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DOE Solicits Input to Develop Loan Guarantees
The U.S. Department of Energy has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to help develop a loan guarantee program for energy efficiency, renewable energy and transmission technologies. This RFI is issued to encourage specific input from a broad-based cross-section of stakeholders, such as energy project developers, equipment vendors, engineers, investors, bankers, inventors and the like. This RFI is targeted to stakeholders directly involved in the promotion and development of energy efficiency, renewable energy and transmission technologies that employ new or significantly improved energy efficiency, renewable energy and transmission technologies addressing the production, consumption or transportation of energy that also achieve substantial environmental benefits. Through this RFI, the Department of Energy (DOE) is requesting input from these stakeholders in order to formulate and draft a solicitation for applications under a $10,000,000,000 loan guarantee authority that meets the goals established by Congress under Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
The deadline for input is May 2. A copy of the RFI is available at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/financing/solicitations_detail.html?sol_id=157.
A New Green Building Strategy for EPA
EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson announced a new agency approach to encourage the mainstream adoption of green building practices. This strategy offers a multi-faceted approach to reducing the environmental and public health impacts of buildings and building-related products through their complete life span.
EPA’s green building strategy builds upon and calls for better coordination among existing programs, such as ENERGY STAR and WaterSense, which are designed to reduce the impacts of buildings and development. It involves working with the building industry to improve the quality and supply of green buildings and related products while also increasing demand through improved understanding of green building characteristics.
The strategy revolves around five objectives:
- to inform building decisions with better standards and metrics, to advance knowledge and overcome barriers through research
- to lead by example with the agency’s own facilities
- to expand understanding of green building
- to increase adoption of green building practices in areas where progress has been more limited, including homes and existing commercial and public buildings.
For more information about EPA's green building program, go to: www.epa.gov/greenbuilding.
President Bush Sets Goals for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
President Bush announced a new goal to stop the growth in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. To reach that goal, the President also called for electric utilities to slow the growth in their greenhouse gas emissions so that they peak within 10 to 15 years and decline thereafter. As noted by the President, all responsible approaches to achieving such greenhouse gas reductions depend on accelerating the development and deployment of new technologies. Specifically, President Bush called for new policies that spur investment in the new technologies needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The President also called for long-term incentives to make lower-emission power sources more competitive with higher-emission power sources.
The President's new goal is the first absolute goal for stopping greenhouse gas emissions on the federal level. Back in 2002, President Bush set a goal of reducing the nation's greenhouse gas intensity by 18% by 2012, and the United States is on track to meet that goal. However, greenhouse gas intensity is defined as the amount of greenhouse gases emitted per unit of gross domestic product, so in a growing economy, greenhouse gas emissions can increase even though greenhouse gas intensity is decreasing. In contrast, the new goal sets a specific date for a peak in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. See the President's speech (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080416-6.html) and a White House fact sheet (http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/04/20080416-7.html) on the new goal.
EPA: U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Dropped 1.1% in 2006
Mild weather, a drop in fuel consumption, and an increased use of renewable energy and natural gas all contributed to a decrease of U.S. greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 1.1% in 2006, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA's annual inventory of GHG emissions and sinks forms the official U.S. report to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also represents a refinement of the inventory produced by DOE's Energy Information Administration (EIA) back in November 2007, which found a 1.5% decrease in GHG emissions. Since 1990, U.S. GHG emissions have increased by only 14.7%, while the U.S. gross domestic product has increased by 59%. Carbon dioxide emissions dominate U.S. GHG emissions, providing 84.8% of the total emissions, and most of the carbon dioxide emissions are caused by burning fossil fuels. See the report (http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/usinventoryreport.html) on the EPA Climate Change Webpage.
Maine is First State to Regulate Power Plant CO2 Emissions
On April 15, Maine Gov. John Baldacci signed a bill requiring the state Board of Environmental Protection to develop greenhouse gas emission standards for coal gasification--making Maine the first state in the nation to regulate carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.
"Maine has been in the forefront in protecting our natural resources, our environment and our public health," Governor Baldacci said. "This bill continues Maine's leadership."
The bill also imposes a moratorium on building any new coal gasification facilities until the standards are developed. This new carbon emissions limit comes on the heels of the state rejecting the Twin River coal-fired power plant. That plant had come to Maine promising a clean coal solution to global warming--but it turned out that their proposal would have been the largest climate polluter in the state, emitting more than twice the carbon dioxide emissions of any other plant.
