From Greenwire: An energy law passed during the Carter administration to promote the expansion of renewable energy was opened for reinterpretation today by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
FERC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), with Chairman Neil Chatterjee saying the law is prime for an update to better reflect the realities of modern energy markets.
"We have seen tremendous technological advancements in renewables, increasing sophistication in competitive electric power markets and abundant supplies of domestic natural gas," Chatterjee said. "It's time to modernize the commission's implementation of PURPA to reflect those significant developments."
Among potential changes to the 1978 law, the commission will consider giving states more flexibility in how they set power rates from qualifying renewable energy facilities, allowing a 95% reduction in the size of qualifying facilities and setting up a tiered approach to the distance between them.
Read the full story in E&E Greenwire.