Weekly Clean Energy Roundup:April 13, 2005

News and Events

• New Mexico Bills to Encourage Efficiency and Renewable Energy
• Pennsylvania Offers $10 Million for Clean Energy Projects
• Connecticut and New Jersey Launch New Green Power Programs
• Major Wind Plants Under Construction in New York and Texas
• Wyoming Offers Ranchers Solar- and Wind-Powered Water Pumps
• Canadian Automakers Agree to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Site News

California Industries Form BioEnergy Producers Association

Energy Connections

EIA: Gasoline Prices to Remain High All Summer

News and Events

New Mexico Bills to Encourage Efficiency and Renewable Energy

New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson signed three new energy-related bills into law last week, including a groundbreaking bill that establishes up to $20 million in bonds to finance energy efficiency and renewable energy improvements in public buildings. House Bill 32, the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Bonding Act, aims to achieve the maximum amount of renewable energy use that, combined with energy efficiency measures, still results in long-term cost savings. Projects financed with the bonds will be paid back to the bonding authority using the savings on energy bills. The bonds will be applied to state buildings and school district buildings, and the projects will include most energy efficiency measures and any type of renewable energy system, as well as energy recovery and combined heat and power systems. The bill – the first state-level measure of its kind in the nation – follows the lead of a similar bonding authority established in San Francisco, California, in 2001. See the full text of the bill (PDF 51 KB).

In addition to House Bill 32, Governor Richardson signed Senate Bill 644, which encourages utilities to implement energy efficiency and load management programs and to recover the cost of those programs from ratepayers, and House Bill 995, which provides tax savings for biomass energy producers. The three bills are based on the recommendations of several clean energy task forces established by the governor. See the governor’s press release (PDF 100 KB) and the full text of Senate Bill 644 (PDF 63 KB) and House Bill 995 (PDF 24 KB).

Pennsylvania Offers $10 Million for Clean Energy Projects

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PDEP) announced on April 1st the availability of $10 million for clean energy projects within the state. The funding is available for grants, loans, and loan guarantees for projects and research involving solar, wind, biomass, and geothermal power, as well as low-impact hydropower and fuel cells. The funds could also go to energy efficiency projects and energy recovery and load management systems. Some coal technologies also qualify for funding. All projects must relate to electric power. See the PDEP press release.

Connecticut and New Jersey Launch New Green Power Programs

Both Connecticut and New Jersey are launching new programs to encourage customers throughout each state to buy green power – electricity generated from renewable energy sources. Connecticut’s program, CTCleanEnergyOptions, went into effect this month, and allows customers of the state’s two regulated utilities – Connecticut Light and Power Company and The United Illuminating Company – to buy green power through their utility. The Connecticut Department of Utility Control competitively chose two suppliers for the program: Sterling Planet, Inc. and Community Energy Inc. See the Community Energy press release and the CTCleanEnergyOptions Web site.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utiities (BPU) approved the New Jersey program in late March. When it goes into effect later this year, the New Jersey Green Power Choice Program will allow multiple utilities and green power marketers to participate in a joint effort with the state to give consumers access to the regional market for renewable energy. See the New Jersey BPU press release.

Meanwhile, the federal government continues to be a major purchaser of green power. In recent solicitations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sought 18 million kilowatt-hours of renewable energy certificates for two facilities over a three-year period, and Dyess Air Force Base in Texas sought 95 million kilowatt-hours of green power over a 15-month period. See the EPA and Dyess solicitations, offered through the Defense Energy Support Center.

Major Wind Plants Under Construction in New York and Texas

Two wind power plants that each total about 200 megawatts in capacity are now under construction in New York and Texas. In New York, PPM Energy and Zilkha Renewable Energy are building the 198-megawatt first phase of the Maple Ridge Wind Farm, formerly called the Flat Rock Wind Power Project. Located about 75 miles northeast of Syracuse, the project’s first phase will consist of 120 1.65-megawatt wind turbines. According to the two companie
s, the Maple Ridge Wind Farm will not only be the state’s largest wind facility, but it will also single-handedly quadruple the wind power capacity in New York State. See the PPM Energy press release.

In Texas, FPL Energy is preparing to build the 220.5-megawatt Horse Hollow Wind Energy Center. The wind plant will consist of 147 1.5-megawatt wind turbines at a site about 15 miles southwest of Abilene. Initial site work on the project is underway with full-scale construction expected to begin in the next few weeks, and FPL Energy expects the project to be completed no later than December 2005. The Horse Hollow project will be the second largest wind plant in the state, topped only by the 278-megawatt King Mountain Wind Ranch, which FPL Energy built in 2001. FPL Energy has also started operating the new 114-megawatt Callahan Divide Wind Energy Center, located about three miles away from the Horse Hollow site. See the FPL Energy press release.

In other wind power developments, Texas is also gaining a new 100-megawatt wind plant, thanks to a power agreement signed by San Antonio’s CPS Energy. DKRW Energy LLC will build the 67-turbine Cottonwood Creek Wind Farm near Sweetwater by year’s end. And AES Corporation is planning more wind energy development in New York State: AES has formed a joint venture with EHN, a Spanish renewable energy company, to build more than 350 megawatts of new capacity in the state over the next few years. Meanwhile, Puget Sound Energy (PSE) began building its 150-megawatt Hopkins Ridge Wind Project in southeastern Washington State in mid-March. And in Colorado, Xcel Energy signed contracts with two wind power developers in mid-March. The contracts were awarded to Prairie Wind Energy, for a 69-megawatt wind facility near Lamar, and Invenergy, for a 60-megawatt wind facility near Peetz. See the press releases from CPS Energy (PDF 51 KB), AES, PSE, and Xcel Energy.

Wyoming Offers Ranchers Solar- and Wind-Powered Water Pumps

Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal announced in late March that the state is providing solar- and wind-powered stock watering systems to ranchers throughout the state. During the pilot stage of the new project, state officials hope to deploy between two and four pumps in each of the state’s 23 counties. The new pumps will allow ranchers to reach underground sources of water in remote areas of their ranches. See the governor’s press release.

Canadian Automakers Agree to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The Canadian government announced last week that it has reached an agreement with the Canadian automobile industry to voluntarily reduce greenhouse gas emissions from new light vehicles, which include cars, pickups, vans, and most sport utility vehicles. By 2010, the new agreement will avoid the equivalent of 5.3 megatons of carbon dioxide emissions from Canadian vehicles, compared to a business-as-usual scenario.

To achieve the objective, the Canadian automobile industry will offer and promote a wide variety of fuel-saving vehicle technologies, including hybrid powertrains, cylinder deactivation technology, advanced diesel technologies, and emerging technologies. The industry will continue to pursue design and engineering improvements without compromising vehicle-occupant safety, while also encouraging the use of alternative fuels and bringing forward technologies that promote more fuel-efficient driving behavior. See the press releases from Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association, as well as the Memorandum of Understanding and backgrounders on the Canadian auto industry (PDF 114 KB) and emission reduction technologies (PDF 124 KB) from the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers of Canada.

Site News

California Industries Form BioEnergy Producers Association

Formed in January by a group of California’s bio-based industries, the mission of the BioEnergy Producers Association is to advance the development and commercialization of sustainable, environmentally preferable industries that produce power, fuels, and chemicals from agricultural, forestry, and urban sources of biomass and plastic wastes. The BioEnergy Producers Association Web site includes a library of documents relating to legislation that affects the state’s biomass energy industry.

Energy Connections

EIA: Gasoline Prices to Remain High All Summer

Regular gasoline prices are projected to average $2.28 per gallon through September, according to DOE’s Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EIA’s latest “Short Term Energy Outlook,” issued last week, expects the highest average cost to occur in May, when regular unleaded gasoline is projected to average $2.35 per gallon. A combination of high crude oil prices and refinery constraints is expected to keep gasoline prices high. The report also expects crude oil prices to remain above $50 per barrel through 2006, averaging about $55 per barrel. Natural gas prices were also elevated in March, exceeding $7 per thousand cubic feet, a 26 percent gain over one year ago. Natural gas prices are expected to remain near this level through 2006. See the EIA press rel
ease or go directly to the full report.

The high energy prices earned the attention last week of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who noted that continued high prices will spur greater energy efficiency. According to Greenspan, “Of critical importance will be the extent to which the more than 200 million light vehicles on U.S. highways, which consume 11 percent of total world oil production, become more fuel efficient as vehicle buyers choose the lower fuel costs of lighter or hybrid vehicles.” See Chairman Greenspan’s speech.

According to a recent poll released by Kelly Blue Book, gasoline prices of more than $3 a gallon would significantly shift buyers away from large vehicles and toward more fuel-efficient cars. Meanwhile, although next-month futures for crude oil have dropped somewhat recently, the longer-term oil futures remain at record prices, and retail gasoline prices remain near record nominal prices. See the Kelley Blue Book press release, and for the latest oil and gasoline prices, see the New York Mercantile Exchange Web site and the American Automobile Association’s “Fuel Gage Report.”

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