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On December 7, 2009, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the issuance of a final rule amending the October, 2007 Final Regulations implementing the Loan Guarantee Program under Section 1703 of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (the "Section 1703 Program").  The amendments implemented through the final rule were first identified in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Opportunity for Comment  issued by the Department of Energy ("DOE") on August 7, 2009.  The comment period for the proposed amendments ended on September 22, 2009; the comments received by the DOE from the industry and other interested parties were largely supportive of the proposed amendments.

In a nutshell, the amendments to the regulations outlined in the final rule are designed to:

  • provide flexibility in the determination of an appropriate collateral package to secure the guaranteed loan obligations;
  • eliminate the requirement that the Secretary receive a first priority lien on all project assets as a condition for obtaining the loan guarantee;
  • facilitate collateral sharing and related intercreditor arrangements with other project lenders; and
  • provide a more workable interpretation of certain statutory provisions regarding DOE’s treatment of collateral that is more consistent with the intent and purposes of Title XVII.

Continue Reading U.S. Department of Energy Announces Final Rule Amending Regulations for Loan Guarantee Program

 

On December 2, House Ways & Means Chairman Rangel and Ranking Member Camp introduced a tax technical corrections bill (H.R. 4169).  We will likely see an identical version introduced in the Senate very soon.

Included among the technicals are changes to the Grant in Lieu of ITC under section 1603 of ARRA.  The most

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Stoel Rives partner Tom Wood reports:

Minutes ago EPA announced its long awaited “endangerment” and “cause or contribute” findings in relation to six key greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulfur hexafluoride.  While technically this announcement is of limited significance (applying only to motor vehicle emissions), the policy import of…

In an earlier blog post, Debra Frimerman reported that the U.S. Department of Energy was seeking applications for grants to help promote the construction and operation of pilot, demonstration, and commercial scale integrated biorefinery projects. Today, DOE announced the selection of 19 projects to receive up to $564 million in grant money authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.Continue Reading Show me the Money: $564 Million Awarded to Integrated Biorefinery Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) expects to make a final determination in mid-2010 regarding a potential increase in the current 10% allowable ethanol content in fuel, the so-called “blend wall”.

 

In May 2009, Growth Energy, a biofuels industry association headed up by General Wesley Clark, requested a waiver that would allow the…

On November 18, 2009, the Wyoming interim Joint Revenue Committee (the "Committee") considered two bills, each of which proposed to tax wind generated electricity.  Neither bill passed the committee on tie votes of 6-6 (4-4 House members and 2-2 senate members).  One of the bills sponsored by Sen John Schiffer, R-Kaycee, chairman of the Committee (legisweb.state.wy.us/interimCommittee/2009/10LSO-0126w4.pdf) proposed a tax of $.0010 upon each kilowatt hour for electricity produced and sold in the State of Wyoming.  An exemption was provided for electricity produced for the personal consumption of the producer.  A power producer using coal or other fuels would break even on the generation tax through a credit equal to the severance tax portion of their electricity production costs.  The proposed tax works out to be an approximately 5 percent tax on generation.  The second bill considered by the Committee was sponsored by Rep. David Miller, R-Riverton, (legisweb.state.wy.us/interimCommittee/2009/10LSO-0062w2.pdf).  Rep. Miller’s bill was similar to Sen. Schiffer’s bill, but would only provide the credit to traditional power producers if they agree to use 90 percent of the credit on electricity generation or transmission projects and put the other 10 percent into the state’s low income energy assistance program.  Proponents of the proposed tax cited a number of factors in favor of the bill including the fact that wind projects should contribute to state and local governments equally with other energy industries.  For example, Wyoming imposes a severance tax on natural resources, which includes (approximately) a 6 percent tax for oil and gas and a 7 percent tax for coal.  Opponents of the tax bills, including the group of wind energy developers represented by the Wyoming Power Producers Coalition, argued, among other things, that (i) wind energy projects already pay property taxes and provide other financial benefits to the local communities and (ii) the taxation issue should be studied carefully so as not to discourage wind energy development in Wyoming.Continue Reading Will Wyoming Tax Electricity Generated From Wind Energy Projects?

The California Solar Initiative (“CSI”) has announced the release of a second Grant Solicitation for its Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment Program.

Up to $15 million in funding is available for improved PV production technologies and innovative business models. Eligible applicants include individuals, businesses, public entities, non-profit institutions, universities, or national laboratories. Award amounts will range…