Energy Law

Renewable Energy News, May 18, 2010

By Shems Dunkiel Kassel & Saunders PLLC

Green Mountain Power wins approval for Berlin solar project | The Burlington Free Press

Vermont's second-largest power company has won state approval to build a new solar power project in Berlin. Green Mountain Power says the project will generate 200 kilowatt-hours of electricity from 952 solar panels installed on about an acre of land in Berlin.

FAA determines Cape Wind farm is ?no hazard? - The Boston Globe

The Federal Aviation Administration determined yesterday that the proposed 130-turbine wind farm in Nantucket Sound will not significantly interfere with planes or radar. The determination of ?no hazard?? is one of the last approvals Cape Wind Associates needed for the project, which has undergone nine years of permitting review. US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar gave his final OK ? by far the most important decision for the project ? late last month.

NYSERDA provides funding to establish New York clean energy testing centers - EmpireStateNews.Net

ALBANY - The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) today announced $4.4 million in funding over five years to a central New York-based testing laboratory to establish renewable energy test and research centers in New York that will be among the first of their kind in the nation.

National News:

Coal Emissions from U.S. Could Stop in 20 Years - Alternative Energy News

Pushker Kharecha and his colleagues believe that we should follow some practical methods to do away with coal and conventional fossil fuel emissions. We all know that use of fossil fuels leads towards carbon emissions that cause immense damage to our environment. Pushker Kharecha and colleagues voiced similar sentiments in the American Chemical Society?s semi-monthly journal Environmental Science and Technology (ES and T).

The biomass conundrum: where to get cheap wood waste | statesmanjournal.com | Statesman Journal

KETTLE FALLS, Wash. ? Roaring furnaces unleash the energy of wood at Avista Corp.?s Kettle Falls generating station. Chips and bark become white-hot ash as temperatures soar to 2,500 degrees inside the massive seven-story furnaces. The searing heat produces steam, which runs a turbine for electricity. The plant should be a national model for alternative energy. Using waste salvaged from sawmills and logging operations in northeast Washington and southern British Columbia, it produces electricity for nearly 40,000 homes. Instead, the Kettle Falls operation is an example of a cruel irony facing the Northwest biomass industry: Located in the timber belt of the Selkirk Mountains, the plant has trouble getting wood fiber at prices that produce affordable electricity.

Gulf spill raises questions about future U.S. energy policy | Stonebridge Press and Villager Newspapers

WASHINGTON ? The Gulf oil spill not only has altered the landscape of the Gulf Coast , it also has completely changed the debate over national energy policy. "Drill, baby, drill," which drilling proponents chanted until a few weeks ago, has been replaced by "Spill, baby, spill," from opponents. Politicians from the West Coast to Florida propose banning new drilling on the outer continental shelf. Lawmakers from oil-producing states like Texas and Louisiana , however, warn that shutting off offshore reservoirs hurts domestic production and increases reliance on foreign oil. Environmentalists counter that it's time for renewables such as wind and solar.

Where the Wind Blows and Sun Shines | Renewable Energy World

Over at Renewable Energy World, Matthew Slavin offers "a comparative analysis of state renewable energy standards."

Oklahoma, United States ? America's state governments are at the forefront of efforts to expand the nation's supply of renewable energy. Renewable energy standards (RES) comprise the cornerstone of these initiatives. RES is by far the most widely used mechanism by states to expand renewable energy production and consumption. Fully 29 states have adopted some form of a mandatory RES. RES is also in place in the District of Columbia. And Vermont has a goal that so far has been voluntary, but which may become mandatory by 2013.

Full post as published by Renewable Energy Law Blog on May 18, 2010 (boomark / email).