed unclear wording in PURPA (Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act), as well as Tri-State's regulatory status. The contract DMEA and 43 other electric co-ops had signed with Tri-State in 2001 required them to purchase 95 percent of their electricity from the regional T&D service provider.
With the ruling, FERC opened the door for DMEA. Tri-State and electric co-op members throughout the U.S. to tap into cost-competitive renewable energy resources right in their backyards. DMEA said it intended to move forward and contract for electricity from a small-scale hydropower facility to be built on a local irrigation canal proposed by Percheron, DMEA's Manager of Member Relations and Human Resources Virginia Harman explained in an interview.
News from Texas this week offers another example of how local electric co-ops and municipal utilities are turning to local emissions-free renewable energy resources to the benefit of their customers, communities and local ecosystems.
Advanced Microgrid Solutions (AMS) and Pedernales Electric Cooperative (PEC) announced that they were awarded a $3.24 million grant by the Department of Energy (DOE) to demonstrate the use of advanced energy storage technologies to integrate high penetrations of solar energy into the electric grid in Texas:
Advanced Microgrid Solutions and Pedernales Electric Cooperative Win $3.24 Million Department of Energy Grant to Advance Grid Integration of Solar Energy in Texas.
February 3, 2017
solar storage
DOE
texas electricity