| Congress approved a bill last week that will extend the wind energy Production Tax Credit (PTC) through the end of next year. The PTC was included in a major tax package that President Bush is expected to sign. The PTC provides a tax credit of 1.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (in 1992 dollars, adjusted for inflation) for power produced by wind turbines. According to the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the PTC extension will allow wind energy investments of about $3 billion to move ahead over the next several years. See the AWEA press release and the full text and latest status of the bill, HR 1308. Wind power is yielding economic benefits for Pennsylvania, as Gamesa, a Spanish wind energy company, has agreed to base its East Coast development offices and U.S. headquarters in Philadelphia and to also locate a wind blade manufacturing facility in the state. According to Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell, the new Gamesa facilities could generate as many as 1,000 jobs in Pennsylvania over the next five years. See the governor's press release. Wind power is also moving ahead in Iowa, as MidAmerican Energy Company, the state's largest utility, has chosen two sites on which to install 310 megawatts of wind power. One site is near Blairsburg, about 40 miles north of Ames in central Iowa, and the other is in northwest Iowa, near Storm Lake. The company will erect about 100 1.5-megawatt General Electric wind turbines at each location at a cost of about $323 million. MidAmerican Energy expects the Storm Lake site to be online before year-end, and the Blairsburg site should begin operating in 2005. See the MidAmerican Energy press release. The New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) adopted a new renewable energy policy last week that requires 25 percent of the state's electricity to be supplied from renewable energy sources by 2013. Although the state already produces 19.3 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources, primarily hydropower, the new Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) program will result in about 3,700 megawatts of new renewable energy capacity. The new requirement credits medium- and large-scale facilities that draw on wind, biomass, or ocean energy sources, as well as solar photovoltaic systems, fuel-cell systems, hydropower upgrades, and low-impact, run-of-river hydropower plants of less than 30 megawatts in capacity. The requirement also credits customer-sited fuel cells, solar electric systems, and wind turbines. The RPS program will start in 2006 with a target of roughly 1.3 million megawatt-hours from renewable sources, increasing to nearly 12 million megawatt-hours in 2013. The PSC estimates that the RPS program will have modest impacts on customer bills, and should cause the state's wholesale energy prices to decline. Overall, the PSC estimates residential customers may see as much as a 0.9 percent reduction in their bills over the life of the program, or an increase of up to 1.68 percent. The projected impact on commercial customers ranges from a 0.78 percent reduction to a 1.79 percent increase, and for industrial customers, from a 1.54 percent reduction to a 2.2 percent increase. See the PSC press release (PDF 23 KB). Download Acrobat Reader. October 2nd marks the date for this year's National Solar Tour, during which homes, schools, churches, and businesses across the United States will open their doors to the public to show how solar energy and energy efficiency are being put to work. Last year's tour attracted 35,000 visitors in nearly 800 communities in 45 states; this year, the ninth annual National Solar Tour is offering tours in 37 states plus the District of Columbia. The tours are organized by chapters of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), state energy offices, and volunteer groups. See the ASES press release and to find out if there's a tour near you, visit the ASES Web site. Despite a growing U.S. market for photovoltaic solar power, a drop in exports caused photovoltaic manufacturing in the United States to decline in 2003. According to a recent report from DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA), the bankruptcy of AstroPower in 2003 contributed to the first decline in the U.S. production of solar cells and modules since the EIA began keeping track in 1986. The 2.5 percent decline from the previous year was the result of a 9 percent drop in exports, which outweighed a 7 percent increase in domestic shipments. Meanwhile, ABI Research reports that Japan has been leading the photovoltaic industry for years, but now the center of activity is shifting to the West—not to the United States, but to Germany, where strong subsidies are in place. See the EIA report, "Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic Manufacturing Activities 2003," and see the ABI Research press release. Even the growing U.S. market sometimes fails to yield new production capacity within the United States: Japan's Kyocera Solar, Inc. plans to double its photovoltaic manufacturing output within the next year, and will open a new production plant on Friday to serve the North American market. The company's new module assembly plant is meant to focus on the California market, but is located in Tijuana, Mexico. See the Kyocera press release. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a number of bills over the past week that will be beneficial to hybrid-electric car owners and certain renewable energy installations.  |  The Toyota Prius may soon be a more common sight in California's HOV lanes, thanks to a new law.
Credit: Toyota | California owners of new hybrid electric cars and recent-model low-emission vehicles will benefit from AB 2628, which allows those vehicles to use the HOV (high-occupancy vehicle) lanes normally reserved for carpools. The bill opens those lanes to low-emissions vehicles produced during the 2004 model year or earlier, as well as new low-emission hybrid-electric vehicles that achieve at least 45 miles per gallon. Meant as an incentive for people to buy hybrid vehicles, the bill also limits the total number of HOV stickers for these vehicles to 75,000 and sets procedures to avoid causing the HOV lanes to become congested. The governor signed the bill on September 23rd, but the measure will also require approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Several new laws will also help the development of renewable energy resources in the state. AB 1689 expands the state's self-generation incentive program to include projects fueled with waste gas, while SB 1565 requires the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission to develop a strategic plan including renewable energy. The governor signed both bills on September 22nd. Governor Schwarzenegger also signed two solar energy bills on September 25th: AB 2473, strengthening an existing law that prohibits local governments from placing restrictions on solar energy systems, and AB 594, which requires Pacific Gas and Electric Company to establish a net metering agreement with the City and County of San Francisco for up to 5 megawatts of solar power. The city currently owns a 688-kilowatt solar power system at the Moscone Convention Center, and plans to install a 600-kilowatt system at a wastewater treatment plant. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved new regulations last week requiring automakers to sell vehicles that produce lower emissions of greenhouse gases. The new regulations begin to phase-in during the 2009 model year and gradually tighten until 2016, when the average new car or light truck sold in California will be required to emit 30 percent lower greenhouse gases than today's vehicles. The CARB staff estimates that costs for the added technology needed to meet the rule will average about $325 per vehicle in 2012 and about $1050 per vehicle in 2016. However, lower operating costs for the vehicles will result in a net savings to consumers, according to analyses by CARB. See the CARB press release and the full regulatory documents. Although restricting greenhouse gas emissions from cars is often equated with fuel economy, that's not the full story. In June, CARB issued a report on greenhouse gas reduction technologies that suggested a variety of fuel-saving technologies—including improved engine technologies, turbocharging combined with smaller engines, and automated manual transmissions—but also suggested technologies to cut emissions of refrigerants from cars' air conditioning systems. Many refrigerants are powerful greenhouse gases. See the report (PDF 1.1 MB). Download Acrobat Reader. |
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