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The U.S. Office of Management and Budget received the USDA’s second draft of its national organic proposal in early November. OMB has 90 days to review and approve it for public comment or send it back to the drawing board. If all goes well, it could be ready for public comment by February. Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman says the 300,000 comments received during the first round in 1997 were incorporated into the new proposal. The final rule will include side-by-side comparisons with the old proposal, European standards, and the American Organic Standards approved by the organic industry this fall.
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Last year, the news in renewable energy was about wind. Now its PV’s turn. In a new report by Technical Insights “Photovoltaic Materials: Analysis of Emerging Technology Markets,” the authors predict that while PV sales will reach only $2 billion this year, by 2005, PV manufacturing capacity will need to double from present levels to keep up with demand. The market for PV materials may reach $12 billion by 2010. Although PV power will capture only a small fraction of the energy market at the beginning of the century it is poised to make significant inroads thereafter. Contact Leo O’Connor In the U.S., utilities are most likely to purchase PV as part of an energy package to offset peak demand according to the study, “4.5 Megawatts of PV and Counting: Technical and Business Experiences of TEAM-UP Program Partnerships.” TEAM-UP is a public-private investment program to promote solar electricity. Utility PhotoVoltaic Group – 100 electric service providers from eight countries – produced the report. They found that distributed PV located on customer properties is popular, contradicting the widely-held assumption that systems will gain wider acceptance as large-scale power plants. To counter the currently limited role PV plays in the U.S. energy […]
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France has yet to ratify the Kyoto Protocol (it plans to later this year), but on January 19 it announced a comprehensive national strategy to stabilize the country’s greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2008 to 2012. The plan includes about 100 measures, including a carbon tax beginning in 2001. A ton of carbon will be taxed from euros 23 – euros 30 (~$23-~$31), increasing to euros 76 by 2010. Energy-intensive industries will be exempt if they voluntarily reduce emissions. The plan includes support for renewable energy, tax breaks for energy efficiency in buildings, and requires methane recovery from landfills. Learn more about France’s climate change plan, if you can read French.
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Financing sources to help people install renewable energy systems and energy efficiency upgrades are finally becoming more available. Nationally, GMAC Mortgage and FREDDIE MAC allow homeowners to increase monthly payments and debt ratios to finance PV systems, solar hot water and energy efficiency upgrades. Sallie Mae finances energy efficiency improvements. There are a number of institutions in California that offer financing. The California Energy Commission gives a cash rebate up to $3,000 per kW or 50% off the price (whichever is less) of a PV system, small wind turbine, fuel cells, or solar thermal system. You can download a guide from their website, Buying a Photovoltaic Solar Electric System: a Consumer Guide, which discusses issues such as shading, roof space required, amount of electricity produced, system cost, financing, property taxes, net metering, and selecting a PV provider. A list of renewable system installers are on the website. The Database of State Incentives for Renewable Energy is a very useful tool that summarizes state-by-state financial incentives, programs, and regulatory policies. It includes contacts, state legislative statutes, and links to state program resource pages. It also contains Schools Going Solar Programs. The National Renewable Energy Lab developed a database called “REPiS” which […]
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Since last March, when it became clear the USDA would need to create a second draft of its proposed National Organic Program, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) has been furiously working on an industry-initiated set of criteria. The resulting American Organic Standards are now approved and are open to revision over the next 18 months. This gives the industry national guidelines to follow until a federal standard is approved, and will help the industry respond in unison to the USDA’s revision. Currently, organic certification standards are regulated on a state level, but 20 states have no organic agriculture laws or labeling requirements. Research indicates that peoples’ faith in organics depends on a cohesive set of standards regulated on a federal level. From 1994-1999, the organic products industry tripled in size, from $2.3 – 6.5 billion, and is expected to double again by 2003, reaching over $13 billion. http://www.ota.com
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More than $1 billion worth of “green” homes have been built in Colorado during the past two years, far outpacing any other state. About 3,500 green homes have been built at a median price of $230,000 since the kick-off of the “Built Green” campaign by Home Builders of Metropolitan Denver in 1997. Colorado is the first state to offer a statewide “Built Green” designation for its homes. The Green Builder Program of Colorado registers homes based on a 20 category checklist that includes an energy efficiency requirement, and a menu of options addressing a range of “green” items from which the builder must select a minimum number. Colorado is one of six pilot areas for a Fannie Mae program that allows buyers to borrow up to 15 percent of the cost of a home for energy efficiency improvements. Another Fannie Mae program for new construction gives buyers incentives to incorporate energy- and water-efficiency features. http://www.builtgreen.org
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This January, The Low Impact Hydropower Institute will certify hydro facilities that meet “stringent criteria for protection of environmental quality.” The criteria were developed by American Rivers and GreenMountain.com over the past two years, in concert with environmentalists, hydropower officials, government agencies and electricity marketers. Standards involve river flow, water quality, fish passage and protection, watershed protection, threatened and endangered species protection, cultural resource protection, recreation, and facilities recommended for removal.
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In September, New York State announced it would sue 17 coal burning power plants in five states for clean air violations. Now, for the first time, the federal government is enforcing the Clean Air Act by filing suit against seven electric utilities in the Midwest and South. The U.S. Justice Department filed the suit on behalf of the U.S. EPA, charging that 17 coal-fired power plants illegally released massive amounts of air pollutants for years. Under the Clean Air Act, older plants were not required to upgrade their air pollution control equipment in exchange for not increasing capacity. The EPA contends the plants did not live up to this agreement. The EPA hopes to force the facilities to upgrade pollution controls to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain and smog. Separate lawsuits have been filed against American Electric Power, Cinergy, FirstEnergy, Illinois Power, Southern Indiana Gas & Electric Company, Southern Company, Tampa Electric Company or their subsidiaries, along with an administrative action against the Tennessee Valley Authority. The Clean Air Act authorizes civil penalties of up to $25,000 for each day of violation at each plant prior to January 30, 1997, and $27,500 […]
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President Clinton announced that as of January 1, 2000 companies will be required to report the release of even small amounts of 27 persistent, bioaccumulative toxics – such as dioxin, mercury, PCBs – into the air or water. These are the first reporting mandates for dioxin, a toxic byproduct of waste incineration and chemical and pesticide manufacturing that has been linked to cancer and birth defects. Currently, companies must publicly report discharges only if they handle more than 25,000 pounds or emit over 10,000 pounds of the chemicals a year. The new rules mean companies must report if they use as little as 100 pounds a year, and for some particularly toxic chemicals, 10 pounds a year. Companies that produce as little as a tenth of a gram of dioxin each year must disclose. Industrial toxic pollution has fallen by almost 50 percent in the decades since public right to know rules for chemical releases took effect. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG) lauded the rules which close a “major loophole” in the federal right to know program. Since the thresholds were previously so high, many of the most toxic chemical releases were not reported. USPIRG noted that the […]
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Green architects dream of a client with deep pockets, impeccable taste, imagination, an open mind and a healthy respect for the environment. Lucas Letterman Digital Arts, a company formed by George Lucas to develop new high tech headquarters in San Francisco’s historic Presidio, “is one of the most fun clients we’ve ever worked with,” says Bill Browning of Rocky Mountain Institute’s Green Development Services. “They’re committed and passionate about the environment and employees’ quality of life, and extremely creative. They’re cost conscious, of course, but they’re a well-capitalized company, so if it makes sense they’ll say let’s do it.” The 1800-acre Presidio, a former army base, is the first urban national park in the U.S. Six parcels are being commercially developed to cover the costs of purchasing the land. The Presidio has set sustainability as one of three major criteria by which all proposals to develop the parcels are judged. The Letterman Digital Center combines just about everything in the green development cookbook, from energy-efficient construction to low-impact stormwater management. And at nearly a million square feet, with one of the world’s most famous corporate tenants, it promises to be an excellent showcase for the power of green thinking. One […]
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