Environmental Law & Climate Change Community Alternative Energy

Jenner & Block: More Wind Power Into PJM Region Could Save $7B Annually

lgrayson@jenner.com (E. Lynn Grayson) — Wed, 22 May 2013 14:48:00 -0400

A new report completed by Synapse Energy Economics on behalf of Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) concludes adding more wind power to the PJM region can lower gas and coal consumption and reduce regional wholesale energy market prices saving nearly $7B per year by the mid-2020s. The new report, issued May 9, 2013, is titled The Net Benefits of Increased Wind Power in PJM.

Key findings are

Increased installation of wind power resources in the PJM region at roughly double the levels specified by existing RPS statutes lead to annual production cost reductions that range from $14.5 to $14.9 billion per year. This result, arising from the use of the ProSym production cost modeling tool, is based on a set of reasonable assumptions concerning future carbon costs in the electric sector, load, coal retirement levels, natural gas resource additions, improved transmission system infrastructure, and natural gas prices.
Consumers see significantly improved

State Net Capitol Journal Legislative Updates: States Cooling On Renewable Energy

StateNet@placeholder.com (State Net) — Mon, 06 May 2013 11:56:00 -0400

STATES COOLING ON RENEWABLE ENERGY: States' recent passion for renewable energy appears to be running out of steam. Sixteen of the 29 states with renewable portfolio standards are considering legislation that would scale back those mandates, according to the North Carolina Solar Center, a partnership between the U.S. Energy Department and North Carolina State University.

"Activity against renewable portfolio standards has been increasing in the past year," said Justin Barnes, a senior policy analyst at the Solar Center. "There haven't been any outright repeals yet, but we've seen some watering-down."

North Carolina legislators began debating a bill in March that would

Foley & Lardner: Developers Rejoice! IRS Issues "Begun Construction" Guidance

FoleyandLardner@placeholder.com (Foley & Lardner LLP) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 15:28:00 -0400

On April 15, 2013, the IRS released Notice 2013-29 addressing the eligibility for certain alternative energy projects to qualify for the renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) under section 45 of the Tax Code. This guidance has been eagerly anticipated since the beginning of the year by developers of wind and other qualifying renewable energy projects as a recent change in law extending the PTC for qualifying facilities changed eligibility standards and as such, has put these developers on the sidelines due to the uncertainty that the absence of guidance has created.

Background

The eligibility to qualify for federal tax credits for facilities producing energy

Solar Trade Group Reports Surge in U.S. Installations

Troutman.Sanders@placeholder.com (Troutman Sanders) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:05:00 -0400

Partly driven by an oversupply of cheaper panels from China, the domestic solar market had its best year in 2012, with the growth in installations outpacing that of the global market, according to an annual report.

The report, from the Solar Energy Industries Association, the industry's main trade group, and GTM Research, a renewable energy consulting firm, found that the amount of new solar electric capacity increased last year by 76 percent from 2011, raising the United States' market share of the world's installations above 10 percent, up from roughly 5 to 7 percent in the last seven years.

"It's kind of a new world order," said Shayle Kann, vice president for research at GTM.

The United

Keller and Heckman – Fuels Advisory: EPA Proposes Replacing RIN Confusion with Audit Nightmare

Keller.Heckman@placeholder.com (Keller and Heckman LLP) — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:25:00 -0400

By Jean-Cyril (JC) Walker and Adrienne M. Timmel

In response to concerns and Congressional pressure over widespread fraud in the renewable fuels market, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") is proposing to establish an innocent purchaser defense, for those companies that purchase Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs") audited by an EPA-registered, third-party auditor. At the heart of the program is a complicated and invasive auditing scheme, whereby an independent third-party would verify the validity of RINs generated by a renewable fuel producer through quarterly in-plant audits and records review and monitoring

In short, EPA's proposal hinges

State Net Capitol Journal Legislative Updates: Maryland Lawmakers Move Forward With Governor’s Offshore Wind Farm Regulatory Authority

StateNet@placeholder.com (State Net) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 11:58:00 -0400

MD LAWMAKERS ENDORSE O'MALLEY JOBS, WIND BILLS: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) scored a pair of victories last week as lawmakers in Annapolis endorsed two bills he sponsored: SB 278, the Employment Advancement Right Now act, or EARN, a plan to create a $2.5 million annual grant program for workforce training programs that offer "industry-valued skills," and HB 226, the Maryland Offshore Wind Energy Act of 2013, which gives state regulators a framework for approving the development of a 200-megawatt wind farm in the waters off of Ocean City. The jobs bill heads to O'Malley, while the wind farm measure returned to the House for concurrence of technical amendments made in the Senate. (STATE

Wind Projects: Bald Eagles Don't Surf

jdonald@mccarter.com (J. Wylie Donald) — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:25:00 -0400

By J. Wylie Donald, Partner, McCarter & English

One would think that preliminary estimates of bird fatalities at a proposed 78 MW wind farm in southeastern Minnesota were hardly news. After all, there are over 60,000 MW

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:53:00 -0400

By Richard Allan, Partner, Marten Law PLLC

As part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Congress extended eligibility for tax credits for renewable energy projects through the end of 2013, provided developers "begin construction" before the end of the year. Because the Act gives developers little direction as to what the phrase "begin construction" means, Richard Allan of Marten Law PLLC considers several possible definitions in this Emerging Issues Analysis.

DLA Piper: EPC Contracts for South African Wind Farms

DLAPiper@placeholder.com (DLA Piper) — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 10:35:00 -0400

Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contracts are the most common form of contract used to undertake construction works by the private sector on large scale and complex infrastructure projects. Under an EPC contract, a contractor is obliged to deliver a complete facility to a developer who need only 'turn a key' to start operating the facility; hence EPC contracts

Photoelectric Cells to Dye For - Solar Power From Indoor Lights

tclarke@rmkb.com (Thomas H. Clarke, Jr.) — Sat, 26 May 2012 18:08:00 -0400

Is it possible to efficiently harness the often dim and indirect light found inside a room (e.g., from incandescent bulbs, fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent bulbs, and light emitting diodes). The answer would now appear to be "yes."

A Walsh firm claims to have taken the efficiency of dye-based cells from 15% to 26%, which if correct would allow its economically efficient deployment indoors. Dye-based cells were invented at the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland, in the 1990's. Tinker with the composition of the dye, and the frequency of light that can be captured can be adjusted to make dye-based cells more flexible than silicon cells.

The dye molecules are

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: Massachusetts Leads the Way in Ensuring Biomass Facilities Reduce GHG Emissions

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:49:00 -0400

Julia Ciardullo

On April 20, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued an order accepting proposed revisions to the WSPP Agreement addressing sales of renewable energy certificates ("RECs") made pursuant to that agreement. In the course of issuing this order FERC confirmed something participants in the U.S. energy markets had long suspected: that FERC's jurisdiction extends to sales of RECs made

Wind Turbine Control Software Code Lawsuits Winding Their Way Up Through Chinese Appellate Courts

elane@luce.com (Eric L. Lane) — Tue, 08 May 2012 11:06:00 -0400

In previous posts (here and here), I discussed the IP litigation in China between American Superconductor

U.S. Energy Information Administration Monthly Reports

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:41:00 -0400
The U.S. Energy Information Administration released its most recent "Monthly Energy Review" on March 28, 2012. The Monthly Energy Review is the U.S. Energy Information Administration's primary report of recent and historical energy statistics. Included are statistics on total energy production, consumption, trade, and energy prices; overviews of petroleum, natural gas, coal, electricity, nuclear energy, renewable energy, and international petroleum; carbon dioxide emissions; and data unit conversion values. Data is available for analysis in table format (PDF), spreadsheet (Excel), and by graph (PDF). Click to access the current and past editions of the Monthly Energy Review

Foley & Lardner LLP: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Issues Voluntary Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines

FoleyandLardner@placeholder.com (Foley & Lardner LLP) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 18:55:00 -0400

By Tanya C. O'Neill and

New MOU to Provide for Streamlined Review Of Wind Energy Projects In Great Lakes

ssiros@jenner.com (Steven M. Siros) — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:30:00 -0400

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block

On March 30, 2012, the White House announced that it had entered into a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with five states (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New York and Pennsylvania) that is intended to streamline environmental and other reviews for wind energy projects in the Great Lakes. The federal agencies that are part of this MOU are the Department of Energy, U.S. EPA, Department of Defense, Department of the Army, Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The MOU requires these federal agencies

Wind Controversy Research Report

dsaxe@envirolaw.com (Dianne Saxe) — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:35:00 -0400

By Dianne Saxe, Ontario Environmental Lawyer

Here is a link to Renew Canada's 2011 research report, Wind Controversy

Ballard Spahr Legal Alert: U.S. Army Seeks Comments on $7 Billion in Renewable Energy Contracts

BallardSpahr@placeholder.com (Ballard Spahr LLP) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:57:00 -0400

By Roger D. Stark and Darin M. Lowder

The U.S. Army has issued a

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has determined that Bonneville Power Administration's (BPA) use of environmental redispatch to address excess water supply and low load by curtailing renewable and thermal generators in favor of federal hydropower providers unfairly discriminated against wind generators. This decision will have broad jurisdictional and alternative energy implications, given that FERC has

Columbia Law School Center for Climate Change Law: MIT Study Demonstrates Demand Response’s Role in Balancing Renewables

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:41:00 -0400

By Shelley Welton

The Wind and the Sun

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 10:26:00 -0400

By Gregory C. Dorris, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP

Æsop Fables (Sixth century B.C.). The Harvard Classics 1909-14.

Moral of the Story "Kindness Effects More Than Severity"

THE WIND and the

The Sustainable Corporation: The New Climate Metric – The Sustainable Corporation and Energy

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 10:38:00 -0400

By Steven Ferrey

Introduction: The New Vocabulary

A. The Alphabet Starts with "C"

"C" is for "carbon," "climate," and "conundrum." The environmental vernacular at the millennium is shifted forever - "carbon

Challenge Made to Imports of Chinese Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells and Panels

Troutman.Sanders@placeholder.com (Troutman Sanders) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:53:00 -0400

A The Osage Nation v. Wind Capital Group, LLC, the Osage Nation, a federally recognized Indian tribe, owns the mineral

Troutman Sanders: China Finance: Venture Capital and Private Equity Cleantech Fund Structures for China Investments

Troutman.Sanders@placeholder.com (Troutman Sanders) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 14:27:00 -0400

This article is written by Edward Epstein, Office Managing Partner of Troutman Sanders' Shanghai Office. It appeared first in ACORE's Summer 2011 US-China Quarterly Market Review and is reprinted with ACORE's permission. To access the full Quarterly Market Review, click here and use this custom discount code for 25% off the cost: CBQMR25

China's economy is a rare silver lining in the world today, and policies to promote China as a world leader in the cleantech and renewable energy industry are attracting even more foreign investment