The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) heard oral arguments today on the Joint Petition filed by Idaho Power, Avista Corporation and PacifiCorp d/b/a Rocky Mountain Power (collectively the “Utilities”) in Docket No. GNR-E-10-04, requesting that the Commission address various issues related to avoided costs for PURPA Qualifying Facilities (“QFs”), including ownership and valuation…

An entry from our colleague Jake Storms:

While wineries and vineyards have long been moving toward being “green,” several have taken the next step by installing renewable energy generation onsite. One of the most recent is August Cellars, just outside Newberg, Oregon. The winery recently installed a 150-foot-tall, 50-kilowatt wind turbine. August Cellars maneuvered around the somewhat prohibitive cost of the project (between $70,000 and $100,000) by not actually owning the turbine, but instead leases the turbine from a third party with an option to buy.

August Cellars is following in the footsteps of such giants as Constellation Wines, which, in September 2010, announced it would increase its solar photovoltaic (PV) usage to nearly 4MW with new installations at its Estancia, Ravenswood, and Clos du Bois wineries in California. These systems would expand on the company’s already existing use of solar PV at its Gonzales winery. Constellation will own the systems and take advantage of the tax credits. Once completed, the installations will cover nearly 100% of the energy needs of Estancia and Ravenswood, 75% of Clos du Bois, and 60% of Gonzales and is projected to save the wine giant nearly $1 million annually from reduced energy costs.

The move by wineries toward renewables is not merely a “West Coast thing” either. Red Caboose Winery, a 10,000-case rural winery located in Meridian, Texas, recently released a statement that it would be using a USDA Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) grant of $15,617 to help install a solar PV system. According to the owners, the new system will allow the winery to have a net annual energy consumption of zero.Continue Reading Renewable Electricity and Wine – A Perfect Pairing

The California Carbon Capture and Storage Review Panel released its final recommendations last week after nine months of fact-finding and deliberations. The Panel was sponsored by the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, and the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”), with participation from the California Department of Conservation and the California State Water Board. The Panel was formed to review the statutory and regulatory barriers to the use of carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) as a strategy to combat climate change. CCS is a technology with potential to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and industrial sources on a large scale by capturing the emissions and sequestering them in geologic formations underground.

The Panel’s recommendations focus on:

  • ensuring that CCS can play a role in meeting California’s greenhouse gas emission (“GHG”) reduction requirements (e.g., the Panel recommends that CARB consider and integrate CCS into its GHG rules);
  • addressing regulatory and permitting barriers for CCS projects (e.g., the Panel recommends establishing a coordinated permitting system with the California Energy Commission as the lead agency);
  • addressing key legal issues and uncertainties (e.g., the Panel recommends that the legislature declare surface owners to be the owners of subsurface pore space that could be used for carbon dioxide storage); and
  • ensuring the safe, equitable, and cost-effective use of CCS in California (e.g., the Panel recommends that the legislature establish that any cost allocation mechanisms for CCS projects be spread as broadly as possible across all Californians).

The Panel was comprised of experts from industry, trade groups, academia, and environmental organizations. Stoel Rives’ Jerry Fish served on the Panel’s Technical Advisory Committee along with representatives from the relevant state agencies and other expert consultants. With assistance from other members of Stoel’s CCS team, he contributed white papers on carbon dioxide pipelines, pore space rights, and enhanced oil recovery issues and advised on the Panel on a variety of property, liability, and regulatory issues for CCS. For more information on CCS or the Panel’s work, please contact:

Read the Panel’s key findings and recommendations after the jump or download the full background report and final recommendations report from the California Climate Change Portal.Continue Reading Recommendations for Carbon Capture and Storage in California

A legal update from our colleague Seth Hilton:

Ten months after initially authorizing the use of tradable renewable energy credits (TRECs), the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) today lifted its moratorium on approval of TREC transactions. CPUC Dec. 11-01-025. Today’s decision, however, retains restrictions on TREC transactions that could limit the amount of out-of-state…

Wind & Solar Integration Summit, Scottsdale, AZ

January 24, 2011, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Workshop

January 25, 2011, 7 a.m. – 5:15 p.m., Conference

January 26, 2011, 9 a.m. – 11:45 a.m., Conference

 

As the Workshop Chair, I would like to extend you an invitation to the Wind & Solar Integration Summit…

A legal update from our colleagues, Aaron Courtney, Michael O’Connell & Jake Storms:

Unlike other types of energy development on lands administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") (e.g., wind, geothermal), solar energy has consistently encountered significant delays caused in large part by a regulatory authorization system that has yet to…

In a blow to China’s position as the world’s dominant producer of solar panels, the new military authorization law  prevents the Defense Department from buying Chinese-made solar panels, but allows it to buy solar panels from any country that has signed the W.T.O.’s side agreement on government procurement.

The W.T.O. Government Procurement Agreement, which requires free trade in government purchases…