An Interview with ME PUC Chair, Commissioners, and Former Chair
Sourced from Steve Mitnick, Public Utilities Fortnightly , "A Day (Two Actually) at the Maine PUC" (January 2019). In this posting, I summarize a recent series of interviews with the current Maine PUC Chair, Commissioners, and Chair Emeritus, Tom Welch. The interviews appeared in the January 2019 edition of...
Net-metering News from Maine and California
On December 17, 2018, the Maine PUC exempted medium and large non-residential customer classes of CMP and Emera from compliance with the Commission's net energy billing provisions in Chapter 313, section 3(f), which require measurement of a customer's production of "nettable energy." The Commission enacted, effective for facilities in...
Pipeline Appeals Grant of Summary Judgment to South Portland Regarding Its Ban on Marine Loading of Crude Oil
Judge Woodcock of the U.S. District Court in Portland, finding that the South Portland's Clear Skies Ordinance (the Ordinance) was neither a "preempted pipeline facility safety standard or a discriminatory ordinance enacted for an economically protectionist purpose," granted summary judgment to the City on October 9, 2018. Last month...
Supreme Court Says “No Frog Habitat, No Critical Habitat”
You might assume that if an endangered species is nowhere to be found on your property, you can rest easy. "No," said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which decided in 2012 that if your land might be a good place for the Dusky Gopher frog to live, you...
Maine Street Solutions - Legislative Update
Election night is now (mostly) in the books. As the night wore on, the blue tide turned into a blue wave and ended as a mini blue tsunami crashing on the Maine shore. More results are still coming in, but here's what we know about the top of the...
Sixth Annual Natural Gas Conference Focused on the Future
More than 100 professionals from the energy industry gathered at The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine on Thursday, October 18 for the 6th Annual Natural Gas Conference: Focus on the Future, co-hosted by Verrill Dana and Pierce Atwood. The conference kicked off with a keynote address by Mark Vannoy...
Natural Gas: Focus on the Future
As the cold weather approaches and the topic of natural gas is top of mind, Verrill Dana and Pierce Atwood will be hosting their 6th Annual Natural Gas Conference: Focus on the Future on Thursday, October 18 at The Woodlands Club in Falmouth, Maine. The all-day event will be...
Verrill Dana Utilities Attorneys Publish Book on Maine Regulation of Public Utilities, the Only Book of Its Kind in Maine
Verrill Dana's Utilities Group has released the second edition of Maine Regulation of Public Utilities, the only treatise on the subject of public utility regulation in Maine. At more than 200 pages and with nearly 1,200 footnotes, the well-researched book provides a comprehensive look into public utilities regulation in...
At NECPUC: Takeaways from the Annual Symposium
At the end of May, Verrill Dana attorneys James Cohen , William Harwood , Geoffrey Why , Katie Gray, and Brian Marshall attended the 71 st New England Conference of Public Utilities Commissioners (NECPUC) Annual Symposium at the Cliff House in Cape Neddick, Maine. The conference sessions covered a...
Congratulations to Cianbro on BOLD!
Cianbro recently shared that in April, Cianbro's Power & Energy team placed its first BOLD® (Breakthrough Overhead Line Design®) structure on a project in Indiana. According to Cianbro "BOLD is a high-capacity, high-efficiency transmission line design with a low-profile, compact configuration." I'm not an engineer, but BOLD looks pretty...
Maine Wind Energy Update
Ten years ago, Maine's Task Force on Wind Energy set ambitious goals for wind development in the State, including a 2015 target of 1,000 MW and a 2020 target of 3,000 MW (including 300 MW offshore) of installed capacity. Today, Maine has less than 1,000 MW of installed capacity...
Maine Department of Environmental Protection Issues Draft Wind Energy Act Rules
After more than a year of pre-rulemaking process including the issuance of two drafts, the Maine DEP has commenced formal rulemaking and today issued draft rules for wind energy developments in Maine. The formal draft largely tracks the most recent pre-rulemaking version issued in January 2017. The draft rules...
Microgrids: The Next “Big” Thing?
There has been a lot of conversation lately about "microgrids." And, given the significant power outages experienced in Maine and the Northeast this past week due to extreme weather events, these conversations are bound to increase. But, what exactly are microgrids, and how can they help? Not everyone agrees...
Verrill Dana Co-hosts Fifth Annual Natural Gas Conference
On Thursday, September 28, Verrill Dana and Pierce Atwood co-hosted the 5th Annual Natural Gas Conference: Powering Maine's Future at The Woodlands in Falmouth, Maine. The conference kicked off with Keynote Speaker Governor Paul LePage who discussed the state of the natural gas industry in Maine and its potential...
Clients Recognize Verrill Dana for Best Client Service in BTI Power Rankings 2017
Verrill Dana has been recognized for its unparalleled client relationships in the BTI Power Rankings 2017: The Law Firms with the Best Client Relationships in 18 Industries for the second year in a row. In the rankings, clients identified Verrill Dana as a Leading Core, Go-To Firm in Energy...
The Future of the Kennebunk Dams
On Thursday July 20 th , the Board of Selectmen for the Town of Kennebunk held a workshop to gather information regarding the Town's potential role in the future of three dams along the Mousam River in Kennebunk, Maine. The Board workshop was centered around a presentation prepared by...
“Untethered” Clean Energy Subsidies Survive Post-Hughes Preemption Challenges
Last year in Hughes v. Talen , the Supreme Court struck down a Maryland generator subsidy program, concluding that it had a direct impact on the wholesale energy auctions and was therefore preempted by the Federal Power Act (FPA). Broadly speaking, under the FPA, wholesale energy sales are federally...
Energy Startups: Opportunities, Challenges, & Considerations
In a presentation during Maine Startup & Create Week , Verrill Dana partner Jim Cohen , a utilities and energy lawyer with more than 25 years of experience, moderated a panel focused on the question, " How can tech disrupt energy? " With innovation and new technologies being developed...
How Can Tech Disrupt Energy?
On Wednesday, June 21, as part of Maine Startup & Create Week , Verrill Dana partner Jim Cohen , a utilities and energy lawyer for more than 25 years, will moderate a panel entitled " How Can Tech Disrupt Energy ?" Panelists include Ben Polito , president of Pika...
2017 Maine Legislature to Consider a Variety of Energy Bills
On Friday, January 6, Maine Governor Paul LePage released his biennial general fund budget for 2018-19. The Governor's proposed biennial budget and briefing document can be found here . The main priority in the Budget is reducing Maine's top income tax rate from 10.15 percent to 7.15 percent this...
Maine PUC Proposes Net Metering Rule Changes
The PUC has issued a proposed rule that would change Maine's net metering compensation for rooftop solar (and other distributed generation). Under Maine's current rule, customers that generate power are given a credit equal to the full retail rate of electricity. The proposed rule would gradually reduce the portion...
Natural Gas: Where Do We Go From Here?
With cold weather approaching, natural gas production expected to rise and expansion projects underway, Verrill Dana and Pierce Atwood will host their fourth annual, Natural Gas: Where do we go from here? on Thursday, October 6 at The Woodlands in Falmouth, Maine. The all-day event, co-chaired by Verrill Dana...
D.C. Circuit Flips USFWS for Issuing ITP to Ohio Wind Power Project with 6 M/S Cut-in Speed
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has invalidated the issuance by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) of an incidental take permit (ITP) under Section 10 of the Endangered Species Act for take of Indiana bats by the 100-turbine Buckeye Wind project in Ohio. The...
Not Just for Rooftops: A Look at Community Solar in Maine
Much of the discussion around solar policy focuses on rooftop solar. While rooftop solar is an option for certain homeowners with suitable rooftops and some extra cash in the bank (or the ability to obtain financing), rooftop solar is not available to a large segment of the population. Community...
Verrill Dana Hosts E2Tech Networking Event
On Tuesday, July 26, more than a hundred professionals gathered outside in Verrill Dana's courtyard in Portland, Maine for the E2Tech Summer Networking Reception . Attendees included numerous area businesses, government officials, professionals, and non-profit leaders from across the state within the energy and environmental sectors. Verrill Dana partner...
Arbitration Award of $1.5 Million to Xpress Natural Gas, LLC Affirmed by Maine Supreme Judicial Court
Recently, the Maine Supreme Judicial Court affirmed an arbitrator's award of $1.5 million to Xpress Natural Gas, LLC. The court upheld the arbitrator's decision that Cate Street Capital Inc. was responsible for payments to Xpress Natural Gas that Cate Street's subsidiary, GNP Parent, LLC (formerly known as Great Northern...
D.C. Circuit Remands BOEM Cape Wind Lease under NEPA and ESA, Punts on MBTA Challenge
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has dealt another setback to the Cape Wind offshore wind power project by holding yesterday in Public Employees for Environmental Responsibilities v. Hopper that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) violated...
4.4 MW Solar Facility to Provide Power for Madison Electric Works Customers
IGS Solar recently announced that Madison Electric Works will buy power from IGS's 4.4 MW solar array under a long-term contract. IGS will finance, own and operate the 4.4 megawatt generation facility, which will include more than more than 13,000 solar panels. MEW serves customers in Madison, Starks, Anson...
Seeking Competition Among the Uncompetitive: Maine PUC Must Define “Competitive” in Biomass Subsidy Proceeding
What makes a competitive bidding process "competitive"? The Maine PUC is currently grappling with this question in Docket No. 2016-00084 in which it is tasked with awarding contracts for up to 80MW of biomass generation. Under a new law, P.L. 2015, ch. 483 , the PUC must solicit bids...
Maine PUC Opens New Proceeding to Explore Changes to Net Metering Rules
On Tuesday, the PUC opened a new docket (2016-00120) requesting comments from interested stakeholders about the future of net metering (also known as "net energy billing"). In January, CMP notified the Commission that in 2015 net metering resources had exceeded 1% of CMP's peak demand, triggering PUC review under...
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