Alabama is not known as a renewable energy leader. Like most other states in the U.S. Deep South it lacks a renewable energy mandate or policy environment to encourage renewable energy, and politicians in the state are strongly critical of President Obama's clean energy policies. However, the attitudes of utilities, their industrial customers and regulators are changing across the South - including in Alabama. Today the Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) gave utility Alabama Power approval to build or procure up to 500 MW of renewable energy from facilities 80 MW or smaller. The initial request by Alabama Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, cited not only the potential implementation of President Obama's Clean Power Plan, but also requests by its customers. However, these projects must come in under Alabama Power's estimates of avoided cost over the lifetime of the project, although projects will also be considered where a customer pays the difference between avoided cost and the contract price of the project. Southern Alliance for Clean Energy (SACE), which intervened in this docket, says that all of the parties intervening supported core aspects of Alabama Power's request. This includes not only renewable energy and environmental groups, but also Alabama Industrial Energy Consumers ...Den vollständigen Artikel lesen ...