Monopoly Utilities And Solar In Iowa

I wrote this post about MidAmericans effort to monopolize solar during last years state legislative session. Please check the other post. I mentioned that the surcharges the utility wanted to impose   were unfair to customers with solar, as customer owned solar provides a net benefit to the grid. I included information available online from the state municipal utility association that agreed with my position. Here's some more information from my REC newsletter that also supports my position.

 

 A distribution coop in northern Iowa mentions they buy wholesale electricity at 7 cents per KWH, and their solar array also offsets peak electric demand of 5 cents per KWH. That gets pretty close to most Iowa utilities retail rates. The information I posted previously was more detailed about the costs that utilities were avoiding, including calculating avoided peak demand from 2 to 3 PM at a much higher rate. The RECs generation arm may be able spread peak costs over their service territory, but I'm speculating . I still believe MidAmerican was full of it last year, and these utilities own information seems to back me up. Ample evidence that customer owned solar is offsetting peak demand liability for the utility. Yet, utilities in Iowa still assess demand charges to their customers who have solar 

So a group including solar trades associations, certain environmental groups, livestock groups, and probably some others have been negotiating with MidAmerican about this legislation, which stalled last year when a number of house Republicans wouldn't support the bill as written. The Iowa environmental council announced that a "deal" had been reach in their latest newsletter.

      Not much for details, but it looks to be solar only. Why are they excluding wind, anaerobic digesters,etc? It also looks like future customer owned solar will be treated differently than current ones. Current net metering Iowa law only applies to rate regulated utilities, so probably half of Iowa doesn't have net metering now. The agreement also states an intent to move to value of solar tariff.
I've been a proponent of fair electric pricing for non utility owned generation, but not a tariff just for one technology (solar). I see a lot of wind turbines installed by livestock barns and I'll bet many of them are not able to use net metering. Heck, what if a group of farmers want to build a wind project in the megawatt range?
Doesn't look like a good "deal" to me.

The legislature seems to have the ability to require all Iowa utilities to offer net metering.  A good friend wrote this work. He can contact me if he wants credit.

   
 With these legal precedents (I'm not aware that purpa has been gutted) Senator Joe Bolkcom drafted a bill to require net metering statewide. It was one of Gov. Chet Culver's campaign goals. Democrats couldn't get the bill out of a subcommittee, despite controlling house , senate, and governors office.
See why I occasionally question if MidAmerican has too much influence at the statehouse?
Here's the work sheet for the solar bill. Net metering in Iowa (for those who have it) has been increased to 1 megawatt, but you get the picture.

    

      

Opponents to the MidAmerican bill last year also took to using new messaging , saying MidAmerican shouldn't be allowed to monopolize the solar industry. There was no outcry when legislation was passed years ago that allowed MidAmerican to monopolize wind in Iowa, and I would imagine some of these same groups supported that legislation. By the way legislators, It's not too late to pass legislation for distributed wind not owned by utilities. 

  

Here.   

I served with Laura on the IEC board of directors. I resigned several years ago. Laura has a different take on the "deal"   

So , I can't get excited about this "deal" 

Cons-only written for one technology, and only one kind of distributed generation - behind the meter installations . What else was agreed to that the kids and grandkids above might not like?

Pros- not much, Iowa fell short when they passed net metering in the 80s. The "deal" falls short again. After the court cases mentioned above were reached, it seems that we could get better distributed generation laws in Iowa. 

This doesn't look like it makes any significant progress for distributed generation not owned by utilities.

I'll be keeping an eye on this.    

  

Iowa Utilities Board Opens Docket On Wind Turbine Blade Disposal

The IUB has opened a docket on "disposal of wind facilities", as noted in the email I received today.

 I'm guessing this has to do with the MEC wind turbine repower and resulting blade disposal issues .
My previous posts on this subject can be found here. The link in the email was functioning earlier, but when I returned tonight to read it, it's gone and no mention of the docket number shows on the IUB search engine.

 

I guess I'll have to try and find the previous board order on the MEC repower also. I'd be surprised  if this issue hadn't been thoroughly investigated by the board in the repower docket, or other previous wind dockets for that matter. Maybe the board feels that previous testimony by the utility wasn't accurate in light of the blades getting land filled, but we won't know the reason for the docket until the board order is accessible and the docket proceeds.

The des moines  register covered wind turbine blade disposal back in November. I believe the article quoted a MEC employee stating what amounted  the industry had hoped that recycling options would be available when needed So I'm wondering what the utility told the IUB in the repower docket.
I'd encourage readers to check out dm reg article. The Iowa Environmental Council, who supported the wind repower, is also quoted in the dm reg article. The disposal of the decommissioned wind components was surely discussed in detail. If not, why not, Did the board and interested parties do their jobs and research this?  Please check the link above to my previous posts for more information on this topic.

While the register covered the blade disposal issues, it makes no mention if they contacted the IUB for information on what the repower docket specified on parts recycling. It also mentions that the repower was done at no cost to the rate payer, though federal tax credits were used, so the tax payer is paying for the repower. Also, since the counties that are home to the wind facilities have been denied additional property tax income from improvements resulting from the repower so far, the counties loss seems to be MEC's and the rate payers gain.

The DM reg also made no mention of the numerous MEC property tax irregularities I've found (also lost revenue to the counties?). I contacted Donnell Eller, the writer of the blade disposal article above, about the property tax issues I've found back in 2017, She never replied, but since I posted about MEC land filling their wind turbine blades in May of 2019, I guess I'm now wondering if the register found the blade story on my blog and didn't give me credit :) .

 She definitely received the email.

The dm reg is welcome to contact me . I'd gladly assist them in a more thorough covering of these issues.  There's a whole lot more to the MEC wind story than what's appeared in the print and tv media.
As this  IUB docket proceeds, I'll throw in my 2 cents as I did in my previous posts. Don't let the utilities land fill 10 year wind turbine blades when they told the IUB that the blades would last 30 or more years. Maybe recycling solutions would be avail in that 30 year time. And... solutions to this issue are clearly needed. I'll also again mention that Warren Buffets utility (and Alliant) can afford to properly dispose of their wind turbine blades. Since they have essentially achieved a monopoly on wind generation in Iowa, they should figure out a solution to blade disposal. It seems that Buffet's utility could also afford to accurately pay the taxes, Not sure that is happening with all the irregularities I have found.

UPDATE -The IUB link is back up this morning. Yes, it's the blade disposal issue that caused the IUB to start this proceeding. Really? This wasn't sorted out before the utilities were given the go ahead to repower? The enviro groups that endorsed the repower didn't research this? Here's the order.

  

More to come, including updates about MECs effort to kill net metering in Iowa last year, and a more complete list of the public officials that have been contacted about the MEC wind property tax irregularities that I've found.

  

 Here.