California’s already ambitious renewable portfolio standard (RPS) just got even more so with the state Air Resources Board’s September 23 adoption of a 33 percent goal for renewables by 2020. The new standard is an increase from the previous 20 percent by 2010 goal, and could provide significant incentives for alternative energy, both in state and elsewhere. The new… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Renewable Energy
Subscribe to Renewable Energy RSS FeedCalifornia Passes First U.S. Renewable Energy Storage Law
Posted in Renewable EnergyThe California Legislature’s passage of the energy storage bill, AB 2514, is the first measure in the U.S. that could require utilities to store part of the electricity they generate. If a goal is established as a result of AB 2514, it could provide an important incentive to the development of clean energy that renewable portfolio standards ("RPS") have been unable to do on their… Continue Reading
Can There Really Be Too Much Renewable Power?
Posted in Renewable EnergyThe frequent critique of renewable energy, and wind power in particular – that it’s too intermittent and requires carbon-emitting backup capacity – is turning into a flawed premise. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s recent Western Wind and Solar Integration Study (WWSIS) concludes that no additional backup generation would be required if renewable power provided up to 20 percent of the region’s power,… Continue Reading
Oregon’s Renewable Energy Tax Credit Program Undergoes Revisions
Posted in Renewable EnergyOregon’s legislature has adopted modifications to the Business Energy Tax Credit (BETC) program. HB 3680 will place new financial limits on the BETC program, and give more discretion to the Director of the Oregon Department of Energy ("ODOE") to reject BETC applications and to reduce the amount of BETCs delivered to projects. Some of the… Continue Reading
Another Conflict Brews Over Renewable Energy Versus Endangered Species
Posted in Renewable Energy, Solar PowerThe desert tortoise is this week’s poster critter as the California Energy Commission holds evidentiary hearings on the proposed Bright Source Energy Ivanpah Solar Power Complex, which will occupy 6.2 square miles of public land near I-15 and the California-Nevada border. At issue is the desert tortoise, 25 of whom live in Ivanpah Valley. Project… Continue Reading
California Renewable Energy Goals — Real or Moving Goalposts?
Posted in Renewable EnergyCalifornia’s legislative Assembly is supposed to vote this week on a measure to increase the state’s renewable energy target to 33% by 2020, a goal the utilities commission calls "highly ambitious." Two bills, SB 14 and AB 64, would raise the existing target of 20% by 2010. Backers say that passage of the measures will… Continue Reading
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