AEP, Sierra Club uncertain how clean energy agreement would cost Ohio ratepayers

OHIO:
• Despite an agreement between AEP and the Sierra Club for the utility to build 900 megawatts of wind and solar as part of its income-guarantee proposal, neither sides know what that would cost ratepayers. (Columbus Business First)
• A member of the state utility regulatory commission, who has been closely involved with utility income-guarantee requests, seeks to retain his seat against seven other challengers. (Columbus Business First)

UTILITIES: A utility CEO from Vermont says a focus on customer service has helped her company adapt to growth in distributed generation and other grid developments. (Midwest Energy News)

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COAL:
• President’s Obama call to halt new coal leases on public lands is ​“an opportunity for the U.S. to set a course for the next several decades.” (Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis)
• Duke Energy and environmental groups agree on a timeline to stop burning coal at a southern Indiana plant. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
• Coal supporters are skeptical that the federal government’s plans to help coal-dependent towns transition to clean energy jobs will be successful. (New York Times)

NUCLEAR: North Dakota officials are considering whether to allow scientists to study the possibility of storing spent nuclear waste in deep underground rock formations there. (Bismarck Tribune)

SOLAR:
• A Wisconsin-based commercial printing and finishing company has one of the largest solar installations in the state, which supplies about one-fourth of the company’s electric needs. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
• A Kansas utility is seeking participants for its first community solar project, which could include up to 10 megawatts if there is enough interest. (Topeka Capital-Journal)

RENEWABLES: While visiting Ohio, U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy says states that are pushing back against clean energy are missing out on chances to revive their economy. (Associated Press)

EFFICIENCY:
• A new art installation at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is aimed at challenging people to think about where energy comes from and how it’s used. (Minnesota Public Radio)
• Within five years, a major Missouri utility wants to convert two-thirds of the streetlights it owns to LED. (St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

CLEAN POWER PLAN: The CEO of Ohio-based AEP says the utility’s complying with the Clean Power Plan will not be as difficult as originally planned. (USA Today)

HYDRO: Electric generation from dams on the Missouri River dropped below average in 2015 as engineers sought to balance water levels in the river system. (Rapid City Journal)

GRID:
• States in grid operator MISO’s footprint want the organization to focus on resource adequacy, capacity, demand response and cost allocations in 2016. (RTO Insider)
• Regional grid operators will oversee $38 million from the federal government for modernization projects. (RTO Insider)

***SPONSORED LINK: Join dynamic CEO Mary Powell of Green Mountain Power, renewables thought leader James Tong, Wisconsin utilities, and renewable industry experts for ​“Shaping the Utility of the Future,” Thursday, January 21^st in Madison, Wisconsin. ***

CYBERSECURITY: A satirical website gives a ​“poke to the security community” by listing various animals — including birds and squirrels — as potential threats to the grid. (EnergyWire)

COMMENTARY: A former regulatory commission chairman in Ohio who now advocates for independent power producers says the state should reject FirstEnergy’s and AEP’s income-guarantee requests. (Toledo Blade)