One more step closer to being DONE!  The Public Utilities Commission has issued its “Order Declining to Extend Certificate of Need, Finding Statutory Violatino, Requiring Further Filings, and Giving Notice of Intent to Revoke Site Permit” for all the world to see:

 July 26 2013 Order of the Public Utilities Commission

Here’s the upshot:

1) The Commission will require the project to make a filing within 14 days in which it either surrenders its site permit or states that it intends to begin construction by August 23. If the project states that it intends to begin construction by August 23, it must demonstrate its ability to do so.

If the project states that it intends to begin construction by August 23, it must also provide by that date a more comprehensive response to the Commission’s request in section IV of the March 20 order that it investigate and respond to comments by members of the public alleging deficiencies in its performance on wildlife monitoring and protection issues. It must also file a summary of the March 27, 2013 site visit, referred to in its April 17 letter, conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Energy Facility Permitting Staff of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

The Commission has declined to extend the certificate of need for this project for the reasons set forth above; therefore, any construction of the project must proceed under the exemption provisions of Minn. Stat. § 216B.243. The Commission hereby gives notice of its intent to revoke the site permit if the project has neither surrendered its site permit nor filed an exemption petition by August 23, 2013.

2) The Commission finds that the transfer of the project and its associated purchased power agreements to the current owner is prohibited under Minn. Stat. § 216B.1612, subd. 3 (c), which reads as follows:

The commission shall require that C-BED projects provide sufficient security to secure performance under the power purchase agreement, and shall prohibit transfer of a C-BED project during the initial term of a power purchase agreement if the transfer will result in the project no longer qualifying under subdivision 2, paragraph (h).

First, the ownership transfer violates the plain meaning of subdivision 3 (c) of the C-BED statute. It eliminated local ownership, apparently reducing the in-state economic benefits below the threshold required for the project to qualify under subdivision 2, paragraph (h)…

Subdivision 10 Does Not Make the Anti-Transfer Provision of Subdivision 3 (c) Inapplicable to New Era… This subdivision does not repeal subdivision 3, and its provisions do not conflict with the anti-transfer provision subdivision 3 contains. It does not invalidate or otherwise free existing C-BED projects from the statutory prohibition on ownership transfers that result in existing C-BED projects failing to qualify under the eligibility criteria of subdivision 2, paragraph (h).

BOTTOM LINE:

ORDER

1. The Commission denies the project’s April 17 request to hold the case in abeyance and its June 18 request for an extension of time.

2. The Commission finds that the project violated the anti-transfer provision of Minn. Stat. § 216B.1612, subd. 3 (c) and that the transfer of power purchase agreements that occurred is prohibited.

3. The Commission declines to recertify the certificate of need due to New Era’s failure to demonstrate that it will comply with the Commission’s orders and due to its failure to show that it is prepared to move forward with the project for which the certificate of need was obtained, including the failure to specify a current in-service date.

4. Within 14 days of the date of this order, New Era shall either surrender its site permit or show cause that it intends to begin construction by August 23 and that its site permit should not be revoked. If the project states that it intends to begin construction by August 23, it shall demonstrate that it is able to begin construction by that date.

5. If New Era makes a filing stating that it intends to begin construction by August 23, it shall provide by that date a more comprehensive response to the Commission’s request in section IV of the March 20 order that it investigate and respond to comments by members of the public alleging deficiencies in its performance on wildlife monitoring and protection issues.

6. If New Era makes a filing stating that it intends to begin construction by August 23, it shall provide by that date a summary of the March 27, 2013 site visit, referred to in its April 17 letter, conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, and the Energy Facility Permitting Staff of the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

7. The Commission gives notice of its intent to revoke the project’s site permit if it has neither surrendered its site permit nor filed a certificate of need exemption petition by August 23, 2013.

8. This Order shall become effective immediately.

YES!!!  ‘BOUT TIME!