Newfoundland Premier offers a cautionary tale

Cabin Creek Solar Project Montana delivers 150 MW of utility-scale solar under a Power Purchase Agreement, with Basin Electric and Clenera supplying renewable energy, enhancing grid reliability, and reducing carbon emissions for 30,000 homes.

Key Points

A 150 MW solar PPA near Baker by Basin Electric and Clenera, delivering reliable renewable power and carbon reduction.

✅ 150 MW across two 75 MW sites near Baker, Montana

✅ PPA supports Basin Electric's diverse, cost-effective portfolio

✅ Cuts 265,000 tons CO2 and powers 30,000 homes

A new solar project in Montana will provide another 150 megawatts (MW) of affordable, renewable power to Basin Electric customers and co-op members across the region.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) and Clenera Renewable Energy, announced today the execution of a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for the Cabin Creek Solar Project. Cabin Creek is Basin Electric's second solar PPA, and the result of the cooperative's continuing goal of providing a diverse mix of energy sources that are cost-effective for its members.

When completed, Cabin Creek will consist of two, 75-MW projects in southeastern Montana, five miles west of Baker. According to Clenera, the project will eliminate 265,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year and power 30,000 homes, while communities such as the Ermineskin First Nation advance their own generation efforts.

"Renewable technology has advanced dramatically in recent years, with rapid growth in Alberta underscoring broader trends, which means even more affordable power for Basin Electric's customers," said Paul Sukut, CEO and general manager of Basin Electric. "Basin Electric is excited to purchase the output from this project to help serve our members' growing energy needs. Adding solar further promotes our all-of-the-above energy solution as we generate energy using a diverse resource portfolio including coal, natural gas, and other renewable resources to provide reliable, affordable, and environmentally safe generation.

"Clenera is proud to partner with Basin Electric Power Cooperative to support the construction of the Cabin Creek Solar projects in Montana," said Jared McKee, Clenera's director of Business Development. "We truly believe that Basin Electric will be a valuable partner as we aim to deliver today's new era of reliable, battery storage increasingly enabling round-the-clock service, affordable, and clean energy."

"We're pleased that Southeast Electric will be home to the Cabin Creek Solar Project," said Jack Hamblin, manager of Southeast Electric Cooperative, a Basin Electric Class C member headquartered in Ekalaka, Montana. "This project is one more example of cooperatives working together to use economies of scale to add affordable generation for all their members - similar to what was done 70 years ago when cooperatives were first built."

Basin Electric Class A member Upper Missouri Power Cooperative, headquartered in Sidney, Montana, provides wholesale power to Southeast Electric and 10 other distribution cooperatives in western North Dakota and eastern Montana. "It is encouraging to witness the development of cost-competitive energy, including projects in Alberta contracted at lower cost than natural gas that demonstrate market shifts, like the Cabin Creek Solar Project, which will be part of the energy mix we purchase from Basin Electric for our member systems, said Claire Vigesaa, Upper Missouri's general manager. "The energy needs in our region are growing and this project will help us serve both our members, and our communities as a whole."

Cabin Creek will bring significant economic benefits to the local area. According to Clenera, the project will contribute $8 million in property taxes to Fallon County and $5 million for the state of Montana over 35 years. They say it will also create approximately 300 construction jobs and two to three full-time jobs.

"This project underscores the efforts by Montana's electric cooperatives to continue to embrace more carbon-free technology," said Gary Wiens, CEO of Montana Electric Cooperatives' Association. "It also demonstrates Basin Electric's commitment to seek development of renewable energy projects in our state. It's exciting that these two projects combined are 50 times larger than our current largest solar array in Montana."

Cabin Creek is anticipated to begin operations in late 2023.

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Solar ITC Impact on U.S. Wind frames how a 30% solar investment tax credit could undercut wind PTC economics, shift corporate procurement, and, without transmission and storage, slow onshore builds despite offshore wind momentum.

Key Points

It is how a solar ITC extension may curb U.S. wind growth absent PTC parity, transmission, storage, and offshore backing.

✅ ITC at 30% risks shifting corporate procurement to solar.

✅ Post-PTC wind faces grid, transmission, and curtailment headwinds.

✅ Offshore wind, storage pairing, TOU demand could offset.

The booming U.S. wind industry, amid a wind power surge, faces an uncertain future in the 2020s. Few factors are more important than the fate of the solar ITC.

An extension of the solar investment tax credit (ITC) at its 30 percent value would be “devastating” to the future U.S. wind market, according to a new Wood Mackenzie report.

The U.S. is on track to add a record 14.6 gigawatts of new wind capacity in 2020, despite Covid-19 impacts, and nearly 39 gigawatts during a three-year installation boom from 2019 to 2021, according to Wood Mackenzie’s 2019 North America Wind Power Outlook.

But the market’s trajectory begins to look highly uncertain from the early 2020s onward, and solar is one of the main reasons why.

Since the dawn of the modern American renewables market, the wind and solar sectors have largely been allies on the national stage, benefiting from many of the same favorable government plans and sharing big-picture goals. Until recently, wind and solar companies rarely found themselves in direct competition.

But the picture is changing as solar catches up to wind on cost and the grid penetration of renewables surges. What was once a vague alliance between the two fastest growing renewables technologies could morph into a serious rivalry.

While many project developers are now active in both sectors, including NextEra Energy Resources, Invenergy and EDF, the country’s thriving base of wind manufacturers could face tougher days ahead.

The ITC's inherent advantage

At this point, wind remains solar’s bigger sibling in many ways.

The U.S. has nearly 100 gigawatts of installed wind capacity today, compared to around 67 gigawatts of solar. With their substantially higher capacity factors, wind farms generated four times more power for the U.S. grid last year than utility-scale solar plants, for a combined wind-solar share of 8.2 percent, according to government figures, even as renewables are projected to reach one-fourth of U.S. electricity generation. (Distributed PV systems further add to solar’s contribution.)

But it's long been clear that wind would lose its edge at some point. The annual solar market now regularly tops wind. The cost of solar energy is falling more rapidly, and appears to have more runway for further reduction. Solar’s inherent generation pattern is more valuable in many markets, delivering power during peak-demand hours, while the wind often blows strongest at night.

And then there’s the matter of the solar ITC.

In 2015, both wind and solar secured historic multi-year extensions to their main federal subsidies. The extensions gave both industries the longest period of policy clarity they’ve ever enjoyed, setting in motion a tidal wave of installations set to crest over the next few years.

Even back in 2015, however, it was clear that solar got the better deal in Washington, D.C.

While the wind production tax credit (PTC) began phasing down for new projects almost immediately, solar developers were given until the end of 2019 to qualify projects for the full ITC.

And critically, while the wind PTC drops to nothing after its sunset, commercially owned solar projects will remain eligible for a 10 percent ITC forever, based on the existing legislation. Over time, that amounts to a huge advantage for solar.

In another twist, the solar industry is now openly fighting for an extension of the 30 percent ITC, while the wind industry seemingly remains cooler on the prospect of pushing for a similar prolongation — having said the current PTC extension would be the last.

Plenty of tailwinds, too

Wood Mackenzie's report catalogues multiple factors that could work for or against the wind market in the "uncharted" post-PTC years, many of them, including the Covid-19 crisis, beyond the industry’s direct control.

If things go well, annual installations could bounce back to near-record levels by 2027 after a mid-decade contraction, the report says. But if they go badly, installations could remain depressed at 4 gigawatts or below from 2022 through most of the coming decade, and that includes an anticipated uplift from the offshore market.

An extension of the solar ITC without additional wind support would “severely compound” the wind market’s struggle to rebound in the 2020s, the report says. The already-evident shift in corporate renewables procurement from wind to solar could intensify dramatically.

The other big challenge for wind in the 2020s is the lack of progress on transmission infrastructure that would connect potentially massive low-cost wind farms in interior states with bigger population centers. A hoped-for national infrastructure package that might address the issue has not materialized.

Even so, many in the wind business remain cautiously optimistic about the post-PTC years, with a wind jobs forecast bolstering sentiment, and developers continue to build out longer-term project pipelines.

Turbine technology continues to improve. And an extension of the solar ITC is far from assured.

Other factors that could work in wind’s favor in the years ahead include:

The nascent offshore sector, which despite lingering regulatory uncertainty at the federal level looks set to blossom into a multi-gigawatt annual market by the mid-2020s, in line with an offshore wind forecast that highlights substantial growth potential. Lobbying efforts for an offshore wind ITC extension are gearing up, offering a potential area for cooperation between wind and solar.

The potential linkage of policy support for energy storage to wind projects, building on the current linkage with solar.

Growing electric vehicle sales and a shift toward time-of-use retail electricity billing, which could boost power demand during off-peak hours when wind generation is strong.

The land-use advantages wind farms have over solar in some agricultural regions.

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EU Electricity Market Reform Opposition highlights nine states resisting an overhaul of the wholesale power market amid gas price spikes, urging energy efficiency, interconnection targets, and EU caution rather than redesigns affecting renewables.

Key Points

Nine EU states reject overhauling wholesale power pricing, favoring efficiency and prudent policy over redesigns.

✅ Nine states oppose redesign of wholesale power market.

✅ Call for efficiency and 15% interconnection by 2030.

✅ Ministers to debate responses amid gas-driven price spikes.

Germany, Denmark, Ireland and six other European countries said on Monday they would not support a reform of the EU electricity market, ahead of an emergency meeting of energy ministers to discuss emergency measures and the recent price spike.

European gas and power prices soared to record high levels in autumn and have remained high, prompting countries including Spain and France to urge Brussels to redesign its electricity market rules.

Nine countries on Monday poured cold water on those proposals, in a joint statement that said they "cannot support any measure that conflicts with the internal gas and electricity market" such as an overhaul of the wholesale power market altogether.

"As the price spikes have global drivers, we should be very careful before interfering in the design of internal energy markets," the statement said.

"This will not be a remedy to mitigate the current rising energy prices linked to fossil fuels markets across Europe."

Austria, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Latvia and the Netherlands signed the statement, which called instead for more measures to save energy and a target for a 15% interconnection of the EU electricity market by 2030.

European energy ministers meet tomorrow to discuss their response to the price spike, including gas price cap strategies under consideration. Most countries are using tax cuts, subsidies and other national measures to shield consumers against the impact higher gas prices are having on energy bills, but EU governments are struggling to agree on a longer term response.

Spain has led calls for a revamp of the wholesale power market in response to the price spike, amid tensions between France and Germany over reform, arguing that the system is not supporting the EU's green transition.

Under the current system, the wholesale electricity price is set by the last power plant needed to meet overall demand for power. Gas plants often set the price in this system, which Spain said was unfair as it results in cheap renewable energy being sold for the same price as costlier fossil fuel-based power.

The European Commission has said it will investigate whether the EU power market is functioning well, but that there is no evidence to suggest a different system would have better protected countries against the surge in energy costs, and that rolling back electricity prices is tougher than it appears during such spikes.

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Duke Energy Net Metering Proposal updates rooftop solar compensation with time-of-use rates, lower grid credits, and a minimum charge, aligning payments with electricity demand in North Carolina pending regulators' approval.

Key Points

A plan to swap flat credits for time-of-use rates and a minimum charge for rooftop solar customers in North Carolina.

✅ Time-of-use credits vary by grid demand

✅ $10 minimum use charge plus $14 basic fee

✅ Aims to align solar payouts with actual electricity value

Duke Energy has proposed new rules for how owners of rooftop solar panels are paid for electricity they send to the electric grid. It could mean more complexity and lower payments, but the utility says rates would be fairer.

State legislators have called for changes in the payment rules — known as "net metering" policies that allow households to sell power back to energy firms.

Right now, solar panel owners who produce more electricity than they need get credits on their bills, equal to whatever they pay for electricity. Under the proposed changes, the credit would be lower and would vary according to electricity demand, said Duke spokesperson Randy Wheeless.

"So in a cold winter morning, like now, you would get more, but maybe in a mild spring day, you would get less," Wheeless said Tuesday. "So, it better reflects what the price of electricity is."

Besides setting rates by time of use, solar owners also would have to pay a minimum of $10 a month for electricity, even if they don't use any from the grid. That's on top of Duke's $14 basic charge. Duke said it needs the extra revenue to pay for grid infrastructure to serve solar customers.

The proposal is the result of an agreement between Duke and solar industry groups — the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association; the Southern Environmental Law Center, which represented Vote Solar and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; solar panel maker Sunrun Inc.; and the Solar Energy Industries Association.

The deal is similar to one approved by regulators in South Carolina last year, while in Nova Scotia a solar charge was delayed after controversy.

Daniel Brookshire of the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association said he hopes the agreement will help the solar industry.

"We reached an agreement here that we think will provide certainty over the next decade, at least, for those interested in pursuing solar for their homes, and for our members who are solar installers," Brookshire said.

But other environmental and consumer groups oppose the changes, amid debates over who pays for grid upgrades elsewhere. Jim Warren with NC WARN said the rules would slow the expansion of rooftop solar in North Carolina.

"It would make it even harder for ordinary people to go solar," Warren said. "This would make it more complicated and more expensive, even for wealthier homeowners."

State regulators still must approve the proposal, even as courts weigh aspects of the electricity monopoly in related solar cases. If state regulators approve it, rates for new net metering customers would take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

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Skinners Pond Transmission Line expands PEI's renewable energy grid, enabling wind power integration, grid reliability, and capacity for the planned 40 MW windfarm, funded through the Green Infrastructure Stream to support sustainable economic growth.

Key Points

A 106-km grid project enabling PEI wind power, increasing capacity and reliability, linking Skinners Pond to Sherbrooke.

✅ 106-km line connects Skinners Pond to Sherbrooke substation

✅ Integrates 40 MW windfarm capacity by 2025

✅ Funded by Canada and PEI via Green Infrastructure Stream

The health and well-being of Canadians are the top priorities of the Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island. But the COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than Canadians' personal health. It is having a profound effect on the economy.

That is why governments have been taking decisive action together to support families, businesses and communities, and continue to look ahead to planning for our electricity future and see what more can be done.

Today, Bobby Morrissey, Member of Parliament for Egmont, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, the Honourable Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island, the Honourable Dennis King, Premier of Prince Edward Island, and the Honourable Steven Myers, Prince Edward Island Minister of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, announced funding to build a new transmission line from Sherbrooke to Skinners Pond, as part of broader Canadian collaboration on clean energy, with several premiers nuclear reactor technology to support future needs as well.

The new 106-kilometre transmission line and its related equipment will support future wind energy generation projects in western Prince Edward Island, complementing the Eastern Kings wind farm expansion already advancing. Once completed, the transmission line will increase the province's capacity to manage the anticipated 40 megawatts from the future Skinner's Pond Windfarm planned for 2025 and provide connectivity to the Sherbrooke substation to the northeast of Summerside.

The Government of Canada is investing $21.25 million and the Government of Prince Edward Island is providing $22.75 million in this project, reflecting broader investments in new turbines across Canada, through the Green Infrastructure Stream (GIS) of the Investing in Canada infrastructure program.

This projects is one in a series of important project announcements that will be made across the province over the coming weeks. The Governments of Canada and Prince Edward Island are working cooperatively to support jobs, improve communities and build confidence, while safely and sustainably restoring economic growth, as Nova Scotia increases wind and solar projects across the region.

"Investing in renewable energy infrastructure is essential to building healthy, inclusive, and resilient communities. The new Skinners Pond transmission line will support Prince Edward Island's production of green energy, focusing on wind resources rather than expanded biomass use in the mix. Projects like this also support economic growth and help us build a greener future for the next generation of Islanders."

Bobby Morrissey, Member of Parliament for Egmont, on behalf of the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities

"We live on an Island that has tremendous potential in further developing renewable energy. We have an opportunity to become more sustainable and be innovative in our approach, and learn from regions where provinces like Manitoba have clean energy to help neighbouring provinces through interties. The strategic investment we are making today in the Skinner's Pond transmission line will allow Prince Edward Island to further harness the natural power of wind to create clean, locally produced and locally used energy that will benefit of all Islanders."

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Manitoba NDP Energy Financing Strategy outlines public ownership of renewables, halts private wind farms, stabilizes hydroelectric rates, and addresses Manitoba Hydro deficits amid drought, export revenue declines, and rising demand for grid reliability.

Key Points

A plan to fund public renewables, pause private wind, and stabilize Manitoba Hydro rates, improving utility finances.

✅ Public ownership favored over private wind contracts

✅ Focus on rate freeze and Manitoba Hydro debt management

✅ Addresses drought impacts, export revenue declines, rising demand

Manitoba's NDP administration has declared its intention to formulate a strategy for financing new energy ventures, following a decision to halt the development of additional private-sector wind farms and to extend a pause on new cryptocurrency connections amid grid pressures. This plan will accompany efforts to stabilize hydroelectric rates and manage the financial obligations of the province's state-operated energy company.

Finance Minister Adrien Sala, overseeing Manitoba Hydro, shared these insights during a legislative committee meeting on Thursday, emphasizing the government's desire for future energy expansions to remain under public ownership, even as Ontario moves to reintroduce renewable energy projects after prior cancellations, and expressing trust in Manitoba Hydro's governance to realize these goals.

This announcement was concurrent with Manitoba Hydro unveiling increased financial losses in its latest quarterly report. The utility anticipates a $190-million deficit for the fiscal year ending in March, marking a $29 million increase from its previous forecast and a significant deviation from an initial $450 million profit expectation announced last spring. Contributing factors to this financial downturn include reduced hydroelectric power generation due to drought conditions, diminished export revenues, and a mild fall season impacting heating demand.

The recent financial update aligns with a period of significant changes at Manitoba Hydro, initiated by the NDP government's board overhaul following its victory over the former Progressive Conservative administration in the October 3 election, and comes as wind projects are scrapped in Alberta across the broader Canadian energy landscape.

Subsequently, the NDP-aligned board discharged CEO Jay Grewal, who had advocated for integrating wind energy from third-party sources, citing competitive wind power trends, to promptly address the province's escalating energy requirements. Grewal's approach, though not unprecedented, sought to offer a quicker, more cost-efficient alternative to constructing new Manitoba Hydro dams, highlighting an imminent energy production shortfall projected for as early as 2029.

The opposition Progressive Conservatives have criticized the NDP for dismissing the wind power initiative without presenting an alternate solution, warning about costly cancellation fees seen in Ontario when projects are halted, and emphasizing the urgency of addressing the predicted energy gap.

In response, Sala reassured that the government is in the early stages of policy formulation, reflecting broader electricity policy debates in Ontario about how to fix the power system, and criticized the previous administration for its inaction on enhancing generation capacity during its tenure.

Manitoba Hydro has named Hal Turner as the acting CEO while it searches for Grewal's successor, following controversies such as Solar Energy Program mismanagement raised by a private developer. Turner informed the committee that the utility is still deliberating on its approach to new energy production and is exploring ways to curb rising demand.

Expressing optimism about collaborating with the new board, Turner is confident in finding a viable strategy to fulfill Manitoba's energy needs in a safe and affordable manner.

Additionally, the NDP's campaign pledge to freeze consumer rates for a year remains a priority, with Sala committing to implement this freeze before the next provincial election slated for 2027.

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