Southeast Clean Power Summit 2017

Many utilities in the traditionally coal power-dominated Southeast (SE) are significantly ramping up investments in renewable energy,  as the states in which they operate adopt policies and implement strategies that promote the addition of solar, wind and other forms of renewable power. Two major utility contributors to this massive uptick from renewable sources are Duke Energy and Southern Companies that have operations throughout the region.

Despite this embrace of renewables, North Carolina is the only SE state with a binding clean energy target (12.5% of its electricity is to be provided by renewables by 2021).  Moreover, the SE states and utilities still have a ways to go to stimulate development of clean energy, over and above importing clean energy from projects located outside the region.  More regulators and legislators in the SE are acknowledging this and appreciate the incredible environmental and business development benefits of attracting renewable energy development to the region.

This sixth annual Clean Power Summit is the key event to learn about what’s happening and what the outlook is for renewable energy developments in the SE.  It will feature utilities, project developers and industry experts discussing the most current information and what it’s likely to mean for stakeholders in the region. The program will also consider the impacts of Trump administration policies on the broader regulatory and fiscal fronts that may influence the attractiveness of clean energy more generally.

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss best practices in renewable energy development and implementation
• Evaluate the progress of renewables in the Southeast region
• Explain regulatory perspectives on clean power
• Critique regulatory perspectives on the future demand for renewable resources
• Discuss how PPAs or other contractual structures can best be used in the SE region
• Identify the positive impact of distributed generation
• Identify the ways in which solar development is having a meaningful impact on the SE region
• Review cost-benefit analyses of specific types of renewable energy projects

Credits

EUCI is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.1 CEUs for this conference and 0.3 CEUs for the workshop.

Requirements for Successful Completion of Program

Participants must sign in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the course to be eligible for continuing education credit.

Instructional Methods

Case Studies, PowerPoint presentations, case studies and panel discussions will be used in program

Thursday, February 23, 2017

12:30 – 1:00 p.m. :: Registration

1:00 – 1:45 p.m. :: South Carolina’s Changing Energy Portfolio

Public policy and economics are combining in the southeastern United States in a way that can impact the utility business model. Clean energy requirements can be addressed in both centralized energy production and in a renewable energy strategy that is more distributed. South Carolina’s changing energy portfolio through traditional means and through South Carolina’s Distributed Energy Resource Act is an example of how the energy landscape is evolving in the southeast.

Danny Kassis, VP – Customer Relations and Renewables, South Carolina Electric & Gas

1:45 – 2:30 p.m. :: Southeast Solar, Renewable Energy Policy and Rate Design Update

Solar and renewable energy policies and rate design changes are being considered across the country, and especially in the Southeast. This segment will discuss recent changes to solar policy, renewable energy updates and rate design, including:

• Net energy metering
• Value of solar
• Fixed and demand charges
• Community solar
• Third-party financing in southeastern states and how this fits into the national picture
• What is on the horizon

Autumn Proudlove, Senior Policy Analyst, North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center

2:30 – 2:45 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

2:45 – 3:30 p.m. :: Key Considerations for Southern Wind Power

Wind power opportunities for customers in the south are expanding. North Carolina has installed its first utility-scale wind farm, highlighting the improvement of new turbine technology for in-region wind power. Utilities are beginning to focus on winter peak demand requirements, during times when power resources would provide substantial capacity. The changes in the federal production tax credit (PTC) for wind power effectively gives a four-year window, after signing a power purchase agreement, to receive power. Major proposed high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission projects would connect exceptionally high value, low cost wind power resources to the southeast. How do these key considerations affect plans for renewable energy purchases in the next five years? What are the primary benefits, and challenges, to incorporating more wind power into the southeastern electricity mix? This segment will focus on recent changes and considerations for southern wind power and how to evaluate what opportunities exist.

Simon Mahan, Director, Southern Wind Energy Association

3:30 – 4:15 p.m. :: Entergy New Orleans’ Self-Build Aggregated Rooftop Solar Project

Entergy New Orleans is doing a market test for a self-build aggregated rooftop solar project.  This may be one of the first instances in the U.S. of a utility bidding a rooftop solar program into its own RFP to test the attractiveness of the resource vis-à-vis competing alternatives.  The self-build project will consist of multiple solar PV systems located on customer-owned rooftops.  Each individual solar PV system comprising a portion of the self-build option will be at least 100 kW (AC), located at a site within Orleans Parish, Louisiana, and 100% of the power generated will flow to the distribution grid.  This presentation will address this unique self-build project and how Entergy continues to evolve with respect to Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in order to better meet their customers’ needs now and into the future.

Andrew Owens, Director – Regulatory Research, Entergy

4:15 – 5:15 p.m. :: The Evolution of Green Power, Green Tariffs and PPAs for Commercial Customers

This segment will review the utility processes associated with procuring long-term renewable energy resources:

• Overview of emerging green tariffs and riders in the southeast and nationally
• Explore associated contract management concepts and strategies
• Examine key concepts and issues associated with drafting power purchase agreements/renewable energy credit (REC) purchase agreements
  • Structuring REC power contracts, site lease terms and conditions
• Explore key considerations for managing purchase agreements for power and RECs
  • Creating a procurement plan, process and requirements
  • Constructing workable RFP process timeline
  • Overcoming barriers and satisfying conditions to ensure effectiveness of definitive agreements
• Identify methods and practices for successful negotiation of the final power purchase agreement/ REC purchase

Ashley Wald, Partner, Holland & Hart

Marc Vinson, Renewable Resources Supervisor, Georgia Power

Ryan Link, Director, Utility Partnerships, 3 Degrees Inc.

5:15 – 6:15 p.m. :: Networking Reception

Friday, February 24, 2017

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 9:45 a.m. :: Commissioners’ Perspectives on Clean Power in the Southeast

This regulatory session will take a comprehensive look at the SE. Each Commissioner will provide a brief overview on clean power issues in his respective state. It will also include a moderated panel discussion on the future path for renewable resources policies and development in the region.

Moderator: Ashley Wald, Partner, Holland & Hart

The Hon John Howard, Commissioner, South Carolina Public Service Commission

The Hon Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission

The Hon Jeremy Oden, Commissioner, Alabama Public Service Commission

9:45 – 10:30 a.m. :: Case Study: Designing a Community Solar + Storage Project to Meet Customer Needs

The Public Works Commission of Fayetteville, NC is planning a Community Solar with Storage Project to meet the needs of our customers. The project plan is designed to offer solar power to our customers in a way that meets their needs by being:

1. Available
2. Affordable
3. Flexible
4. Economical

Mark Brown, Senior Customer Programs Officer, Fayetteville Public Works Commission

10:30 – 11:00 a.m. :: Morning Break

11:00 – 11:45 a.m. :: Community Solar: Where Are We Now?

20 South Carolina electric cooperatives are in the process of building up to 250 kW community solar farms on each member system under the auspices of the Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC).  The organization will provide an update on the completed projects and how a few of the cooperatives are marketing the community solar farms to their membership.  Some of the lessons learned by the cooperatives during the process will also be discussed.

Scott Hammond, Project Administrator, Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC)

11:45 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. :: Utilizing HVDC Transmission to Enhance Renewable Energy Delivery in the Southeast

High-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission is the most efficient technology to move large amounts of power over long distances. Utilizing HVDC, the Plains & Eastern Clean Line will provide southeastern states with access to some of the best wind energy resources in the country. Low-cost wind power delivered by this project is an essential measure to help southeastern states diversify their energy mix. This presentation will outline the measures by which Clean Line is conveying low-cost renewable energy from windy areas in the Plains States to areas with a demand for clean energy. It will also examine how Clean Line has navigated state and federal permitting processes to advance the project to construction.

Jimmy Glotfelty, Executive Vice President, Clean Line Energy

12:30 – 1:30 p.m. :: Group Luncheon

1:30 – 2:15 p.m. :: Ratemaking Challenges and Solutions with Renewable Energy

Retail electricity rates are designed to achieve various goals, chief among them the recovery of a utility’s allowed revenues. The specific rate design, whether it contains rates that vary by time of day or with the quantity consumed, can lead to both intended and unintended consequences. For example, rate designs that increase the incentive to install solar power or to increase energy efficiency may endanger utility fixed cost recovery and lead to customer cross-subsidies. This session will discuss innovative rate designs [proposed/implemented] by Alabama Power that attempt to resolve some of the problems associated with more traditional rates. Examples will include rates already in place, as well as rates that have yet to be implemented but show some promise for future research.

Eddie Easterling, Regulatory Pricing Services Manager, Alabama Power Company

2:00 – 2:45 p.m. :: New Hydropower at Existing Dams, Realizing the Full Potential of Existing Infrastructure

There are more than 80,000 dams in the United States of which less than 3,000 currently generate hydroelectric power. The development of new utility scale hydropower on existing dams uses otherwise wasted water resources to produce clean, reliable, CO₂-free electricity with minimal environmental impacts, through substantial infrastructure investment in local communities and the creation of hundreds of construction jobs per site.  Rye Development is currently managing 23 late development stage hydropower projects in 7 states, with over 265 MWs, enough to power over 100,000 homes. The 23 projects are slated to come on line in the 2018-2019 timeframe, including new hydropower in both Louisiana and Mississippi.

Mel Koleber, Vice President, Rye Development

2:45 – 3:00 p.m. :: Afternoon Break

3:00 – 3:45 p.m. :: Net Energy Metering Across Entergy’s Jurisdictions

Net energy metering (NEM) was a simple and appropriate rate mechanism when the solar industry began its push into the power industry equation and consumer-installed PV panels were relatively uncommon. In the last five years or so, the explosion in the adoption of solar and the accelerating penetration of these resources onto the grid has brought it into the power industry mainstream. To address this proliferation of solar, Entergy’s utilities have consistently advocated for more equitable treatment of all customers and have proposed constructive solutions such as 2-Channel billing that balances the interests of all stakeholders. In this session, Entergy’s policy objectives for and adjustments to traditional NEM will be addressed.

Elizabeth Ingram, Manager – Regulatory Research, Entergy

3:45 – 4:30 p.m. :: Renewable Energy Programs in the Tennessee Valley

In this session, attendees will learn about the public power model in the Tennessee Valley with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the 154 local power providers; TVA’s support of clean energy and renewables; and the portfolio of renewable energy programs and pilots.

Tammy Bramlett, Senior Manager – Renewable Energy Solutions, Tennessee Valley Authority

4:30 p.m. :: Conference Adjourns

PURPA Litigation And What Utilities & Developers Need to Know

February 23, 2017

8:00 – 8:30 a.m. :: Registration and Continental Breakfast

8:30 – 11:45 a.m. :: Workshop Timing

Overview

Navigating the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) and the resulting contractual negotiations between utilities and Qualifying Facilities (QF) is fast becoming a contentious subject and a potential reliability issue for utilities across the country.

With the uncertain impact of the Texas PUC Exelon Wind decision, FERC’s rejection of the competitive bidding process in Montana drastically limiting the use of RFPs, Maine’s upcoming bid to have distributed energy resources (DERs) considered QFs under PURPA, and the push in a growing number of Western states to significantly reduce the term of QF contracts— utilities must act now to understand how resources with QF certification will affect their operations and the bottom line.

This workshop is designed to provide instruction on PURPA and what is happening now across the US, as what happens in one decision re: the use of QF designation could impact utilities and developers in the Southeast region and around the country. Further, it will look into the future interpretation of QF contracts as renewable projects multiply and new classifications are created that will have an effect on grid stability, resilience, reliability and profitability.

Learning Outcomes

• Discuss the use of competitive solicitations in the PURPA context
• Analyze dealing with legally enforceable obligations
• Evaluate battles over PURPA contract length
• Examine transmission issues arising out of the PURPA mandatory purchase obligation
• Review pending federal legislation that would modify PURPA to classify DERs as QFs
• Identify exemptions from the utility must-purchase obligation under PURPA Section 210(m)

Agenda

This workshop is designed to survey and provide instruction on PURPA developments across the country, as what happens in one state can significantly impact utilities in the SE states and region. In particular, the workshop will provide attendees an opportunity to assess the best path forward as they negotiate and administer their QF contracts, including coverage of:

• PURPA developments and trends at the state and federal level over the past several years
• Lobbying state regulatory agencies: federal boundaries governing state authority underPURPA
• Who’s the boss? Assessing PURPA litigation risk given fractured federal and state jurisdictional authority over PURPA issues

Instructors

Claudia J. Earls, Chief Counsel, Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO)

Claudia Earls joined NiSource in June of 2010 as Assistant General Counsel in its Indianapolis office. She currently serves as Chief Counsel for Northern Indiana Public Service Company. She manages complex, high risk matters, working with clients to develop strategies to effectuate business plan goals and to reduce potential areas of risk. Prior to working for NiSource she was a member of the Energy, Telecommunications and Utilities Department for Barnes & Thornburg LLP, Indianapolis, where her concentration was on the energy industry. Ms. Earls is a former administrative law judge with the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (“IURC”). She presided over cases involving ratemaking, financing, mergers and acquisitions, the Telecommunications Act of 1996, fuel and gas cost adjustments, inter-connection agreements, and the appointment of receivers for troubled utilities. She is the former chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commission’s Administrative Law Judge Section. She also is the former editor of Indiana Utility Reports, a weekly newsletter, which reports on the orders issued by the IURC. 

Ashley K. Wald, Partner, Holland & Hart LLP

Ms. Wald provides guidance to clients in the solar, wind, hydropower and natural gas industries as they develop energy projects and related infrastructure across the United States.  She negotiates power purchase agreements on behalf of clients seeking to buy renewable power, including municipal utilities and electric cooperatives, and she is uniquely positioned to provide insights and strategic solutions based on her experience sitting on both sides of the negotiating table.  In addition, Ms. Wald counsels clients in the purchase and sale of energy project assets and project companies.

Abby C. Briggerman, Of Counsel, Holland & Hart LLP

Ms. Briggerman counsels clients through a broad array of electric, natural gas and telecommunications matters before state regulatory agencies throughout the West and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”).  She represents large electric consumers, consumer coalitions, independent power producers, and natural gas companies in a variety of subject matters, including rate and reliability matters, tariff disputes, mergers and acquisitions, and transmission planning. She and her energy regulatory team practice before the public utilities commissions in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana,  Utah, Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico, and also before the FERC.

Tammy Bramlett, Senior Manager – Renewable Energy Solutions, Tennessee Valley Authority

Mark Brown, Senior Customer Programs Officer, Fayetteville Public Works Commission

Eddie Easterling, Regulatory Pricing Services Manager, Alabama Power Company

Jimmy Glotfelty, Executive Vice President, Clean Line Energy

Scott Hammond, Project Administrator, Central Electric Power Cooperative (CEPC)

The Hon John Howard, Commissioner, South Carolina Public Service Commission

Elizabeth Ingram, Manager – Regulatory Research, Entergy

Danny Kassis, VP – Customer Relations and Renewables, South Carolina Electric & Gas

Mel Koleber, Vice President, Rye Development

Simon Mahan, Director, Southern Wind Energy Association

The Hon Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, Commissioner, Georgia Public Service Commission

Amanda Mortlock, Vice President, Utility Partnerships, 3 Degrees Inc.

The Hon Jeremy Oden, Commissioner, Alabama Public Service Commission

Andrew Owens, Director – Regulatory Research, Entergy

Autumn Proudlove, Senior Policy Analyst, North Carolina Clean Energy Technology Center

Marc Vinson, Renewable Resources Supervisor, Georgia Power

Ashley Wald, Partner, Holland & Hart

North Charleston Marriott
4770 Goer Drive
North Charleston, South Carolina 29406

To reserve your room, please call 1-843-747-1900 or book online here.
Please indicate that you are with the EUCI group to receive the group rate.

Room Rate:

The room rate is $119.00 single or double plus applicable taxes.

Room Block Dates:

A room block has been reserved for the nights of February 22 – 23, 2017.

Rate Available Until:

Make your reservations prior to January 20, 2017. There are a limited number of rooms available at the conference rate. Please make your reservations early.

REGISTER NOW FOR THIS EVENT:

Southeast Clean Power Summit 2017

February 23, 2017 | Charleston, SC

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PURPA Litigation And What Utilities & Developers Need to Know

February 23

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