ILSR Submits Critique of Xcel Energy’s Value of Solar Calculation to Minnesota Regulators

Date: 3 Dec 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In November, ILSR submitted joint comments with Community Power and Cooperative Energy Futures to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commision expressing concerns about Xcel Energy’s 2019 Value of Solar calculation. The comments outline issues with the company’s assumptions and ways to improve them.… Read More

What to Consider When Planning for Electric Vehicles

Date: 30 Jul 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In the coming years, as electric vehicle ownership and charging infrastructure grow, communities and the energy system will be transformed. This month, we submitted comments to the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission to inform a regulatory process on accommodating the expansion of electric vehicle use.… Read More

Supporting Affordable Residential Access to Community Solar in Minnesota

Date: 3 May 2018 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In April, ILSR submitted comments in support of affordable residential access to community solar for review by Minnesota’s Public Utilities Commission. These comments concerned a proposed residential adder framework outlined as part of the state’s community solar program and Minnesota Department of Commerce Value of Solar calculation. We argue that, in a recent analysis submitted to the Commission by Xcel Energy, the utility exaggerated costs likely to be incurred under this new framework. Our comments support those made by allies such as Cooperative Energy Futures and advocate for adder calculations that ensure financeability and broad participation among residential subscribers to the state’s community solar program.… Read More

New Year’s Resolutions for Utility Regulators

Date: 22 Dec 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Shocking investigative reports published late in 2017 highlight our longstanding concerns about deficient oversight of growing utility monopolies. This set of New Year’s resolutions we drafted would help utility regulatory commissioners keep their charges in check.… Read More

Paying Utilities for Performance

Date: 22 Dec 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In most states with regulated, monopoly utilities, utilities are compensation based on two factors: energy sales and a return on capital spent, such as when they build a new power plant. In comments filed in late December, 2017, ILSR provides some context for basing utility compensation for its shareholders on actual performance.… Read More

Slow-to-Accelerate EV Charging Program Provides Lessons for Improvement

Date: 12 Jul 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Minnesota’s largest investor-owned utility, Xcel Energy, last month reported sparse participation in a program designed to deliver value to customers who charge their electric vehicles when it’s most convenient for the grid. But despite its benefits for the grid and cost savings for customers, the initiative appears stuck in neutral.

By April 2017, a year and a half after its launch, just 95 Xcel customers had opted in to the state-mandated electric vehicle charging tariff. With nearly 1,000 plug-in vehicles registered to Minnesota drivers — a bulk of them likely in Xcel’s metro-area territory — participation numbers hover well below reasonable expectations. Why?… Read More

Minnesota Regulators Eye Subcommittee to Resolve Distributed Generation Disputes

Date: 24 May 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Better technology and falling costs for years have buoyed the clean energy economy, steadily putting rooftop solar, energy efficiency, and other distributed energy resources within reach of more U.S. households and businesses. Still, many utilities remain averse to accommodating these amenities despite significant — and rising — demand in the marketplace. The disconnect between what customers … Read More

Xcel Has Room for Renewable Generation on its Minnesota Grid. So Where Is It?

Date: 24 Apr 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Determining exactly how much local renewable generation can reach Xcel Energy customers in Minnesota hinges in part on how many of these projects the existing grid can accommodate. To that end, the state’s Public Utilities Commission compelled the utility last year to report on more than 1,000 “feeders” delivering electricity to homes and businesses across its … Read More

Residential Subscribers in Focus as Minnesota Weighs Community Solar Incentives

Date: 22 Apr 2017 | posted in: Energy, Energy Self Reliant States | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

In its filing on providing community solar incentives for residential subscribers, the Department outlined a loose framework for the “adder,” designed to encourage community solar developers to pursue projects accessible that target residential subscribers. The agency pitched an incentive worth $0.025 per kilowatt-hour, to be phased out over time. The residential adder discussion is part of … Read More

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