The U.S. Department of Energy is hosting a free webinar on "How to Build a Strong Application" for the DOE Loan Guarantee Program on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 from 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EST.  The webinar is intended to explain the loan guarantee program and help lenders and applicants navigate the application process.  DOE will

On September 2, 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a letter of deficiency to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator in MISO’s RECB Phase I generator interconnect cost allocation tariff amendment proceedings (Docket No. ER09-1431).  See my previous blog entry on AWEA’s protest to the MISO filing for additional background.

The letter instructs MISO

Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the first awards of cash grants in lieu of the investment tax credit (ITC) today.  The total award value was over $502 million.  Recipients include projects in Colorado, Connecticut, Maine, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Texas.  Click here for a detailed list of the awards

From my colleague Adam Walters:

On August 20 the Australian government announced the passage of a bill quadrupling its Renewable Energy Target (RET) to ensure that 20% (approximately 45,000 GWh) of Australia’s electricity is generated from renewable energy sources by 2020.

 

How does Australia’s RET Scheme Work?

 

The RET scheme is an expansion of Australia’s Mandatory RET scheme introduced in 2001, the first of its kind in the world. It works through the creation and sale of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) by renewable power generators to “liable parties” (mainly large-scale electricity utilities and consumers), who must provide a designated quantity of REC’s to Australia’s renewable energy regulator to demonstrate compliance and avoid having to pay charges for any shortfall. One of the changes brought about the new legislation is to increase from $40/MWh to $65/MWh.

Renewable energy sources eligible for accreditation under the RET scheme include: solar, wind, hydro, tidal, wave, biomass and geothermal, as well as solar water heaters and other smaller generation units. Hydro has historically dominated Australia’s renewable energy landscape, but recent project announcements and funding opportunities for wind and solar projects signal greater diversification of the industry, particularly for proven technologies.        Continue Reading Australia passes 20% renewable energy target by 2020

On Friday August 28, Eric Lindeman of The Energy Daily will be moderating a webinar about "Advanced Biofuels: What Are the Commercial Possibilities?  Why All the Interest in Algae?"  My partner, the always-entertaining John Eustermann, will be speaking at the Webinar along with Connie Lausten (VP, Regulatory and Legislative Affairs, New Generation Biofuels (NGBF))

On Monday, August 24, the IRS issued Notice 2009-64.  The notice sets forth a proposed revenue ruling that concludes that ethanol facilities are depreciable over 7 years (rather than 5 years).  A link to the notice appears below.

The proposed ruling classifies ethanol facilities as assets used in Waste Reduction and Resource Recovery Plants

On August 21, NV Energy issued a press release reminding renewable energy developers of that it has issued a Request of Information (RFI) for renewable energy that can be provided on a short-term basis.  This solicitation is separate from NV Energy’s recently announced 2009 Renewable Energy Request for Proposals.  NV Energy will consider proposals for

On August 13, 2009, the American Wind Energy Association, Wind on the Wires and certain wind developers filed protests at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator’s (MISO) recent filing at FERC.  The MISO filing proposes to revise MISO’s cost allocation methodology for network upgrades for generator interconnection, and resulted from MISO’s Regional Expansion Criteria & Benefits (RECB) Task

We are pleased to announce that the first edition of THE LAW OF ALGAE is available now. The LAW OF ALGAE is a guide to the business and legal issues in developing a commercial scale algae biofuels facility. We are introducing THE LAW OF ALGAE in an on-line “wiki” format where the contents can be accessed at