Almost three years ago, I reported that the White House Council on Environmental Quality had issued the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. Since that time, the Nation Ocean Council, formed by President Obama in Executive Order 13547, has been working diligently to prepare an agency roadmap to put the new National Ocean Policy into action.
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A National Renewable Energy Standard Bill Surfaces in DC
By Jason Johns on
Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), with Sens. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Udall (D-NM), Mark Udall (D-CO) and others joining, announced today that they will introduce a stand-alone Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) bill. The bill will require sellers of electricity to obtain the following milestones in adding renewable energy resources or energy efficiency:
2012-2013 – 3%
2014-2015 – 6%
2017-2018 – 9%
2019-2020 – 12%
2021 – 2039 -15%
Renewable resources that can be used toward compliance will include wind, solar, ocean, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, incremental hydropower, hydrokinetic, new hydropower at existing dams, and waste-to-energy. For utilities that are unable to meet their RES targets, the bill proposes to charge a compliance payment at a rate of 2.1 cents per kilowatt hour, with such amounts then being used for renewable energy development or to offset consumers’ bills.
A first step, yes. But a small one.
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U.S. DOE Releases Funding Opportunity Announcement for Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology Development
By Chad Marriott on
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (the "DOE") released the long-awaited Financial Assistance Funding Opportunity Announcement ("FOA") titled "Marine and Hydrokinetic Technology Readiness Advancement Initiative." Federal funding for this initiative for fiscal year 2010 is expected to be up to $15.36 million, with the possibility of continued funding at, or near, that…
REMINDER: Upcoming DOE Funding for Marine Hydrokinetics
By Chad Marriott on
On March 11, 2010, I posted a blog about the U.S. Department of Energy’s (the "DOE") upcoming Funding Opportunity Announcement ("FOA") for hydrokinetic technology development. The DOE issued a Notice of Intent announcing the FOA earlier that week. To access the Notice of Intent, click here, and enter "hydrokinetic" in the search field.
The DOE was expected…