March 2012

On March 23, 2012, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) released its highly anticipated final Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines. The Guidelines present a tiered approach for the consideration and analysis of potential impacts to wildlife and habitat from onshore wind energy development. The five-tier process and other guidance found in the Guidelines aim to

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber announced today that he has named Margi Hoffman to serve as his Energy Policy Advisor.  She will join the Governor’s office on April 2.

Ms. Hoffman has served as Senior Vice President and Director of Oregon Operations with Strategies360, a strategic consulting firm, and has also worked closely with Renewable Northwest Project (RNP)

I’ll be moderating Energy Storage for the Grid: Watchful Waiting or the Perfect Storm? at the MIT Enterprise Forum Northwest’s May 8, 2012 program at Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) , 2700 24th Ave East.  The event, which includes a networking reception, will be held from 5:00 to 8:30 pm. 

The evening’s panelists will be:

  • Terry Oliver, Chief

After years of uncertainty, the Wisconsin legislature allowed statewide wind energy siting rules to go into effect today. The new rules (known as “PSC 128”) require wind turbines to be located at least 1,250 feet from the nearest residence and at a distance 1.1 times the height of the wind turbine from the

On February 24, 2012, the U.S. Army Engineering & Support Center issued a draft request for proposals for renewable and alternative energy (the “Draft RFP”). Since posting our initial blog and Energy Law Alert, we have received a number of inquiries about the details of the solicitation. Below are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions.

Before we get to the questions, however, we wanted to remind everyone of the Climate Solutions event entitled “Mission Critical: Clean Energy and the U.S. Military” that will be held at 600 University Street in Seattle from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. tomorrow. The event will be hosted by David Benson, an energy and clean tech partner in our Seattle office. We look forward to seeing you there.

Q1:      Is this the actual RFP?

            A1:      No. It is only a draft. The Draft RFP can be found here. The Army is accepting comments until March 21, 2012. Comments can be submitted via the ProjNet website here.

Q2:      When will the Army issue the final RFP and what form will it take?

            A2:      The Draft RFP does not set a date for release of the final RFP, which will take the form of a Multi-Award Task Order Contract (the “MATOC/Final RFP”). For those unfamiliar with the MATOC process, it is very important to understand four fundamental things: (1) the MATOC will not likely offer the opportunity to bid on any specific project (i.e., a “seed project”) because the Draft RFP covers multiple technologies, (2) the Army will grant multiple awards under the MATOC, (3) awards granted under the MATOC give awardees the right to bid on individual Task Order contracts issued by specific facilities for specific projects (e.g., a Task Order for a 10 MW solar PV project at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington), (4) parties that are not awardees in the MATOC process may not bid on these Task Orders. Thus, a developer must be an awardee under the MATOC/Final RFP in order to have the right to bid on individual project development opportunities. Before issuing the MATOC/Final RFP, the Army will need to complete its review of all of the comments that it receives by the March 21 deadline. At some point after the MATOC/Final RFP is published, the Army will host a pre-proposal conference in Huntsville, Alabama where participants will hear presentations regarding the program, the scope of work, contractual considerations, and small-business considerations. 

Q3:      Is the Department of Defense really mandated to procure 25% of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025?Continue Reading FAQ on Army’s $7 Billion Draft RFP for Renewable Energy

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) is gearing up for spring with its revised Oversupply Management Protocol (OMP), submitted last week as a compliance filing in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proceeding on BPA’s “Environmental Redispatch” policy. BPA’s compliance filing was submitted in response to FERC’s December 7, 2011 order holding that BPA’s Environmental Redispatch policy