The Northeast region hydrogen and fuel cell industry experienced significant growth over the last four years based on several factors such as employment, revenue and investment, labor income, and state and local tax revenue.

In 2015, the hydrogen and fuel cell supply chain contributed nearly $1.4 billion in revenue and investment, more than 6,550 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and labor income of approximately $620 million, according to a study by The Northeast Electrochemical Energy Storage Cluster, administered by the Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology Inc.

The study also reported that 2015 state and local tax revenues stemming from the Northeast region’s hydrogen and fuel cell industry were in excess of $83 million.

Currently, more than 600 Connecticut companies are part of the Northeast supply chain. According to the study, Connecticut’s hydrogen and fuel cell sector realized $726 million in revenue and investment, generated 3,400 direct, indirect and induced jobs plus more than $340 million in labor income, and contributed more than $39 million in state and local tax revenues in 2015.  For full article.

Energy policy is ever changing in Connecticut and despite a sharp focus this legislative session on growing budget deficits, lawmakers are considering a flurry of bills that would impact Connecticut’s energy landscape, particularly in the renewables sector.

Clean energy advocates are pushing policy changes that hint at broader tensions between utilities and developers of distributed generation, like solar panels, fuel cells, wind turbines and biomass plants.

Questions are also being raised about the long-term financial viability of trash-to-energy plants, the future of nuclear power in the state, and how the costs of expanded solar and other renewable energies should be fairly distributed.

The most significant proposal this year, pitched to the Energy and Technology Committee, would allow utility companies Eversource and Avangrid (formerly United Illuminating) to increase the amount of renewable energy projects they can build, own and operate by nearly seven-fold, from 30 megawatts to 200 megawatts.

Unclear foes and supporters

Senate Bill 224’s supporters and opponents aren’t split down predictable lines.

Avangrid favors the bill, calling it “a means to maximize the production of larger scale, in-state renewable technologies.”

But Eversource urged lawmakers to reject the measure, saying it would rather focus on the myriad projects pitched during a recent renewable energy procurement effort coordinated by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). As part of that multi-state bidding process, developers proposed 240 megawatts of clean energy projects in Connecticut, including plans to build the state’s largest solar and fuel cell developments.

Several major energy developers, like SolarCity and NRG, argued the bill would put too much market power in the hands of utilities, which have been mostly barred from owning generation here since deregulation in the late 1990s. Industry association ReNew Northeast argued that utility owned renewables would likely be more expensive for customers than those provided by private competitors.

Meanwhile, Danbury’s FuelCell Energy and East Hartford’s Connecticut Center for Advanced Technology, which has fuel-cell partnerships, both support the measure.

Other bills on deck

DEEP is attempting to revive a stalled “shared-solar” pilot program, which is supposed to allow groups of ratepayers who can’t install solar panels on their own dwellings to use renewable energy produced by shared-solar panels or clean technology.

DEEP recently submitted testimony supporting a bill that would allow Eversource and Avangrid to recover the cost of administering the two-year, six-megawatt program, a key issue that has divided the utilities and clean-energy advocates.

But there’s still disagreement between both sides over how the costs would be recouped and over what time period.

The legislative fight is playing out as utilities across the U.S. try to fend off incentives for renewable power generation that could threaten their own viability.

Virtual net-metering

Connecticut farmers could benefit from House Bill 5242, which expands their access to virtual net-metering.

Currently, only municipalities and state entities can take full advantage of virtual net-metering, which allows participants to share electricity from a single renewable energy source or “assign” their renewable billing credits to other customers. The bill would allow owners of agricultural properties to also own, lease or contract for those renewable facilities.

Meantime, House Bill 5309 would require the quasi-public Connecticut Green Bank and the state building inspector to develop a standardized solar permit application for all solar projects, to speed up the approval process. But it will be up to municipalities to decide whether to adopt it.

The solar industry has pushed for years for quicker and cheaper permitting, which they argue would speed adoption of the technology and reduce soft costs.

Michael Trahan, executive director of advocacy group Solar Connecticut, argued the latest bill wasn’t needed because, at the legislature’s direction, the Green Bank has already worked to develop permitting processes with municipal officials.

He argued it would be more helpful to cap permitting fees and require online permit applications.

Trash-to-energy feels natural gas pressures

Senate Bill 168 would require the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to conduct a study of Connecticut’s trash-to-energy facilities, which burn approximately two-thirds of the state’s waste stream.

Mark Bobman, executive director of the Bristol Policy Energy Board, which oversees waste management programs for 18 communities, said the handful of trash-to-energy plants in the state are struggling — and could financially collapse — because low natural gas prices have cut into the price they can fetch for power generated at their plants.

There are concerns that a failure of trash-to-energy plants could lead to higher disposal prices for Connecticut business and residents, since it may require waste to be shipped out of state.

Both Bobman and the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) asked the Energy and Technology Committee to consider creating a renewable energy credit for trash-to-energy plants. COST also asked lawmakers to expedite completion of the study by Dec. 1.

“Energy prices have dropped to historic low levels, for the most part creating a boon for consumers but in the long run, many believe this is a turbulent and unstable marketplace,” Bobman wrote.

Bobman said trash-to-energy facilities will be vital for the state to reach its goal of hitting a 60 percent recycling rate by 2024.

Nuke plant: Don’t forget about us

Connecticut’s energy policy considers lots of different technologies to be “renewable,” which earns them a spot in the state’s renewable portfolio standard. The RPS mandates that utilities buy an increasing amount of power from renewable sources over time, hitting 27 percent by 2020. Much of that must be “Class I” sources like solar and wind, which are among the cleanest in the RPS.

One major energy generator that’s not included in the RPS, even though it produces no carbon dioxide, is Waterford’s Millstone Nuclear Power Station, owned by Dominion.

Kevin Hennessy, Dominion’s director of state and local affairs, reminded legislators last month that Millstone, which produces approximately 25 percent of Connecticut’s installed generation capacity, will soon be one of the only nuclear plants in New England, following the planned closure of Massachusetts’ Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Station in 2019. Pilgrim’s owner, Entergy, is also in the process of closing a Vermont nuclear plant. A New Hampshire nuke plant operated by NextEra Energy remains operational.

“It’s a challenging environment,” Hennessy said. “Gas is cheap. While [Millstone] is well positioned for now, a few years from now, I don’t know what that position will be.”

Hennessy said it could be favorable for Millstone if Connecticut follows recent proposals in New York and Illinois to effectively create an RPS tier for nuclear power, but he stopped short of advocating for such changes in this state.

“The legislature has been very good at looking at the different resources they want to procure,” he said.

This is a unique opportunity to interact with key legislators and to speak about the value of renewable energy and energy efficiency in Connecticut and discuss what is important to your company.

Refreshments will be served.  Parking is available in garage to rear of Legislative Office Building.

RSVP to Jackie Rowe @ 860.240.6140 or jrowe@murthalaw.com

Note:  Sponsorship Opportunities are available

Location:  Courtyard Marriott, Cromwell CT
For More Information

Hartford Marriott Farmington
15 Farm Spring Road
Farmington CT

For more information: 860.244.1977

Climate change is arguably the most pressing issue facing the world. From intense droughts punctuated by short periods of heavy rainfall, to the spread of agricultural pests and parasites, to rising sea levels and the fragmentation of vital ecosystems, there many stories on the woe that freak weather patterns are inflicting, and will continue to inflict. This has dire implications on a global and regional scale, and Connecticut is no exception.

According to “The Impacts of Climate Change on Connecticut Agriculture, Infrastructure, Natural Resources and Public Health,” a climate change report from 2010 created by a state government subcommittee, “Most of the agricultural features assessed … were found to be highly impacted by climate change, and most of these impacts were negative.” The report also said that due to warming in lower elevations “maple syrup production in Connecticut may be impossible by 2080,” and that by next century the intensity of droughts and precipitation events will significantly increase. The report notes that shellfish will be harmed by rising ocean temperatures, and that due to climate-driven sea-level rise and storm surges, waste runoff and overflows will become more likely to spread pathogens along coastal waters.

Connecticut can do its part, and help set an example for the rest of the U.S., by fast-tracking renewable energy and minimizing the use of fossil fuels as soon as possible.

Mother Nature keeps hammering home where we need microgrids.

Last week it happened again. More than 1.7 million electric customers lost power February 23-24 when a major storm swept the Eastern U.S. and Canada, according to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Assurance Daily.

The storm was an example of the all-to-common pounding of wind, water, ice and snow that underscores the vulnerabilities of the interconnected grid.

Eversource, which serves Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hamphire, was hardest hit in the Northeast. The utility reported that it had to remove 70 large trees and repair 100 broken poles and 30,000 feet of overhead line. In all, more than 89,000 Eversource customers lost power. In the Southeast, lights went out for more than 400,000 Duke Energy customer. And in Canada, Hydro-Quebec reported 250,000 outages.

This follows a blizzard that knocked out power in 14 states in late January and an El Nino storm that left 243,000 California and Arizona customers without lights around the same time.  Thunder storms shut off power to 369,000 across eastern U.S. February 15–16. And 378,000  New Englanders lost power from a February 5 snowfall. And those are just some of the weather-related outages over the last month.  For full article.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is attempting to get a stalled “shared-solar” pilot program back on track.

A legislative committee on Tuesday accepted public testimony on a bill that would allow Eversource and Avangrid to recover the cost of administering the program, which was signed into law last year.

The two-year pilot, which is capped at six megawatts, would allow groups of utility customers to subscribe to a shared distributed generation facility. The pilot includes any type of Class I distributed generation, including solar panels, wind turbines, fuel cells and others.

Approximately half of states allow for such arrangements.

DEEP was supposed to issue an RFP at the start of this year, but was delayed when utilities pointed out that the law’s language was silent on whether utilities could recover their costs of administering the program, including costs related to billing and crediting customers who are sharing in solar or other clean energy facilities.

The Connecticut Mirror first reported on the delay.

DEEP said in testimony Tuesday that it asked the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to rule on whether the 2015 law allowed the utilities, known as electric distribution companies (EDCs), to recover costs related to the program.

But PURA declined early last month to issue that ruling, and suggested that DEEP either use a funding provision in existing law to launch the pilot program or ask lawmakers for a fix.

DEEP is proposing that the EDCs – which include Eversource and Avangrid – be allowed to recover those costs through tariff mechanisms subject to PURA approval, which would have a “small impact” on electric rates, according to the Office of Consumer Counsel.  For full article.

Net metering and microgrids can go hand-in-hand, but first you have to do your homework.

Across the country, utilities are challenging net metering projects and laws, resulting in time-consuming delays and expensive charges and rate adjustments for some —and thwarted net metering projects for others.

Utilities successfully challenged net metering in Nevada, resulting in high rates that make it uneconomic for the producer, says Chandler Sherman, public affairs manager for SolarCity.  And California recently tweaked its net metering regulations in response to requests from utilities, but mostly kept the practice intact.

“The California Public Utilities Commission’s decision in keeping net metering with minor modifications and rejecting the proposal from utilities to impose fixed charges, will be watched closely by other states,” says Brian Nese, a partner in the Energy Development group and the Renewable and Thermal Energy Initiatives at Stoel Rives.

Hawaii and other states are also re-evaluating their net metering laws.  For full article.

Boston has identified dozens of potential microgrid sites that together with other community energy projects could save as much as $1.7 billion, according to a new report issued by the city.

The Boston Community Energy Study maps specific locations for three kinds of microgrids: multipurpose microgrids, energy justice microgrids and emergency microgrids.

Austin Blackmon, Boston’s chief of energy, environment, and open space, said that that the projects represent “an opportunity to fundamentally change the way our energy system works.”

Like many cities in the Northeast, Boston is focusing heavily on improving grid resiliency, energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction with  microgrids. The report is part of an emerging campaign in Massachusetts toward creating community microgrids. Separately, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center this month issued a request for information seeking microgrid developers, a precursor to a $650,000 microgrid grant offer it intends to release February 29.

The map emerged from a simulation of hourly energy consumption for every city building done by the MIT School of Architecture and Planning’s Sustainable Design Lab.  For full article.