Morning brief: FERC greenlights MISO storage-as-transmission plan, Duke moves towards solar, storage in wake of $1.6B pipeline loss

Also in the brief: On climate, Kamala Harris has a record and profile for action, Vermont EPC Peck acquires California solar company Sunworks

August 12, 2020 Eric Wesoff

Solar plus storage array in Hawaii.

Image: KIUC

FERC greenlights MISO storage-as-transmission proposal: MISO’s much debated first rule set for storage resources functioning as transmission assets passed muster with FERC, though Commissioner James Danly opposed the plan. MISO’s much debated first rule set for storage resources functioning as transmission assets passed muster with FERC on Monday, though Commissioner James Danly opposed the plan (ER20-588). The commission approved the proposal, effective immediately, subject to MISO providing more explanation on storage-as-transmission resources’ impact on the interconnection queue, special commercial pricing nodes for the resources and instances when storage wouldn’t be used to solve transmission reliability issues. Danly dissented, saying the plan ‘impermissibly blur[s] the line between generation and transmission. Source: RTO Insider

Duke shifts toward renewables, storage investments in wake of $1.6B Atlantic Coast Pipeline loss: Duke Energy is shifting its investment strategy toward “low-cost, smaller-scale” projects such as solar and battery storage in the wake of a $1.6 billion loss in Q2 of this year caused by the cancellation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP). Duke announced plans to cancel the ACP in July alongside Dominion Energy, which led the project, due to expected delays and cost uncertainty. The utility is planning to focus more on its “emerging infrastructure needs” to satisfy its 5-year, $56 billion capital plan. Although we cannot immediately replace the ACP earnings, we have identified the incremental capital projects across our businesses that will provide growth over the five-year period,” including grid upgrades, renewables and battery storage, Duke CEO Lynn Good said. Source: Utility Dive

Peck acquires California solar company Sunworks: The Peck Company Holdings, a commercial solar engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) company and Sunworks, a provider of solar power solutions for agriculture, commercial and industrial, public works and residential markets, announced that they have entered into a deﬁnitive agreement under which Peck will acquire Sunworks in an all-stock transaction. Peck and Sunworks installed a combined 62,973kW in 2019, which would rank 41st overall and would be the 16th largest EPC contractor based on the latest Sun Power World ranking list. Source: Vermont Biz

On climate, Kamala Harris Has a record and profile for action: In choosing Kamala Harris as his running mate, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden put a spotlight on two key elements of his climate policy: environmental justice for minority communities and accountability for the oil and gas industry. Harris, who will be the first Black woman to run on a major political party’s presidential ticket, only last week sought to affirm her commitment to communities of color in the climate battle—and progressives in the Democratic party—by introducing climate equity legislation. The California Senator teamed up with Green New Deal avatar Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on the effort, an outreach to the climate activist community that Biden hopes to energize behind his candidacy. Source: Inside Climate News

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