CA MATL Deadline Extended & Rim Rock FERC Approval

While watching and waiting for the eminent domain lawsuit decision by Montana Sixth Judicial District Court Judge Nels Swandal concerning the Rim Rock wind farm required MATL transmission line, two additional related news items have emerged with little U.S. press coverage.

*** Update at end of post ***

First, the Alberta Utilities Commission released a ruling on December 21, 2011 extending MATL's original approval deadline of December 31, 2011 for a Canadian portion of the project.

Although a MATL request to extend the deadline until the end of 2012 was not given, the Commission did grant an interim order for an extension of time until May 31, 2012 giving more time to review applications.

Both Montana Alberta Tie Limited (MATL) and Altalink Management Limited (AltaLink) filed applications requesting time extensions for their projects, citing construction delays due to bad weather and contractor disputes.

Altalink, who is working on a MATL substation and interconnect for the project, also stated in their extension application that MATL has not yet completed the transfer of land for the Picture Butte 120S substation.

The AUC interim order is currently available here, and an Edmonton Journal article about the interim order is currently available here.



Another story that gained little traction here in the U.S. media was an important decision regarding the Rim Rock wind farm that will send energy North to Canada through the transmission infrastructure which just won that short reprieve ...

San Diego Gas & Electric wins FERC approval for Montana wind farm Dec 22, 2011'San Diego Gas & Electric won Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approval Wednesday to invest in a planned Montana wind farm, as well as an arrangement whereby SDG&E will immediately sell the power back to the project's developer, but keep the renewable energy certificates.

NaturEner USA, a subsidiary of the Spanish renewable energy company Grupo NaturEner, is developing the 189-MW project, which it will own and operate.

Any concerns about the potential for "affiliate abuse" were satisfied, FERC said.

SDG&E will be able to use the RECs from the Rim Rock Wind Farm to help satisfy California's 33% renewable portfolio standard.

The California Public Utilities Commission recently passed rules prohibiting these types of deals from counting toward a utility's RPS obligations, but the new rules apply only to contracts signed after June 1, 2010. SDG&E struck its deal with NaturEner before that date and received PUC authorization in November 2009.'
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*** Update 1/12/11 ***
Judge Swandal released a decision upholding the constitutionality of HB198 in a portion of the lawsuit's outcome, some information is available from the Great Falls Tribune here.

Marnee Banks, a hardworking reporter at KXLH here in Helena, highlights some ongoing loose MATL ends, some of which are discussed above ...

MATL project still delayed Jan 12, 2012
*** End Update 1/12/11 ***