PURPA

US power suppliers could face clean energy credit obligations to foster a major shift to renewables and decisively slash emissions, under legislation currently being drafted up at Congress.

The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) voted to reject a request from the state’s investor-owned utilities to set two-year contract terms for renewable energy projects under the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). Instead, commissioners voted unanimously to set contract terms at 18 years, providing renewable energy developers the financial certainty they need to develop new clean energy projects in the state.

Solar representatives have cautioned against a move to overhaul US rules that have guided utilities' mandatory renewable purchases for decades, setting the scene for a policy clash.

US solar players have scored a victory in Michigan this week after regulators ratified a deal to unblock a 584MW PV pipeline, held up by years of standoff with a utility.

The pressure building for the US to water down decades-old federal energy policy risks further tilting the scales in utilities’ favour, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

On July 29, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the lower court’s decision in Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peterman et al., ruling that California’s feed-in tariff for small qualifying facilities (QFs), the Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (ReMAT), violates the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) (Ninth Circuit Case No. 17-17531).