My partner Eric Grasberger and I were recently interviewed for an article in the Oregon State Bar Bulletin (October 2009) entitled "Advancing the New Economy: Oregon Lawyers Embrace Sustainability," by Barry Woods. The article, which we’ve summarized here, provides an interesting take on how lawyers at Stoel Rives and other law firms are integrating concepts of … Continue Reading
Seeing how Stoel Rives is a Silver Sponsor of the Geothermal Energy Expo, held in Reno until October 7, 2009, it appears timely to talk about some geothermal energy news (click here for conference details, come by and see us at booth #520). On October 2, 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the … Continue Reading
Last week, Obama Administration officials released the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force Interim Report (the “Interim Report”), which lays out a comprehensive national policy for protecting and managing the use of our oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes. Created by President Obama via a June 12, 2009 Presidential Memorandum, the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force … Continue Reading
The University of Minnesota’s annual conference on Energy, Economics and the Environment – E3 – will be held in St. Paul on November 17. Hosted annually by the University of Minnesota’s Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE), this year’s conference will explore current technologies, environmental benefits and market opportunities in renewable energy. Stoel … Continue Reading
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $3.2 billion for energy efficiency and conservation block grants. Most of this money has been allocated directly to various local governments. Washington has an additional $6.4 million available through a competitive grant program. Washington’s competitive grant program is administered through its Department of Commerce. Today, the Department of Commerce has announced … Continue Reading
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 … Continue Reading
Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued $500 million for green job training. This money is being released through a series of competitive grants. If you are an organization within Washington State, the Governor’s Office requests that you submit a brief information form to the Governor’s Evergreen Jobs Leadership Team. The Team is compiling … Continue Reading
Washington previously received $60.9 million in Recovery Act funding for its State Energy Program (“SEP”). The Washington Legislature later provided $38.5 million to the Washington State Community, Trade and Economic Development (“CTED”) agency to administer a loan and grant program for eligible projects in the areas of energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean energy innovation (see … Continue Reading
On June 29, 2009 the Department of Energy ("DO") issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement to provide up to $31 million in grants to implement the Building America ("BA") program. The BA program is part of DOE’s Building Technologies Program, and its long-term goal is to develop cost-effective, production-ready systems in five major climate zones that will result … Continue Reading
On July 1, 2009, Washington State’s Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development (“CTED”) issued application guidelines and forms for its State Energy Program (“SEP”) (available by clicking here). The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Recovery Act”) provided $60.9 million in new funding for Washington’s SEP. Subsequently, the Washington Legislature allocated $38.5 million to … Continue Reading
On July 2, 2009, the Department of Energy ("DOE") announced $59 million in conditional loan guarantees in the form of $16 million for a wind turbine assembly plant and $43 million for a 20 megawatt flywheel energy storage plant. Nordic Windpower, USA has been conditionally offered a $16 million loan to support the tooling and commercial-scale … Continue Reading
On June 26, 2009, the Department of Energy ("DOE") released a funding opportunity announcement ("FOA") to deploy $7.5 million in Recovery Act funds to further its goals of reducing energy consumption and achieving net zero-energy buildings (defined as buildings that produce as much energy as they consume). In order to reach these goals, DOE recognizes that a … Continue Reading
We welcome energy attorneys Morten Lund and David Quinby to the firm’s San Diego office as members of the Energy and Telecommunications group. They join attorneys Howard Susman and Brian Nese. The San Diego office has relocated to a larger space at 12265 El Camino Real, Suite 303, to accommodate further expansion (new contact … Continue Reading
The Department of Energy ("DOE") has released $12.93 million to fund geologic sequestration training and research. $7.93 million is available for awards to all universities, colleges, and college-affiliated research institutes and $5 million is available for awards to historically black colleges and universities or other minority institutes listed on the Office of Civil Rights’s accredited post secondary minorities institution … Continue Reading
Yesterday, the Department of Energy ("DOE") announced more than $154 million in Recovery Act funding to four states for their State Energy Programs ("SEPs"). The funds were awarded to California, Missouri, New Hampshire, and North Carolina.… Continue Reading
Jere Webb, a partner in our Trademarks and Intellecutal Property Group, recently wrote the following interesting piece about green marketing claims: It is evident that virtually every business now is trying to position itself as being “green”. For a discussion of restrictions on “green advertising”, particularly the FTC’s green ad guidelines (the “Green Guides”), and similar … Continue Reading
On June 24, 2009, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced more than $204 million in Recovery Act funding to ten states for their State Energy Programs ("SEPs"). Here is a summary of how the monies will be used in Florida, Idaho, and Kansas: Florida’s SEP will fund energy efficiency, renewable energy, and alternative fuels projects in the state. … Continue Reading
Today, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced more than $204 million in Recovery Act funding to ten states for their State Energy Programs ("SEPs"). Here is a summary of how the monies will be used in Connecticut and Utah: Connecticut will use its SEP funding to further a variety of programs. Examples include the deployment of alternative-fuel vehicles … Continue Reading
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, provides over $2.7 billion in formula-based grants to states, U.S. territories, units of local government, and Indian tribes under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program. The purpose of the EECBG Program is to assist eligible entities in creating and implementing strategies to: reduce … Continue Reading
On June 11, 2009, the Department of Agriculture ("USDA") announced that thirty projects, located in fourteen states, would receive $57 million in Recovery Act funding. Of these funds, $49 million will be for wood-to-energy grants and $8 million is for biomass utilization. These funds will serve two important objectives. First, the funds will promote the development of … Continue Reading
On June 16, 2009, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") issued a request for applications ("RFA") for its Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program. The RFA provides $10 million for programs to help lower green house gas ("GHG") emissions through energy and resource management. Eligible activities are those that reduce GHG emissions in the following priority areas: … Continue Reading
The Department of Energy is requesting proposals for regional sequestration technology training. The funding is available to develop regional training that promotes the transfer of knowledge and technologies related to carbon capture and sequestration technologies. Up to $6.97 million in Recovery Act Funding as available for up to 7 individual awards. Proposals must be submitted … Continue Reading
On June 8, 2009, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (“FOA”) to deploy over $1.4 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (“Recovery Act”) to be used to lower our nation’s carbon emissions. The FOA will support projects in two areas: (1) the capture and sequestration of carbon dioxide emissions from industrial sources, … Continue Reading
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides almost $94 billion dollars in direct and indirect spending to clean energy company and projects. See Show me the Money: A Guide to Sources of Funding through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. On June 17, 2009, I will be speaking in Cle Elum, Washington about how to … Continue Reading
