Deadline Approaching for Minnesota Biodiesel Grants
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has announced that it will be providing $300,000 in grants to qualified applicants to use for the addition of infrastructure that would allow for the blending of biodiesel in all types of weather, including cold conditions. Facilities must offer biodiesel for a minimum of five years, contingent upon the availability of diesel or biodiesel fuel. The Grantee must notify the Minnesota Department of Agriculture in writing in the event that diesel or biodiesel fuel is not readily available. Complete information is available on the Department's website.
The deadline for submitting applications is December 12, 2008.
A Change in Direction: EPA Must Consider CO2 Emissions When Issuing Permits for New Power Plants
In case there was any doubt after the recent watershed election, the times they are a-changin’. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board’s (“EAB”) recent ruling, In Re Deseret Power Electric Cooperative, could pave the way for EPA-imposed CO2 emissions limits on power plants and other significant sources of CO2 emissions. In response to a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club over the EPA’s issuance of a permit authorizing the construction of a new coal generating unit near Bonanza, Utah, the EAB has ruled that the EPA must consider CO2 emissions when determining whether to issue permits for new power plants.
Continue Reading...Dingell Unseated; Waxman to Head House Energy and Commerce Committee
In a move that could have a significant impact on the energy sector (and create a buzz among political science departments) nationwide, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) has dethroned Representative John Dingell (D-MI) in his nearly 28-year post as chairman of the influential Committee on Energy and Commerce. The 137-122 secret vote has shaken up the seniority system that has driven the caucus for decades. It also replaces a long-time friend of the auto industry with someone who has been championed by environmentalists for his positions on clean air and global warming.
Waxman’s ascension to the Energy and Commerce Committee chairmanship is particularly significant because the committee shepherds legislation on climate change, energy, and health care—all of which are key priorities of the Obama Administration. Waxman (who also has a strong leadership record on health care issues) has pushed for aggressive targets for carbon emissions reductions, more stringent auto emissions standards, and a national cap-and-trade program. Although Dingell recently proposed legislation that would impose gradual reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, Waxman has put forth much more ambitious climate change legislation.
Also of note is Obama’s recent appointment of Philip Schiliro, a longtime aide to Waxman, as the new White House director of Congressional relations. This appointment is considered to be significant in that it provides Waxman with a direct channel to the White House. Congressional insiders have also noted that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is a close ally of Waxman’s. This web of connections underscores the potential for the Obama Administration and Congress to work closely together to usher in major changes to U.S. climate change policy.
Washington Supreme Court Gives Green Light to Kittitas Wind Project
In a decision of great importance to the wind energy industry, the Washington State Supreme Court this morning upheld the approval of Horizon Wind Energy’s Kittitas Valley Wind Power Project. See Residents Opposed to Kittitas Turbines v State Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC). The wind project will be located to the east and west of Highway 97 approximately 12 miles northwest of Ellensburg in Kittitas County, Washington, and is permitted for up to 65 wind turbines. With a proposed installed capacity of approximately 100 megawatts, the project will be able to generate clean renewable power for approximately 30,000 average homes each year.
The Washington Supreme Court’s unanimous decision sets important precedent on the authority of the Washington Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) to offer “one-stop” licensing for large energy projects. Horizon Wind Energy had worked collaboratively to get approval of EFSEC, Gov. Chris Gregoire and many governmental environmental agencies and nonprofit groups. However, some local residents and the Kittitas County Commission opposed the project and argued that EFSEC could not preempt the County’s authority under the Growth Management Act. The Washington Supreme Court rejected their arguments. Developers wishing to site wind and other energy projects in Washington now know what the Washington EFSEC can do, and many of the principles articulated in the decision will be helpful to the wind developers fighting similar battles in other states.
My colleagues Tim McMahan and Erin Anderson, who have worked tirelessly on behalf of Horizon Wind Energy in pursuit of this result, are preparing a summary of the Supreme Court’s sixty-page decision. We'll be sending out the summary and its implications as an Energy Law Alert shortly. If you’d like to sign up to receive Stoel Rives Energy Law Alerts, you can do so by clicking on this link and filling out the form.
In the meantime, for stories covering the Washington Supreme Court’s decision, see:
Renewable Northwest Project Press Release
The Shape of Waves to Come: Forecasting the Future of Ocean Power Conference (Portland, OR, February 10-11, 2009)
Those who follow the ocean energy industry are confronted with a fascinating array of technologies, ranging from articulated "sea snakes" to anchored buoys that exploit oscillating water columns to underwater turbines and other cutting edge technologies. Ocean energy offers enormous possibilities, with the World Energy Council estimating that waves alone (to say nothing of tides, currents or ocean thermal energy) could provide anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 gigawatts of capacity. The Bay of Fundy in eastern Canada has tides so dramatic that it could in theory generate 17,000 GWh per year; some estimates suggests that tidal energy could produce as much as 1 million GWh per year, about 5 percent of today's worldwide electricity generation. (For an excellent overview of the potential of various renewable energy sources, see NewScientist's October 11-17, 2008 special issue on renewable energy.) The Obama Administration will make renewable energy a high priority, and ocean energy will benefit from that policy emphasis.
Along with the promise, ocean energy faces some unique challenges. For example, wave height and frequency vary significantly depending on geography and weather, and deployed technologies need to be tailored to the environment in which they will operate. Ocean technology must also cope with the power of the sea itself, including storms and freak waves. On top of the technical challenges, ocean energy faces legal hurdles. The California Public Utility Commission (CPUC) recently disapproved of a proposed 2MW wave energy power purchase agreement between Finavera and Pacific Gas & Electric, ruling that that the technology involved was not sufficiently reliable and that the cost of energy was too high. (For details of the CPUC's decision and a link to the decision itself, see our Energy Law Alert entitled "California Public Utilities Commission Rejects Finavera-PG&E Wave Energy Contract ." ) The process of permitting and interconnecting an ocean energy facility will require the development of a strategy that threads the needle among stakeholders and conflicting state and federal regulations and claims of jurisdiction.
For those interested in learning more about ocean energy and how to make it a reality, Greentech Media will be holding a Forecasting the Future of Ocean Power conference in Portland, Oregon, on February 10-11, 2009. The conference will bring together analysts, investors, technology developers and suppliers, policy makers, and legal experts for a comprehensive look at the emerging ocean power industry. Stoel Rives is a sponsor for the event, which will also draw on research from Greentech Media's leading ocean power market analysis.
Governor Schwarzenegger Strikes Again: 33% RPS by 2020 and Streamlined Renewable Energy Permitting in California
Governor Schwarzenegger’s been keeping busy on California’s big-ticket environmental issues. Yesterday the Governor’s office issued Executive Order S-14-08, with the laudable goal of accelerating the development of renewable energy resources . . . not to mention bolstering California’s economy with clean-tech jobs. Governor Schwarzenegger announced the Order at what will be the largest solar panel manufacturing facility in North America. The Governor’s remarks on his Executive Order highlighted that investing in renewable energy projects will help us fight climate change, “while driving the state’s green economy.”
Executive Order S-14-08 calls for California to get 33% of our electric energy from renewable sources by 2020. The current Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), instituted in SB 107 in 2006, requires that 20% of California’s power come from renewable sources by 2010. Unlike the current RPS, the Governor's new target applies to both investor-owned utilities and public utilities. A recent ballot initiative in California, which would have applied California's RPS to public utilities, failed on November 7th, after being opposed by a broad coalition of environmental groups and renewable energy industry groups. The Governor says he will propose legislation that will codify the 33% RPS for all retail sellers of electricity.
The Order also implements an MOU signed yesterday by the California Energy Commission (CEC), the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG), the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM), and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Starting in February 2009, renewable energy projects should enjoy a streamlined project approval process before a special joint unit of DFG and CEC. But exactly how will these two agencies “immediately create,” as the Order directs, a one-stop process for permitting renewable energy generation power plants? For thermal power plants over 50 MW, including geothermal and solar thermal facilities, the CEC already is, supposedly, the one-stop shop.
Continue Reading...California's Green Governor To the Rescue?
California has not been afraid to jump off the deep end when it comes to tackling some of the biggest environmental concerns of our era. With the 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act, otherwise known as AB 32, California was the first state to institute mandatory greenhouse gas emissions reductions. And Governor Arnold Schwarzeneggar has been right there with the Legislature. While AB 32 mandates a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, in 2005 the Governor called for even further reductions: 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.
California is going full steam ahead with AB 32, and also SB 375, which implements a variety of land use and planning requirements and incentives to encourage urban development, decrease vehicle miles traveled, and ultimately reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Meanwhile, Governor Schwarzeneggar is also planning for the worst case scenario. Executive Order S-13-08, released on October 14, 2008, addresses planning for the probable effects of climate change. The Executive Order makes the case that “the longer that California delays planning and adapting to sea level rise the more expensive and difficult adaptation will be.” This may sound like commonsense, but it’s also demonstrated by the numbers. As the Order points out, “billions of dollars in state funding for infrastructure and resource management projects are currently being encumbered in areas that are potentially vulnerable to future sea level rise.”
The Order tasks a conglomeration of state agencies with coordinating the preparation of a Sea Level Rise Assessment Report by December 2010. In the interim, all state agencies planning construction projects in vulnerable areas have to consider “a range of sea level rise scenarios for 2050 to 2100.” The vulnerability of a project must be assessed, and the agency must reduce risks and increase resiliency to sea level rise to the extent feasible. An agency is off the hook for this additional analysis if it has already issued a Notice of Preparation for an environmental impact report under the California Environmental Quality Act, or a project is programmed for construction funding in the next five years.
The requirements of the Order do not bleed over into private development, but one has to wonder . . . will this additional level of analysis next be shifted to the private developer who proposes a project in a vulnerable coastal area? This would mean another layer of data to incorporate into a project’s environmental review, including information on local uplift and subsidence, coastal erosion rates, predicted higher high water levels, and storm surge and storm wave data. What would it take to reduce the risks associated with sea level rise for a project your company would like to undertake on the coast? How would you increase the project’s “resiliency” to sea level rise? We can’t put everything in the coastal zone on stilts, but what could be required of an individual project?
I know I’ll be looking for notice of the public workshop on the Sea Level Rise Assessment Report that has to take place before the end of next March.
Continue Reading...Ohio Power Siting Board Adopts Wind Facility Rules
On October 28, 2008, the Ohio Power Siting Board adopted rules implementing certification requirements for wind generating facilities in the state. The full text of the opinion and order approving the rules identifies the procedural background followed by the PSB and highlights comments received from all interested parties (including utilities, citizen groups, and AWEA). The The rules follow Ohio's passage in May 2008 of an RPS which requires that utilities provide 25% of their retail electricity supply from alternative energy resources by 2025, at least half of which must be generated by renewable resources such as wind.
Governor Kulongoski's Climate Change Agenda Unveiled
Earlier this week, I attended Climate Solutions’ Business Briefing on the Governor’s Proposed Climate Change Policy. Hosted by Gerding Edlen, the briefing offered a snapshot of the Governor’s legislative agenda for 2009 and beyond, and gave the sustainable business community the opportunity to offer feedback on what needs to happen to move the plans forward.
The Governor’s Climate Change Agenda (the “Agenda”) covers four major areas: greenhouse gas (“GHG”) reductions, renewable energy, sustainable transportation, and energy efficiency. Some highlights follow.
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