$54 Million in ARRA Funds Awarded to Four States for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Projects

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced allocations of more than $54 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support energy efficiency and renewable energy projects in Nevada, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Under DOE's State Energy Program, states and territories have proposed statewide plans that prioritize energy savings, create or retain jobs, increase the use of renewable energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The DOE press release continues:

"This funding will provide an important boost for state economies, help to put Americans back to work, and move us toward energy independence," said Secretary Chu. "It reflects our commitment to support innovative state and local strategies to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy while insisting that taxpayer dollars be spent responsibly."

These states and territories are receiving 40% of their total State Energy Program (SEP) funding authorized under the Recovery Act today. They will now have received 50% of their total Recovery Act SEP funding. The initial 10% of total funding was previously available to states to support planning activities; the remaining 50% of funds will be released once they meet reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act.

Activities eligible for State Energy Program funding include energy audits, building retrofits, education and training efforts, transportation programs to increase the use of alternative fuels and hybrid vehicles, and new financing mechanisms to promote energy efficiency and renewable energy investments.

The following states were awarded money under this allocation:

• Nevada - $13.5 million
• Rhode Island - $9.5 million
• Wisconsin - $22.2 million
• Vermont - $8.8 million

We've posted more details on Vermont's allocation over at our Vermont Environmental Law Blog

New Study Suggests that Potential For Wind Power May Be Much Higher Than Expected

The New York Times Green, Inc. Blog reports on a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States, which indicates that much more wind power may be available than previously estimated.

Researchers at Harvard University reviewed meteorological wind speed data to evaluate the potential for wind energy production around the world and in the U.S.

In summary:

The analysis indicates that a network of land-based 2.5-megawatt (MW) turbines restricted to nonforested, ice-free, nonurban areas operating at as little as 20% of their rated capacity could supply >40 times current worldwide consumption of electricity, >5 times total global use of energy in all forms.

Resources in the contiguous United States, specifically in the central plain states, could accommodate as much as 16 times total current demand for electricity in the United States.

Prior estimates had pegged potential world-wide wind power production at just 7 times world electricity demand; the U.S. Department of Energy estimated in 2008 that wind power could only provide 1/5 of total U.S. electricity demand by 2030. The Harvard study suggests that the potential for wind power production could actually be much higher.

IRS guidance on claiming a payment in lieu of investment tax credits for renewable energy facilities: Update

This is an update on energy provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). In this post, we cover the recently released guidance under Section 1603 of ARRA for converting the credit into a direct payment from the U.S. Treasury. Our previous post on the payment in lieu of the ITC is here.

The U.S. Treasury recently published its guidance and draft application for claiming Section 1603 Payments. Here is a brief summary of some of the key points.

Qualifications: Eligible facilities must be placed in service in 2009 or 2010. Under some circumstances, an eligible facility can be placed in service as far out as 2017; however, construction must begin in 2009 or 2010). The project must be commissioned to receive a grant, although applications can be submitted prior to being placed in service. Therefore, projects will need to obtain pre-funding.

Eligibility: In general, facilities that qualify for the federal “production tax credit” and/or the Federal Energy Credit ("ITC”) are eligible. These include wind, biomass, geothermal, landfill gas, municipal solid waste and hydro as well as solar, fuel cell, microturbine and small wind. Applicants receiving the cash grant cannot also receive a tax credit.

The Treasury guidance can be found here.

PSB Standard Offer Docket No. 7523 - Update

As we explained last week, the Vermont Public Service Board (PSB) opened Docket No. 7523 to review the interim "standard offer" contract prices for small scale renewable generators established under the Vermont Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act of 2009 (which was the subject of one of our prior posts). The PSB must complete this review by September 15, 2009.

In Docket 7253, the PSB is required to 1) assess whether interim prices stated in the statute constitute "a reasonable approximation" of the final prices the PSB will establish applying the statutory criteria, and 2) adjust any price found not to constitute such an approximation.

On June 29, 2009, the PSB issued opened Docket No. 7533, an investigation is intended to build upon the record developed in Docket 7523, resolve all necessary implementation issues not addressed in that docket, and reevaluate the prices for SPEED projects set out in the statute.

The PSB also created a web site where it has posted relevant information to both dockets, including comments posted by parties. A hearing is scheduled for Friday, July 10, 2009 at 9:30 AM in Room 10 of the Vermont State House in Montpelier