QUICK NEWS, August 11: PV POWER PLANTS, ENVIROS AGREE; BIG RETURNS FROM CLEAN CARS; WIND IN IOWA’S STRAW POLL; GETTING A GOOD F-I-T

PV POWER PLANTS, ENVIROS AGREE
First Solar, SunPower Reach Agreement With Environmental Groups On Solar Farms
August 9, 2011 (Solar Industry)

"The Sierra Club, the Defenders of Wildlife, the Center for Biological Diversity, Topaz Solar Farms LLC (a subsidiary of First Solar) and SunPower Corp. have reached a settlement regarding two solar photovoltaic power plant projects in development in San Luis Obispo County, Calif.

"The agreement calls for the project developers to provide additional conservation protections for wildlife in the area of the 250 MW California Valley Solar Ranch project and the 550 MW Topaz Solar Farm…[M]ore than 9,000 acres will be added to the 17,000 acres of land required to be permanently protected and preserved under the permits, resulting in a total of approximately 26,000 acres, or about 40 square miles, of the Carrizo Plain receiving protection…"

The Carrizo Plain (click to enlarge)

"Thirty miles of fencing will be removed from the area, allowing for greater wildlife movement…Additional beneficial enhancements will be made to the wildlife-friendly fencing around the solar system arrays…[N]o rodenticides will be used in the construction or operation of the projects, and the solar companies will help fund efforts to eliminate rodenticides on the Carrizo Plain…[and] Topaz and SunPower will make additional significant financial contributions…for wildlife conservation.

"California Gov. Jerry Brown, whose office had facilitated the discussions, hailed the signing of the agreement…"


BIG RETURNS FROM CLEAN CARS
Supplying Ingenuity; U.S. Suppliers of Clean, Fuel-Efficient Vehicle Technologies
August 9, 2011 (Natural Resources Defense Council)

"U.S. suppliers of clean, fuel efficient vehicle technologies can play a key role in the expansion of the auto industry in America and foster significant job growth. As the United States recovers from the recent global economic turmoil, the automotive industry is again becoming profitable. Consumers, however, are still reeling from financial pressures, and want cars and light trucks that travel farther on a gallon of fuel and save them money at the pump. The auto industry is meeting this demand by using new, innovative technologies that simultaneously improve fuel economy and cut carbon pollution."

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"The first significant advances in fuel economy standards for both cars and light trucks in more than 20 years coupled with the first-ever carbon pollution standards (which apply to models built in 2012 to 2016) are fomenting formidable changes in the automotive industry. Further changes in these standards, currently under consideration by the Obama Administration, will have an even more dramatic impact on the future direction and competitiveness of the auto industry in the United States, and, indeed, on the economic growth of the entire country."


WIND IN IOWA’S STRAW POLL
Iowa Straw Poll to shine spotlight on the economic power of wind; Wind now generates 20 percent of Iowa's electricity
August 10, 2011 (American Wind Energy Association)

"As the nation's eyes turn to the Hawkeye State for this weekend's Iowa Straw Poll in the Republican presidential race, they will catch a glimpse of what wind power has already done for Iowans—from providing 20 percent of the state's electricity to creating a new manufacturing sector—and what wind power can do for America…

"…[S]ince adopting the first renewable electricity standard in 1983…these people who know wind power the best are big fans…A full 81 percent of Iowa voters believe that the growth of the wind industry has been good for Iowa's economy…[and] Iowa voters chose wind, by a 3-to-1 margin, as their preferred energy source to power their state…"

Iowa is a giant in the wind world (click to enlarge)

"…[O]ver 200 wind-related businesses now operate in 56 Iowa counties adding over $5 billion to the Iowa economy…In 2010 alone, wind farm owners paid $16.5 million in property taxes and an additional $11 million in land lease payments to property owners…

"…Iowa illustrates for the rest of America the breadth of economic benefits from wind: manufacturing activity, tax revenue for rural areas that often need it most, and steady revenue streams for farmers, who operate in a notoriously high-risk business environment…"


GETTING A GOOD F-I-T
How to Design Feed-in Tariffs in the USA without Fear of Federal Preemption
Paul Gipe, August 10, 2011 (Wind-Works)

"…[I]n the seemingly endless debate about what states can and can't do in designing workable feed-in tariffs…two new papers describing how states can design feed-in tariff policies without running afoul of the US government's power of preemption [offer an answers]…

"Written by Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide (ELAW) scholar and expert on feed-in tariffs Jennifer Gleason, the two papers explain the arcane rules derived from the US Constitution and the Federal Power Act. The papers, written for feed-in tariff advocates the Alliance for Renewable Energy, bring the discussion up-to-date with recent favorable decisions by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)."

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"Opponents of feed-in tariffs in the USA have often hidden behind the skirts of FERC, citing restrictions in the Federal Power Act, to stymie action. Akin to the FUD tactics of Big Tobacco in the smoking wars, opponents sought to sow Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt that feed-in tariffs, like those used in Canada and Europe, could be implemented in the USA.

"In October of last year, FERC blasted open the door to fully differentiated feed-in tariffs in the USA…ELAW's Gleason explains what the decision means and describes the options states can choose in designing feed-in tariff policies that comply with the US Constitution and federal law…While not recommending a specific recipe or model feed-in tariff law, Gleason's papers provide the legal foundation necessary…"