FERC Wrong to Uphold Grid Upgrade Costs, Solar Developer Claims

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unlawfully approved a cost assignment of more than $300 million for grid upgrades associated with a solar facility trying to connect to the power grid, a solar developer claimed in a brief filed in a federal appeals court.

FERC’s approval violated the the cost-causation principle because the $311 million included costs for upgrades that Southwest Power Pool Inc.'s grid would need regardless of whether the solar facility connected to it, Cage Ranch Solar LLC said in its brief filed Thursday in the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

According to the cost-causation principle, ...