THE RUSH FOR NEW ENERGY LAND

The 21st Century Gold Rush: Pursuit of Renewable Energy; The Wild West is alive and well, and in New Jersey
Shan Shapiro, September 29, 2010 (Greener World Media via Reuters)

"…[A New Jersey consultant to] farmers who own wide swaths of land…[and] renewable energy companies that are looking to develop solar farms on that land…describes the phenomenon as a ‘land grab,’ where the renewable energy companies are trying to tie up the land available for large scale renewable projects, and landowners are trying to find the best deal…[It] is fueled, in part, by the favorable incentives New Jersey provides for solar projects, and a renewable energy portfolio standard of 22.5 percent by compliance year 2020-2021.

"California -- the site of the original Gold Rush -- is primed to see another one. On September 23, California regulators raised the state's renewable energy portfolio standard, the requirement that power companies obtain a certain percentage of their power from renewable sources, to 33 percent by 2020. California's renewable energy portfolio standard was already 20 percent."

Here's one for the hucksters: If they could create a big enough bubble, they could turn nuclear into a good investment by making the real estate profitable - though they'll never make nuclear energy itself pay off. (click to enlarge)

"The fever for gold in them there hills (and valleys and rooftops) could soon spread nationwide. Senators Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Sam Brownback (R-Kan.), Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) introduced the Renewable Electricity Promotion Act, also on September 23, which would: ‘install a renewable portfolio standard [Renewable Electricity Standard (RES)] requiring states to generate at least 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2021. . .’

"…[H]igher renewable energy portfolio standards will mean that utilities are looking for additional sources of renewable energy, so it will pay for large scale projects like big box stores, hospitals and manufacturing facilities to incorporate solar into their designs…[and] because the real estate market has been largely dead for big projects, open space that might have once been yet another shopping mall or housing development may be more likely to go to solar farms and other large-scale renewable energy projects."

Even Goldman Sachs can't buy up this much land. (click to enlarge)

"But, optioning land for renewable energy projects does not mean that all the renewable energy potential will be realized… A Goldman Sachs & Co. subsidiary with no solar background has claims with the BLM on nearly half the land [in Nevada] for which applications [for solar projects] have been filed, but no firm plan for any of the sites.

"For the policy makers, the key will be to incentivize projects coming to fruition, not to facilitate pyramid-type schemes of tying up land with the hopes of flipping it later to developers of power projects. The task is to spur the growth of the renewables market without creating a solar bubble in the process."