The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently estimated that approximately 25% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions come from electricity generation. In response, the California legislature established a wide variety of programs to reduce electricity consumption, to implement emission performance standards (SB 1368), and to increase the use of renewable electricity sources, such as solar and wind power (SB 1078 and SB 107). The California legislature also directed CARB to adopt rules and regulations to reduce all sources of greenhouse gas emissions in the state to 1990 levels by the year 2020 (an estimated 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from business-as-usual estimates). Despite these significant steps to address global climate change, one group thinks California can do more.

Earlier this month, proponents of a renewable energy initiative submitted 735,000 signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The initiative, entitled the Solar and Clean Energy Act of 2008, would require that all utilities in California achieve 40% renewable electricity by 2020, and 50% by 2025. By comparison, current law requires that retail sellers, including investor owned utilities (IOUs), increase their share of renewable electricity by 1% per year so that, by the close of 2010, 20% of retail sales are generated from renewable energy sources (pending legislation would increase this standard to 33% by 2020). Notably, as of 2006, California’s IOUs generated only about 13% of their electricity from renewable sources.

Read the rest of this entry »

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

This morning, the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing entitled “Nuclear Power in a Warming World: Solution or Illusion?” Representative Markey, the Committee’s Chair, made his feelings known from the opening words, noting that “Americans from Wall Street to Main Street rejected nuclear power” decades before the recent resurgence in interest. Three of the four witnesses called to the hearing were also strongly anti-nuclear in their testimony, while the fourth came from the Nuclear Energy Institute.

If there was any doubt before, it is clear that Rep. Markey is not a supporter of an expanded role for nuclear power in any future climate change legislation. He decried the $145 billion in subsidies that have been given to the nuclear industry since 1950, and noted that renewable energy has only received a fraction of that amount. Renewables are also being deployed more rapidly, he argued, noting that worldwide, “the 20,000 megawatts of wind energy capacity built in 2007 was more than 10 times that of nuclear.”

Markey’s position is at odds with the current administration and other powerful Congressional leaders. President Bush has made nuclear energy a centerpiece of his energy policy. The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 provides over $18 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear plants. In his remarks on the day he signed the bill into law, President Bush noted that “[I]f we’re serious about making sure we grow our economy and deal with greenhouse gases, we have got to expand nuclear power.”

Read the rest of this entry »

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

A new Clean Energy Investment Bank could provide the impetus to move the U.S. clean energy technology market more fully into the mainstream energy industry.

Yesterday, Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) and seven co-sponsors introduced a bill (S.2730) to establish a Bank that would provide loans, loan guarantees, and insurance to facilitate the development and commercialization of clean energy and energy efficiency technologies — solely within the United States. The Bank would act as an independent government corporation, similar to the U.S. Export-Import Bank.

According to Domenici, the Bank would “take responsibility for management of the Department of Energy’s Title XVII loan guarantee program,” which was established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to support early commercialization of advanced technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Dominici’s proposal appears to be consistent with the message of a May 2007 letter from Chairman John Dingell and ranking members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, calling for the Administration to use its full Title XVII loan authority to promote green energy investment.

Read the rest of this entry »

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

Speaking at Resources for the Future this afternoon, Kathleen McGinty, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, outlined an “all things in moderation” approach to managing carbon, looking at the relative benefits and challenges of (1) a carbon tax, (2) cap-and-trade programs, and (3) corn-based ethanol.

Secretary McGinty began by underlining the “essential role” for a carbon tax in driving interest and investment from Wall Street, but noted that, unless the tax is set high enough to overcome the inherent advantages of the wholesale electricity providers, that it will be ineffective. McGinty described the equally “essential” need for a cap-and-trade program, which is a “fundamental building block” for carbon management, but expressed concerns about these programs’ capacity to resolve the climate crisis, as the world’s carbon demand quickly escalates in the U.S., China, and elsewhere.

Read the rest of this entry »

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

In an interesting provision in the new Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, the U.S. pledged to fund cooperative research and development efforts with Israel to develop alternative sources of renewable energy. Israel is a recognized leader in alternative energy technology, and the home of more than 200 companies that research and develop environmental and energy-related technologies.

Read the rest of this entry »

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

Today, President Bush signed into law the much-followed Energy Bill (H.R. 6). Key provisions in the bill are an increase in fuel economy (CAFE) standards to a 35 mpg fleet-wide standard by 2020, and an increase to 36 billion gallons by 2022 of the Renewable Fuels Standard, utilizing a combination of corn-based ethanol and advanced biofuels. The bill also contains lesser-emphasized energy efficiency and conservation provisions, such as increased lighting and building efficiency requirements. But what is perhaps most interesting about H.R. 6 are the items Congress left out of the bill.

Read the rest of this entry »

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

House Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Investigations Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee (Chairman Stupak, D-Mich.) of House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing titled “Energy Speculation: Is Greater Regulation Necessary to Stop Price Manipulation?” on Wednesday, 12/12.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (Chairman Bingaman, D-N.M.) will hold a hearing on proposals that would revise and update the Mining Law of 1872, on Thursday, 12/13.

Public Lands and Forests Subcommittee (Chairman Wyden, D-Ore.) of Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on forest restoration and hazardous fuels reduction efforts in Oregon and Washington state, on Thursday, 12/13.

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.

Today the House of Representatives will take up H.R. 6, the long awaited energy bill. The bill contains many of the priorities of the Democratic majority, including an increase in fuel efficiency standards for cars and light trucks, an increase in the nation’s renewable fuel standards, a new renewable portfolio standard for the nation’s utilities, incentives for hybrids, and many other items designed to conserve energy. Speaker Pelosi’s Fact Sheet on the bill describes it as an “historic step” that will “strengthen national security” and “reduce global warming.”

While it is largely assumed that Speaker Pelosi has the votes to pass this through the House, it will be interesting to see which Democrats vote no. Oil patch Democrats, such as Rep. Gene Green (D-TX), have announced that they are uncomfortable with the bill. The renewable portfolio standard for utilities poses problems for those Democrats who represent states with limited renewable resources, many in the south. The Senate probably poses the biggest hurdle; there southern Senators could block the bill. Sen. Pete Domenici (R-NM) is less than pleased with how the negotiations for the bill proceeded and he could round up enough votes to keep the bill off the floor.

For further information about this topic, please contact Akin Gump.