Oregon’s Governor Ted Kulongoski told the State Sustainability Board recently that he wants new renewable electricity in Oregon to supply 100 percent of state government’s electrical needs by 2010.
The carbohydrate economy could transform agriculture as well as energy, reviving producer co-ops, and giving farmers a hedge against voilatile commodity prices. For the first time in 60 years, the carbohydrate economy is back on the public-policy agenda. It is an exciting historical opportunity, but one we should approach with deliberation and foresight.
Taking an important step towards making ethanol production more reliant on renewable energy, the Central Minnesota Ethanol Cooperative is nearing completion of a biomass-fueled energy system at its ethanol plant near Little Falls, MN.
The Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) has adopted rules to implement a new renewable energy standard requiring 15 percent renewables by 2025. The ACC voted to require that 30% of the renewable requirement in years 2011 and beyond must be met by local on-site renewable energy projects installed by homes and businesses.
Audio from the second in a series of national teleconferences on the Clean Renewable Energy Bond (CREB) program is now available. The CREB program authorizes the issuance of up to $800 million in “tax credit” bonds by electric cooperatives, public power authorities, units of state and local government and tribal authorities for financing renewable energy projects.
In late January, Pacific Gas & Electric submitted an application to establish a three-year demonstration program termed the Climate Protection Tariff (CPT). The new tariffs would allow PG&E’s customer’s the option of paying a premium to completely negate the climate change impacts associated with their electricity and natural gas consumption.
This February 2006 policy brief by John Bailey and David Morris offers a brief overview of the existing renewable electricity mandates in Minnesota, and discusses the impact a proposed extension and expansion of these mandates might have. Last year, the Minnesota legislature debated a proposal to establish a new statewide renewable electricity mandate. That debate will undoubtedly continue this session.
This February 2006 policy brief by John Bailey provides background and analysis to support a state or local policy that would require construction projects funded with tax-exempt bonds to result in no net increases in greenhouse gases within the community. This brief proposes a strategy that can begin to allow us, as citizens and taxpayers, to make concrete our desire to live lightly on the earth. That strategy is to convince all tax exempt bond issuing agencies at the state and community level to adopt a climate neutralbonding policy.
According to an August 2005 Harris Poll 74 percent of people agreed that, "Protecting the environment is so important that requirements and standards cannot be too high, and continuing environmental improvements must be made regardless of cost."
This February 2006 paper by David Morris was adapted from a speech given at the Minnesota Ag Expo 2006. The paper provides a snapshot of today’s biofuels industry and a roadmap to ensure that local farmers see significant benefits from the expanding industry in the future. Continue reading
The Distributed Energy Program from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability (OE) is seeking public input for a study of the potential benefits of distributed generation required by section 1817 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
DOE invites interested parties to relate experiences, convey data, communicate results of case studies or analyses, or provide other information pertaining to the planning, installation, commissioning and operation of distributed energy systems.
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