Energy Law

Three from the New York Times today:

Biomass Industry Sees 'Chilling Message' in EPA's Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule - NYTimes.com

U.S. EPA's final rule determining which sources will be subject to greenhouse gas permitting requirements does not exempt biomass power, a decision that has raised concern in the biomass industry. Issued yesterday, EPA's final "tailoring" rule determines which polluters will be required to account for their greenhouse gas emissions in Clean Air Act permits when the agency begins to formally regulate the heat-trapping gases next January (Greenwire, May 13).

Mountaintop wind turbines produce most of their energy at night, when electricity demand and prices are low. That limits revenue and makes it hard for utility companies to meet state goals for high percentages of renewable energy.

Batteries could solve the problem, but they have always been too expensive. Still, a small New Jersey company, Grid Storage Technologies of Newark, plans to install two batteries on the grid late this year that would store bulk amounts of energy.

In its most comprehensive study so far, the nation?s leading scientific body declared on Wednesday that climate change was a reality and was driven mostly by human activity, chiefly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation.

The National Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, issued three reports stating that there was an overwhelming case for a harmful human influence on the global climate and arguing for strong and immediate action to limit emissions of climate-altering gases in the United States and around the world.

Vermont Technical College in Randolph to hold sustainability conference | The Burlington Free Press | Burlington, Vermont

BURLINGTON ? Sustainability is the topic of a daylong symposium at Vermont Technical College in Randolph that will feature experts in energy efficiency, insulation and renewable energy for historic buildings.

Organizers say the June 4 symposium is for owners and managers of historic properties, energy efficiency practitioners, renewable energy installers, and anyone who cares about sustainable communities and the continued use of historic buildings.

Hundreds of new jobs could be coming to Fair Haven.

A developer pitched plans to build a large biomass plant just off of Route 4. Officials with Beaver Wood Energy say the facility would produce 110,000 tons of wood pellets a year. The proposal calls for 50 new jobs at the plant itself and as many as 800 more in related industries. The company is also hoping to build a similar plant in Pownal.

State Attorney General Martha Coakley is requesting up to $150,000 to retain ?experts and consultants?? to help review an agreement by the utility company National Grid to buy half of the power generated by the proposed Cape Wind energy project.

Coakley, the state?s ratepayer advocate, could sway the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, which must decide whether National Grid?s contract with Cape Wind is a good deal. That question is hotly debated, even among supporters of renewable energy.