From our colleagues Jere Webb and Jason Davis: On August 6, 2010, the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (“EERE”), through delegated authority by the Department of Energy, issued a nationwide limited public interest waiver under Section 1605 (the “Buy American Provisions”) of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the “Recovery … Continue Reading
Pursuant to recently issued temporary regulations, the Oregon Department of Energy has imposed a July 30, 2010 deadline for projects seeking a BETC that have projected facility costs of $6 million or greater. See the link below for specific details. Tier Three Projects… Continue Reading
The Washington State Department of Commerce (formerly the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development or CTED) has announced that it is attempting to revise Washington’s comprehensive energy plan (the “State Energy Strategy”). The State Energy Strategy was last revised in 2003, and it does not serve current energy realities and forecasts. Therefore, the Washington State … Continue Reading
We are pleased to announce that the first edition of THE LAW OF BIOMASS is available now. THE LAW OF BIOMASS is a guide which contains insights and lessons that our team has developed through our position as a market leader in renewable energy legal issues. THE LAW OF BIOMASS focuses on electricity generated from … Continue Reading
This year’s International BIOMASS Conference and Expo will be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota on May 4-6. The 6 program tracks will provide specified topic panels and discussions on Crop Residues, Dedicated Energy Crops, Forest and Wood Processing Residues, Livestock and Poultry Wastes, MSW and Urban Wastes as well as Food Processing Residues. Please join Mark … Continue Reading
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 level for up … Continue Reading
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 to … Continue Reading
On March 24, 2010, three federal agencies announced a Memorandum of Understanding for Hydropower (the “MOU”) that impacts developers of traditional hydropower, hydrokinetic, pumped storage, and small-scale hydropower facilities. The Department of Energy (“DOE”), the Department of the Interior (“DOI”), and the Department of the Army, through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) (collectively, the … Continue Reading
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 … 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
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)) and Glenn … Continue Reading
On August 14, 2009, the Department of Energy ("DOE") State Energy Program ("SEP") announced that more than $119 million in funding from the Recovery Act to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects has been awarded to Alabama, American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, North Dakota and Wyoming. Here is a summary of how the … Continue Reading
Last week DOE released a new funding opportunity announcement for up to $480 million for pilot-scale and demonstration-scale integrated biorefinery projects. An integrated biorefinery uses an “acceptable feedstock” to produce a biofuel or bioproduct as the “primary product.” Acceptable feedstocks include: Algae Certain woody biomass Renewable plant materials so long as it is not generally intended for use … Continue Reading
Last year, we reported on Utah Public Service Commission decisions regarding the need for the Milford Wind Power Project to obtain a certificate of convenience and necessity. Ultimately, the Commission ruled that the Project’s 90-mile transmission line connecting the wind farm to a point of interconnection at the Intermountain Power Project generating station was not … Continue Reading
Congressional leaders have just announced that they have reached an agreement on the details of a stimulus package. The details have yet to be announced, other than the total cost of the bill is estimated to be $789 billion. That amount is less than either the House or Senate bill. We will post details as … Continue Reading
