FERC reverses 40 years of PURPA precedent in ruling on small solar definition, punts on storage question

Utility Dive: This month's ruling marked a victory for the utilities industry in determining whether they have an obligation to purchase power from certain facilities under PURPA.

NorthWestern Energy in this case argued that the solar array and battery storage system constitute two separate QFs, and that because the Broadview Solar facility has 160 MW of panels, it exceeds the 80 MW threshold. Edison Electric Institute, the trade group for investor-owned utilities in the U.S., also argued that the facility was "artificially limit[ing]" its capacity to meet the QF output limit and secure a payment contract under PURPA.

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