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Standard Offer Docket No. 7533 - Update

By Shems Dunkiel Kassel & Saunders PLLC

Several important updates are provided below on the Vermont Standard Offer program.

On October 16th, the PSB issued an Order resolving numerous questions pertaining to how the Standard Offer program will be implemented. One of the key issues ruled upon covers how the SPEED Facilitator is to handle it if applications for projects exceed the limits by energy source provided in the PSB's September 30th Order. The PSB ruled that a lottery system would be used to select projects that submit a timely application.

The queue opened for applications on October 19th. Yesterday, the SPEED Facilitator filed a report on the first day of the program. The totals appear at the top of this post and are contained in a story on VPR.

Solar and biomass project applications exceed their allocations of the 50 MW available under the Standard Offer program, and a lottery to select projects will occur at the PSB on Thursday (10/22) at 10am. You must request permission from the PSB to observe the lottery.

In the VPR story, Representative Tony Klein, who sponsored the legislation creating the program, reacted to the first day's results by stating: "This is what the economy desperately needs at this moment. What's so exciting to me as a legislator is to see and realize that in May we create this legislation and here we are in the middle of October we almost have boots on the ground ready to get this technology deployed."

We agree with Representative Klein that Monday's results are a good signal, but would offer that the real measure of success of the program should be based on projects actually built and generating electricity.

Full post as published by Renewable Energy Law Blog on October 21, 2009 (boomark / email).