Legalectric

First, the bad news – the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania has affirmed the Order of the Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission approving the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission project:

Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania – Affirms Pennsylvania’s S-R Order

And now, on to the pressure… The National Park Service is working to do it’s job as steward of our national park land, in this case, the federally declared Wild and Scenic Delaware River and the Delaware Water Gap.

Seems that some don’t think they should be allowed to do that job, and are pressuring them to “hurry up” so the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission line can steamroll on through.  Well, BACK OFF!

Today the pressure on NPS was overt in two venues.  First, U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) amends a bill to push the NPS to complete its environmental review one year ahead of schedule.  Say what?!?!?!

Then in my inbox a sour grapes press release from FERC Commissioner Phillip Moeller whining because the newly adopted rule won’t do what he wants, it won’t address “problems” like NPS doing its proper review of transmission projects:

July 21, 2011 Press Release – Phillip Moeller Whines

Here’s the Susquehanna-Roseland specific part:

“While I offer substantial praise for today’s final rule, the Commission should have taken a different approach to several important issues.  We must recognize that all of the nation’s difficulties in building needed transmission will not be resolved by this rule.  Rather, this rule largely addresses planning for long-distance transmission lines, which is only a subset of the critical issues that are inhibiting needed investment.

This rule cannot address issues like the delays caused by other federal agencies in the siting of important projects, as this Commission lacks the legal authority to require other federal agencies to act.  For example, see the comments of PJM in this proceeding at p. 17, which state that:

[t]he PJM Board approved the Susquehanna-Roseland 500 kV line in 2007.  The Susquehanna-Roseland line was approved by the state regulatory commissions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey for 2012.  The line is currently delayed by the National Parks Service [sic] and is not expected to be in service until 2014 at the earliest.

Ohhhhhhhh, isn’t it too bad.  He’s just one Commissioner, and he’s got to put his dissent out there as an extensive and extended rulemaking proceeding closes… Why is he pushing, why does he care, and why does his care rise to the level that he sends out a dissenting press release?  Lighten up, the National Park Service has a job to do.  As the testimony in the Susquehanna-Roseland proceeding before the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities reflects, we are NOT going to freeze in the dark in an incubator without a job…

And here’s Pre. Charlie Dent’s whine:

Charlie Dent pushes expedited federal review of Susquehanna-Roseland power line proposal

Published: Thursday, July 21, 2011, 4:30 AM
By Tom Rowan Jr. | The Express-Times

U.S. Rep. Charlie Dent is pushing for the National Park Service to complete its review of the controversial Susquehanna-Roseland power line proposal sooner than planned.

And the New Jersey Sierra Club wants Dent, R-Lehigh Valley, to back off.

Dent amended a bill approved July 12 by the House Appropriations Committee to call on the park service to finish its environmental impact statement on the project by 2012 rather than 2013.

“The committee is concerned about delays,” reads Dent’s amendment to the Fiscal Year 2012 Interior and Environment Bill.

The Sierra Club this week issued a release claiming Dent added the amendment in an attempt to “handcuff the park service from doing their job in complete violation of the public trust” and “undercut the National Park Service and push an environmentally destructive and unnecessary project.”

First pitched in 2008, the Susquehanna-Roseland line has been described by the two power companies behind the plan — PPL Electric Utilities Corp. in Pennsylvania and Public Service Electric & Gas in New Jersey — as necessary to bolster the region’s power grid. The 130-mile power line is proposed to link the Berwick, Pa., area to Roseland, Essex County.

The 500-kilovolt line is being evaluated by the park service because the route, as approved by New Jersey and Pennsylvania utility regulators, crosses the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area and other federal lands.

“The timely completion of the impact statement is of great importance to the reliability of the regional grid and is critical to the supply of electricity to 58 million consumers in 13 states and Washington, D.C.,” the bill reads.

The National Park Service earlier this year pushed its goal to finish the impact statement back from fall 2012 to January 2013, after the utility companies asked the agency to include another alternative in their review.

“Instead of standing up for our open spaces, Dent is working for PSE&G and PPL,” Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, is quoted as saying in the statement.

Collin Long, spokesman for Dent, responded Tuesday in an e-mail, “The congressman’s amendment does not show favor toward any of the alternatives being considered and respects the integrity of the environmental impact statement.

“It simply requires the National Park Service to follow their own timeline for completion of the review process, which already includes a six-month extension of their original deadline to October 2012.”

The appropriations bill awaits consideration by the full House of Representatives. When considered on the House floor, it will be open for modification through the amendment process.

If it passes through the House, it would be referred to the Senate.

Read the STrib today?  Xcel has 9,500 record peak.

Xcel, how dare you… the 9,500MW peak you report is exaggerated… naughty, naughty.  You didn’t deduct for the interruptible service customers’ megawatts, and you’re including electricity you’ve generated and sold elsewhere, that the number represents the totals Xcel put on the grid, and not accounting for the demand that they’ve shed, not wholesale sales in other markets. THIS IS NOT PEAK DEMAND!!!  YOU’RE CHEATING, XCEL… sigh… what’s new…

Thanks for clearing that up, little birdie!

But even considering that sleight of hand, it’s no record, it’s not even up to the 2006 peak… and that was FIVE years ago.  Your CapX 2020 transmission is predicated on 2.43% (is that right, 2.4 something…) increase annually, but folks, we’re not even close to that.

Here’s the peak demand over the last 10 years:

And here’s what the STrib said today, what they said that Xcel said, blah blah blah, 9,500 my ass:

From Albert Lea Tribune, Fair Use, capturing one of those classic “oh shit…” moments in trucking… (see article below).

In another “oh shit” moment, the Bent Tree Wind Farm noise testing report is out, was released about a month ago, and I’m finally getting around to publishing it.

Bent Tree – Survey of Operational Sound Levels

Take a look at p. 19 and 20 for L10 and L50 levels, and look how frequently the levels are higher state noise limits! See Minn. Rule 7030.0040:

Here’s a summary chart from the Bent Tree noise report, p. 13:

And what they’re trying to do is to remove background sound so that the numbers won’t be above what is allowed by the state’s rules.  Graphically, here’s what that comparison, with and without background noise, looks like, p. 43:

The article that was the source of the photo at the top is from the Albert Lea Tribune, and it’s old news, from Sept. 2010, but for those inquiring minds that want to know:

Wind turbine tower falls off truck

Published 9:43am Thursday, September 16, 2010

MANCHESTER — A section of a Vestas wind turbine tower slipped off the semi that was hauling it early Thursday morning.

The truck was carrying the large tower section on gravel 695th Avenue north of Freeborn County Road 29 near West Freeborn Lutheran Church. It fell off near a turn in the road.

The gravel roads in southern Minnesota were saturated after heavy rains Wednesday night. Albert Lea received more than an inch on Wednesday.

Fortunately for the construction workers, the ditch along 695th Avenue was shallow compared to most. It is a minimal traffic road.

Trucks have been delivering these large pieces to each site in the Bent Tree Wind Farm since July.

The Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office responded to the incident. The call went out around 7 a.m. Sheriff Mark Harig said as far as he knew there were no injuries or damages reported.

“It’s just blocking the road,” Harig said.

He said as of 8 a.m. a deputy was still near the site performing traffic control.

“They’ll have to get a crane to pick it up and move it where it needs to go,” Harig said.

Calls to Bent Tree Wind Farm officials were not immediately returned before this story went to press Thursday morning.

Not only can she open a babygate (in any configuration) faster than we can replace it,  shoulder open any door not firmly latched, sort through the garbage, and dump over the dog food container and lounge in the pile snarfing it all down as though she were eating bon-bons, our dear Summer has now learned to open the fridge.  Judging from the kitchen floor, she does not like potatoes.  Judging from the doggy bed in my office, she loves tortillas, whole wheat and white flour and corn too.

… sigh… that’s our Summer grrrrrrrrrrrl!

DUH! We all know what the point of the Susquehanna-Roseland transmission is, PSEG! Back during the Susquehanna Roseland hearing, I introduced a FERC filing reflecting the 660MW transfer across the river to New York, that was what, a year and a half ago now?

Ex. 12 – STL D 16c – FERC Compliance Filing

So how is this Firm Transmission Withdrawal Rights for 685MW and 330 MW is news?  The NJ BPU was NOT in the dark about this…

Now where’s that other 670MW… Exhibit 96…  it’s in here somewhere… here’s a post from November, 2009:

How far down does electrical demand have to go…

Here’s yesterday’s piece from the New Jersey Spotlight:

Federal Agency OK’s Power Transfer from New Jersey to New York

Interconnect likely to lead to higher electricity prices and greater congestion on the grid — along with possible summer blackouts

By Tom Johnson, June 30 in Energy & Environment

New Jersey has lost another battle with federal regulators, a setback likely to lead to higher electricity prices for consumers in the state.

Over the protests of the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Monday approved an interconnection request to allow 660 megawatts of power to be transferred from the Public Service Electric & Gas (PSE&G) Ridgefield substation to a Consolidated Edison West 49th Street substation in Manhattan.

Beyond increasing energy and capacity prices for ratepayers here, the state agency argued the interconnection would negatively affect reliability in northern New Jersey, which is already projected to face the possibility of brownouts beginning in summer 2012.

By drawing power from New Jersey, opponents of the project argue it will increase congestion, driving up the cost of power and capacity. Power suppliers receive capacity payments to have power plants in reserve to deliver electricity at times of peak demand.

The power line to the lucrative New York City market is being developed by Hudson Transmission Partners LLC.

New Jersey has found itself in an increasingly combative relationship with the federal agency. Because of high energy costs, the state approved a pilot program to have ratepayers subsidize the development of three natural gas-fired power plants. But as the state’s filing noted, that effort will be impeded by actions taken by the federal agency governing how power plants bid in capacity auctions.

The state had sought either to have the agency reject the interconnection agreement between Hudson, the New York Independent System Operator and Con Ed or to hold a proceeding to debate the issue.

In rejecting the state’s request, the federal agency ruled the sole issue in the matter involved the interconnection agreement, saying reliability and other concerns had been addressed in prior proceedings.

Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the BPU, said the agency is disappointed with the decision. “It imperils further our system, and its reliability.” He also said it seems inconsistent with recent rules adopted by FERC. In the past year, state regulatory officials have grown increasingly frustrated with actions taken by FERC and the PJM Interconnection, which operates the regional power grid serving more than 50 million people. They have intervened in a number of cases, including efforts by PSE&G to obtain special incentive rates for transmission projects they are developing, as well as a proposed natural gas pipeline that would run through Jersey City and into New York City.