China’s wind power generation rose 95.2% to 5.6 billion kw hours in 2007, from a year ago, reported the Xinhua News Agency. A report released by the government said that China had wind power facilities with a combined installed capacity of 6.05 gigawatts at the end of 2007, up from 2.67 gigawatts in 2006. The country achieved the goal set for the 2010 three years ahead of schedule. Wind power projects under development will make up for a combined installed capacity of 4.2 gigawatts.

According to the Medium and Long-Term Development Plan for Renewable Energy in China published by the National Development and Reform Commission (”National Development Plan”), China will generate 15% of its energy from renewable sources such as wind by 2020. To achieve the goal, the government plans to increase its wind power equipment to a combined installed capacity of 10 gigawatts by 2015, and to 30 gigawatts by 2020. Shanghai Daily reported that the 2020 target is likely to be increased by the government to as much as 100 gigawatts, which, according to WSJ Environment Capital, would be greater than the total global current installed wind capacity.

The rapid increasing utilization of wind power for electricity generation has been driven by the following factors:

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Texas Governor Rick Perry submitted a letter to the EPA last Friday requesting a 50% nationwide waiver from the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) . The RFS calls for roughly 9 billion gallons of renewable fuels in 2008, up from 4.5 billion in 2007. If granted, the waiver would restore the 2007 requirement.

Governor Perry is seeking the waiver reportedly as a way to reduce demand for corn, a popular feedstock for biofuels. In his letter to EPA, Governor Perry claims that 30-35% of corn will be diverted to biofuel production this year, which he claims contributes to rising food costs.

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This week the focus of climate change legislation on the Hill will shift from the possibilities surrounding the scheduling of Lieberman-Warner in the Senate, to the agreement between the House and the Senate on a new Farm Bill. The legislative committees with climate change jurisdiction will spend this week on other issues.

On Tuesday, the Select Committee on Climate Change and Energy Independence will hold a hearing on the effect of climate change on the world’s oceans. The hearing is set for 1:30pm, and the witnesses will be Sylvia Earle, National Geographic explorer-in-residence; Vikki Spruill, president and CEO of the Ocean Conservancy; Jane Lubchenco, professor of zoology, Oregon State University; and Joan Kleypas, scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

On Thursday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on the regulation of public power holding companies. The witnesses are set to be Joseph Kelliher, chairman, FERC; Suedeen Kelly, commissioner, FERC; Philip Moeller, commissioner, FERC; Jon Wellinghoff, commissioner, FERC; Marc Spitzer, commissioner, FERC; David Owens, executive vice president, Business Operations, Edison Electric Institute, Mark Gaffigan, director, Energy Projects, Division of Natural Resources and Environment, GAO; Scott Hempling, executive director, National Regulatory Research Institute; and James Kerr, commissioner, North Carolina Utilities Commission.

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The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has released draft air quality regulations that would require all industrial facilities permitted under federal or state air quality programs to monitor their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions beginning in 2009. The regulations, which are expected to impact more than 700 industrial sources ranging from coffee roasters to coal-fired power plants, are designed to create accurate GHG emissions data in anticipation of reductions that Oregon committed to as part of the Western Climate Initiative.

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Senators and witnesses debated the potential economic impacts of adopting a cap-and-trade program in the United States.  Billed as the “Tax Aspects of a Cap-and-Trade System,” today’s hearing before the Senate Finance Committee ended up being a discussion of the broad impacts that a cap-and-trade program would have on the US economy and on consumers.

A summary of the testimony follows:

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Further demonstrating its leadership on climate change response, California’s Secretary for Environmental Protection signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support China’s efforts to address climate change. Pursuant to the agreement, California will share valuable information, such as academic research, effective policy initiatives, lessons learned and technological innovations, with the Chinese provincial governments to support their efforts to develop strategies and actions to mitigate global climate change. California is currently developing its own program to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by the year 2020.

Governor Schwarzenegger issued the following statement about the agreement: “California alone cannot solve climate change - this is a global problem that requires a global solution. America has to lead, and we are doing so even with or without Washington. California is not waiting for the federal government to take action but instead we are forming agreements and building relationships with countries like China to fight climate change.”

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During yesterday’s hearing on International Deforestation and Climate Change, Senator John Kerry committed to ensuring that any future domestic cap-and-trade program will accept credits from international forest projects.

Stuart Eizenstat, the former U.S. Ambassador to the EU and leader of the US delegation in the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol, argued for the importance of “starting with domestic legislation” in the fight against tropical deforestation. Senator Kerry responded that he would “add a marker” to any domestic climate change legislation, including the Lieberman-Warner bill, to ensure that credits derived from forest projects in other countries can be used to offset emissions in the United States.

The Lieberman-Warner bill, in its current form, would allow regulated industries to meet up to 15% of their emissions requirements by purchasing credits from carbon offset projects. Including international projects in the 15% offset quota would significantly boost efforts to avoid tropical deforestation. Emissions trading systems established under the Kyoto Protocol, including the European Union Emissions Trading System, do not allow the use of credits derived from most types of forestry projects. As a result, US leadership on this issue would help to create a robust market for credits from “avoided deforestation” projects [subscription req.].

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