Ferc Report Solar Flare Ups

As part of Energy Acuity's coverage of the renewable energy industry, we

track the daily filings of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Qualifying Facilities (QFs). For the unfamiliar, the QF designation was implemented as part of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 to promote, among other things, the increased conservation and efficient use of electricity, and in part to stabilize pricing for electric consumers. There are two categories of QFs: cogeneration facilities (which do not have a renewable component) and small power production facilities, the latter being our primary concern. Specifically, a small power production facility uses renewable energy as its primary energy source and produces between 1 MW and 80 MWs of power (with some exceptions). Qualifying Facilities have the right to sell electricity to utilities and also to purchase certain operation and maintenance services from utilities, in addition to gaining exemption from some of the regulatory requirements of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005. Most importantly, the federal Renewable Energy Production Incentive offers annual payments of 1.5 c per kilowatt-hour for the first 10 years of a facility's operation, one of the main reasons to register as a Qualifying Facility.