Energy Law

The 2010 Distributed Generation Northeast Conference, hosted by Renewable Energy Vermont (REV) brings together more than 200 business leaders, policy-makers, utilities and others committed to expanding Vermont's use of renewable, sustainable energy - and are looking at more efficient, cost effective ways to transmit that power to commercial and residential customers.

The conference is next Wednesday, May 19, in Manchester, Vermont. The conference agenda is available here.

Peter Sinclair has now started putting together videos on clean energy solutions. Here?s his latest.

Geoffrey Styles on the value of focusing financial incentives on green energy manufacturing:

As I was catching up on recent op-eds in the New York Times, I was intrigued by one with the snappy title, "Red China, Green China." As the author, an "executive in residence at Columbia Business School," built his case for why the US is falling behind China in clean energy technology, I was hopeful that he'd offer some sensible recommendations for resolving the problems that have made it harder for the US to compete across a whole range of industries, not just cleantech. Unfortunately, two of his three suggestions were focused on measures to ensure a market for clean technology, and the third on R&D for carbon capture and storage. These are worthy goals, but there wasn't a word about making our manufacturing sector more competitive. That blind spot seems to be shared by the Department of Energy, which according to an article in MIT's Technology Review ran out of money for clean energy manufacturing tax credits, but spent more than $3 billion funding renewable energy projects, many of which are being built with imported hardware. If we're serious about competing in a global clean technology race, we've got our priorities backwards.

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the selections of projects for investment of up to $62 million over five years to research, develop, and demonstrate Concentrating Solar Power (CSP) systems capable of providing low-cost electrical power. This funding will support improvements in CSP systems, components, and thermal energy storage to accelerate the market-readiness of this renewable energy technology. Accelerating breakthroughs in renewable energy technologies supports the Administration?s strategy of diversifying the U.S. energy portfolio to increase our energy independence while fostering a fast-growing clean-energy economy.

For 23 years, Eva Villanova has lived the idyllic country life. She raised a family and made a name for herself as an artist. Her home on leafy Flagg Hill Road in the northwest Connecticut town of Colebrook was a perfect place to turn ordinary clumps of clay into extraordinary works of art-or so Villanova thought.

Much to her dismay, a Connecticut energy company is proposing to build as many as five 320-foot wind turbines just yards away from Villanova's kilns. The project, proposed by BNE Energy Inc., would be the first substantial wind farm in the state. It would go a long way in helping Connecticut achieve its goal of generating 20 percent of its power over the next decade from renewable energy sources.

Solar Power presents opportunities in the United States that cannot be overstated. It can be part of a renewable energy portfolio to achieve energy independence, it can demonstrate commitment to leadership on controlling climate change and it can be the foundation for thousands of green technology jobs around the country.

Key to continued progress on these goals will be federal leadership; smart, integrated policy prescriptions; and ideas, commitment and investment from private industry.