Sustainability

According to research from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, worldwide investment in clean energy dropped to its lowest level in four years during the first three months of this year.  Total investment, which includes renewables, energy efficiency, and energy-smart technologies, was down 38% from the last quarter of 2012 and 22% from the same period (first quarter) of 2012.  The causes identified by BNEF include policy uncertainty in major markets like the U.S. and Germany and the sharp decrease in prices of solar PV panels which translates to lower investment, in dollar terms, for a project of equal capacity. read more

Suntech announced last week that it will be closing its Goodyear, AZ panel manufacturing facility in April.  We blogged here about Suntech's decision to locate in Arizona in Nov. 2009.  The company blamed the closure on hefty tariffs imposed on Chinese solar cells by the U.S. International Trade Commission (although the panels were assembled in Arizona, the cells were produced in China).  However, the tariffs are not completely to blame for the company's financial problems -- Suntech announced last summer that it was defrauded into investing 530 million euros ($690 million) in non-existent German bonds. read more

According to a statement released earlier this month by BTM Consult, a division of Navigant, General Electric passed Denmark-based Vestas Wind Systems in 2012 as the world's largest producer of wind turbines.  Vestas had held the top spot for twelve years.  Another American company, Siemens, came in third with German-based Enercon and India-based Suzlon rounding out the top five.  Although none made it into the top five, four Chinese companies were ranked in the top ten.  The only other top ten company was Spain's Gamesa.  The rankings are preliminary with the final report expected to be released in March. read more

In his second inaugural speech yesterday, President Obama mentioned climate change and promised a response.  He also voiced his support for a transition to "sustainable energy sources" but did not provide any additional details about how he will address climate change in his second term as President.  Here is the relevant portion of his speech: "We, the people, still believe that our obligations as Americans are not just to ourselves, but to all posterity. We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations. read more

The 2012 conference of the United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change is currently underway in Doha, Qatar.  The conference began on Monday, November 26th, and continues through Friday, December 7th.  You can browse the full schedule here or read summaries of each day's proceedings on Columbia Law School's Climate Law Blog.  The general consensus (of observers) is that very little is going to be accomplished at the conference due to a lack of consensus by participating nations about how, or even whether, to proceed with reducing anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases.  This has been the situation for at least the last few conferences, but it is more significant this time since the Kyoto Protocol terminates at the end of the year. read more

A book by Oxford Economics Professor, Dieter Helm, is highly critical of the methods being used by European countries to reduce their carbon emissions in an attempt to mitigate the impacts of global climate change.  The Carbon Crunch: How We're Getting Climate Change Wrong—and How to Fix It, argues that current regulatory efforts to cut carbon emissions have focused on expensive and ineffective methods, resulting in limited progress and widespread scepticism of the movement.  (This blog is based primarily on a review of Mr. Helm's book by The Economist, and not a full reading of the book which is not yet available in the U.S.) read more

On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court denied Chevron's petition for certiorari from a decision of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.  Chevron was seeking an injunction barring the enforcement of a $18 billion Ecuadorian judgment anywhere in the world.  The District Court for the Southern District of New York agreed with Chevron's accusations of fraud and manipulation of evidence by the plaintiffs and their attorneys and granted the injunction in March 2011.  The Second Circuit vacated the injunction in January of this year and Chevron appealed to the Supreme Court.  This U.S. case stems from a case in Ecuador, in which an Ecuadorian judge awarded over $18 billion to local farmers and indigenous groups in February 2011. read more

Last Friday, the Ninth Circuit dismissed the last climate change lawsuit still pending in the federal courts to the best of my knowledge.  Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil Corp. was a lawsuit by a small Alaskan village against 22 oil, energy, and utility companies, alleging that their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions caused global warming which prevented historic levels of sea ice from forming around the village.  The lack of sea ice exposed the village to massive erosion from the ocean's waves and the possibility of devastating storms in the future.  The villagers sought damage payments from the defendants for the harm they suffered from global warming; presumably, at a minimum, the costs of relocating the village, estimated by the Army Corps of Engineers at $95 million. read more

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a $15 million grant to the Algae Testbed Public-Private Partnership (ATP3) led by ASU.  $8 million will cover the first two years of the program and, if certain benchmarks are met, the remaining $7 million will be disbursed.  The ATP3 partnership is led by the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) housed at ASU’s Polytechnic campus with support from national labs and academic and industrial partners, including the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Cellana LLC, Touchstone Research Laboratory, SRS Energy, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Texas at Austin, and Commercial Algae Management. read more

The Pew Charitable Trusts released a report last week analyzing the worldwide clean energy economy in 2011 with a particular focus on investment levels in G-20 countries.  The report is titled Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race? 2011 Edition and is based on data gathered by Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a market research firm focused on renewable energy.  The report found that worldwide clean energy investment rose 6.5% in 2011 to a record $263 billion, resulting in the deployment of 83.5 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy capacity.  With a 42% increase in its investment in renewable energy, the U.S. regained the top spot with $48.1 billion of investment in 2011.  The U.S. ranked third in 2010 behind both China and Germany. read more

The dasHaus Tour, an exhibit of advanced technologies for building construction and solar energy use, will be in Tempe from Jan. 21-30 as the third stop on its North American tour.  "Das haus" means "the house" in German and the main attraction of the exhibit is the dasHaus pavilion -- a fully-functioning structure that demonstrates advanced German solutions for reducing buildings' energy demand and maximizing the efficiency of energy generated on-site.  In addition to the dasHaus pavilion, the exhibit will include presentations by respected experts, new technologies displays, and networking opportunities for students and organizations.  The display will be at the Tempe Arts Park, at 700 West Rio Salado Parkway. read more

Last week, North Carolina-based Duke Energy announced the purchase of two photovoltaic (PV) solar projects in Arizona with a combined generating capacity of 20 megawatts (MWs).  The two projects are the 5 MW Ajo Solar Project in southern Arizona and the 15 MW Bagdad Solar Project near Prescott, Arizona.  Both projects were developed by Recurrent Energy, which has been owned by Sharp Corporation for just over one year now.  The Ajo facility began commercial operation in September of this year and the larger Bagdad facility is scheduled to achieve commercial operation within the next few weeks.  The electricity generated by the projects will be purchased by APS under 25-year power purchase agreements. read more

On Thursday, October 13, 2011, the New Mexico Supreme Court heard oral arguments in two cases challenging the state statutes on domestic wells.  The cases essentially challenge the Constitutionality of several state statutes that mandate that the Office of the State Engineer approve applications for domestic wells.  The second related case argues that under the prior appropriation doctrine, domestic wells should be assigned a priority date.  Currently, they are not assigned a priority date.  The debate affects farmers, tribes, and other owners of old and senior water rights as domestic wells have proliferated.  The impact of domestic wells on the overall supply of water has also increased as drought conditions have become more prevalent. read more

The news of Solyndra's bankruptcy filing and the FBI's raids of the company must be an embarrassment to the Obama administration, as a little more than a year ago the President praised the solar manufacturer, touting its job creation potential and promise for America's clean energy future. The Department of Energy (DOE) remains undaunted, however, and this week announced three new loan guarantees for solar energy companies. read more

Last week, Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) filed a new rate case with the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC).  The filing proposes raising electricity rates on all classes of customers to support the utility's efforts to improve its system's sustainability and reliability.  The filing also proposes, for the first time in Arizona, the establishment of an "Efficiency and Infrastructure Account" that aims to allow APS to recover costs that it spends on energy efficiency efforts. read more

This week, the Salt River Project's (SRP) Board of Directors voted to increase the utility's goal for sustainable energy resources to 20% of all retail sales by the year 2020.  SRP's previous goal, set in 2006, was 15% of retail sales by 2025.  SRP defines "sustainable resources" to include hydro power and energy efficiency measures along with more commonly recognized renewable resources such as solar and wind.  Read more here.  Regulated utilities in Arizona, such as Arizona Public Service Co.  (APS) and Tucson Electric Power (TEP), are required by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) to generate 15% of their retail sales from renewable resources by 2025 and to separately reduce energy consumption by 22% by 2020 through energy efficiency measures.  As a quasi-governmental entity, SRP is regulated by the State Legislature, not the ACC. read more

Top executives from the five biggest U.S. oil companies testified yesterday before the Senate Finance Committee regarding a bill that would eliminate certain tax breaks that currently save the companies approximately $2 billion per year.  The bill is called the Close Big Oil Tax Loopholes Act and was introduced by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ).  Democrats claim that there is no justification for the tax breaks which amount to federal subsidies for established and highly profitable businesses.  They propose applying the additional tax revenue to the country's budget deficit.  Republicans, on the other hand, accuse the Democrats of political theater -- attacking oil companies to gain political favor with an American public that is already upset with oil companies because of high gas prices. read more

On Tuesday, April 12, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a sophisticated computer model of the interconnected aquifers in central and northern Arizona.  The Northern Arizona Regional Groundwater Flow Model simulates how precipitation moves through aquifers and eventually supplies water to rivers, streams, and springs.  The model covers the watersheds of the Verde, Salt, Colorado, and Little Colorado Rivers.  Years in the making, the model was commissioned by the Arizona Department of Water Resources in 1999.  The Yavapai County Water Advisory Committee also provided financial support.  A key benefit of the model is that it will allow policymakers and other users to understand how various changes, natural or social, may affect regional groundwater supplies.  read more

We blogged here last fall about Lake Mead's record low water levels.  The reservoir reached an all-time low of 1,081.85 above sea level on Nov. 27, 2010.  Now, following the wettest winter in a decade, the mountain snowpack above the Upper Basin of the Colorado River has built up to a level 20% higher than normal.  This will allow the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), as it announced on April 12, to release an additional 3.33 million acre-feet (maf) of water from Utah's Lake Powell to Nevada's Lake Mead.  This brings the total to be released up to 11.56 maf, up from earlier projections of only 8.23 maf.  The increased amount of release will avoid shortages in Lake Mead that would have triggered restrictions on water deliveries to Arizona and Nevada users under complex compacts existing between the Colorado River Basin states. read more

Congress today passed the much-debated budget bill, the product of a partisan compromise reached late last Friday to avert a government shutdown.  The bill reduces the EPA's budget by 16% as to compared to the 2010 fiscal year, down from $ 10.3 billion to $ 8.7 billion.  The majority of the $ 1.6 billion reduction is taken from programs that provide aid to states for implementation of environmental laws.  Superfund, the hazardous waste cleanup program, received a cut of $ 23 million, roughly 2%. The bill also chops $ 49 million, or 13%, from climate change programs. read more

On Monday, April 11, 2011, BrightSource Energy, Inc., announced that it had closed financing for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, a 392 megawatt solar power plant under construction in California's Mojave Desert.  Financing for the plant includes $1.6 billion in loan guarantees from the U.S. Department of Energy and a $168 million equity investment by internet giant Google, both announced on Monday.  NRG Solar is the project's other large equity stakeholder, which has committed to invest up to $300 million.  BrightSource, which is headquartered in Oakland, California, also has operations in the Negev (Israel) and Australia. read more

On Wednesday, the Senate rejected an amendment proposed by Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that would have blocked EPA's plans to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) under the Clean Air Act.  The legislation was offered as an amendment to a small business bill that the Senate has been working on for several weeks.  The amendment received the support of all but one Senate Republican, Sen. Susan Collins (ME), and was also supported by four Democrats, Sens. Joe Manchin (WV), Ben Nelson (NE), Mary Landrieu (LA), and Mark Pryor (AR).  On the same day, the Senate rejected three more moderate attempts to limit or postpone EPA's regulations, primarily because they were opposed by Republicans as not going far enough to curb EPA's plans. read more

California's ground breaking CO2 cap-and-trade program may be in jeopardy, after a Superior Court in San Francisco County issued an injunction against the California Air Resources Board (CARB) prohibiting the agency from any further rule making under its "Climate Change Scoping Plan".  The challenge to CARB's cap-and-trade proposal was brought by environmental justice advocates, who believe that cap-and-trade would impose disproportionate air quality impacts on low income and minority communities.  These advocates believe that a carbon tax is preferable to cap-and-trade since it would incentivize emission reductions at all facilities equally.  The court ruled that CARB did not sufficiently evaluate alternatives to cap and trade as required under the California Environmental Quality Act (a state version of NEPA). read more

We blogged here about Representative Fred Upton's (R-MI) bill that would repeal the EPA's finding that greenhouse gases endanger the environment.  The Energy Tax Prevention Act of 2011, as the measure is known, has now passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee on a 34-19 vote.  The committee rejected last-minute amendments that would have put Republican supporters on record denying that human activity contributes to climate change.  On March 15, the same day as the passage of Rep. Upton's bill, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced an amendment to a small business bill that would also block EPA's regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. read more

Arizona's Salt River Project (SRP) announced plans this week to review its Sustainable Portfolio Principles, adopted by its Board of Directors in 2004.  These principles include goals such as "evaluat[ing] and implement[ing] supply- and demand-side measures that reduce the use of traditional fossil fuels" and "encourag[ing] … the development and use of sustainable energy technologies."  The Principles were last reviewed by SRP's Board in 2006. read more

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority has announced a plan to recharge the aquifer beneath the Albuquerque metropolitan area.  The water utility intends to drill two deep wells in the city's northeastern quarter that will be used to pump water into the aquifer, as part of a water conservation technique called "water banking."  The utility would store excess water in the aquifer during the winter months when consumption is lowest and pump it back out during the summer as water demand increases.  This would reduce the depletion of native water in the aquifer.  The depletion of Albuquerque's aquifer has become a large concern in recent years with the discovery that the water table in some parts of the city has dropped 100 feet or more due to groundwater pumping. read more

The EPA released for comment on Nov. 9 its proposed Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Updates.  The draft protocols are voluntary and intended for use by the home retrofit industry with respect to single-family and multi-family low-rise dwellings.  The protocols are addressed to the concern that initiatives to weatherize or "green" existing homes may have the unintended effect of negatively impacting indoor air quality. read more

The "Law of the River" is a complex collection of interstate compacts, federal laws, court decisions, and other documents that governs the allocation of Colorado River water and operation of the river's dams.  But this esoteric body of law is now making the news due to the Southwest's shrinking water supply.  Due to a multi-year drought coupled with rapid development in the Southwest, the water level in Nevada's Lake Mead, an almost 10 trillion-gallon reservoir created by Hoover Dam, has dropped to historic lows: hitting 1083.18 ft. below sea level on Sunday, Oct. 17, then falling further to 1083.09 ft. by Monday morning.  Lake Mead water levels are the trigger for incremental rationing under a 2007 agreement between the Upper Basin states of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming, and the thirstier Lower Basin states of Arizona, California, and Nevada. read more

An interesting tidbit on the solar energy front: The White House is going green, at least to a limited extent.  Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Council of Environmental Quality (CEQ) Chair Nancy Sutley announced Tuesday that a solar panel array and a solar water heater will be installed on the White House roof.  These installations will heat water for the presidential mansion's living quarters and provide a small amount of electricity.  Secretary Chu says the White House installations will demonstrate the availability and reliability of American solar technology. read more

Phoenix this week hosted the 4th Annual Algae Biomass Summit (Summit), a three-day event organized by the Minneapolis-based Algal Biomass Organization (ABO).  Over 600 researchers, developers, and other interested constituents from 27 countries, attended the Summit, which took place Sept. 28-30. The ABO selected Arizona as the location for the Summit due to the state’s emergence as a "hotbed for research on algae." read more

Northern Arizona's mountainous forest region is about to get trimmed down and cleaned up.  Arizona's Four Forests Restoration Initiative (Initiative) was awarded a $2 million grant from the U.S. Forest Service on Aug. 17, the largest grant made under the newly created federal Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program.  The Initiative is the result of a coalition between the timber industry, environmentalists, and local communities to restore healthy ecological values in Northern Arizona's ponderosa pine forests, including 2.4 million acres of the Apache-Sitgreaves, Kaibab, Coconino, and Tonto National Forests, while also boosting rural Arizona’s economic growth and fire safety.  Forests in the Western United States have been ecologically degraded by overly aggressive fire suppression practices as well as misguided forest management policies, with unsustainable levels of timber harvesting and cattle grazing in the earlier part of the last century followed by the opposite extreme of unduly restricted logging and grazing.  As a result, dense thickets of smaller, younger trees have grown up in place of old-growth trees, and the forest floor is buried in needles and leaves. read more

The Journal Science is providing free online access to its special issue: Scaling up Alternative Energy, until August 27, 2010.  The special issue "explores worldwide efforts to develop clean, renewable alternatives to fossil fuels" and is an excellent opportunity to find out what experts think about many of the issues currently being debated by politicians and the public.  The underlying message of the issue, is that developing renewable energy on the scale necessary to replace fossil fuels will most likely require more time and be more difficult than many proponents of renewable energy currently realize. read more

While many people have never heard of solar daylighting, Glendale-based Natural Lighting Company has been designing and installing their energy saving component "daylighting" systems since 1992.  Component daylighting is a technology that uses high efficiency skylights, reflective lightwells, and light diffusers to convey sunlight through a building's roof to light the interior.  While perhaps, not as flashy as photovoltaic (PV) panels, solar daylighting is starting to gain attention as a cost effective solar technology.  For example, in APS's Schools and Government Program (recently filed with the Arizona Corporation Commission), the utility hopes to install a daylighting project along with every PV or solar thermal project.  Arizona's Department of Commerce is getting on board too.  read more

ASTM International (formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials) recently released its Standard E2718-10: Standard Guide for Financial Disclosures Attributed to Climate Change.  The standard has been in development for over two years and was issued approximately two months after the SEC released its Interpretive Guidance for Disclosing Climate Change Impacts (we blogged about that guidance here).  ASTM is an organization that develops voluntary standards meant to define good practice within various fields by industry consensus. read more

The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), a Tucson-based conservation advocacy organization, is asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) to set aside more than 53 million acres of the American Southwest for the endangered jaguar. The group's proposal comes in response to the Service’s January 2010 decision under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to designate "critical habitat" (a geographic area with physical and biological features essential to species survival) and develop a species recovery plan for the jaguar, the largest wild cat in the western hemisphere. The agency’s decision represents a reversal of previous policy; it had determined in 1997, when the jaguar was listed as endangered, and again in 2006 that designation of critical habitat in the United States would not be prudent. read more

On Tuesday, Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) announced his intent to draft and present to the Senate an energy bill that will focus on threats other than climate change, including national security, economic, and environmental threats to the United States and her citizens. The Senator’s plan does not include a cap-and-trade component or any direct control on GHG emissions but it does contain a "clean energy standard" mandating the use of cleaner energy sources. read more

Lewis and Roca represented Hualapai Valley Solar LLC in hearings on January 12-13 before the Arizona Power Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee. At the conclusion of the hearing, the committee voted unanimously to approve a new 340 MW solar power plant to be built about 30 miles north of Kingman, Arizona. This project addressed the issue of water usage by thermal solar plants by working with the City of Kingman to purchase the City's effluent for use by the plant, thereby reducing the amount of groundwater needed. read more

Although the United Nations’ Summit on Global Climate Change failed to reach a binding agreement on a plan to combat climate change, a majority of the parties in attendance have indicated their support for a non-binding agreement negotiated between some of the major players at the conference. This agreement, called the Copenhagen Accord, was negotiated between the United States, China, India, and some of the other largest countries over the last few days of the conference. Although it was not formally adopted by the U.N. because it was not supported unanimously, the Conference of the Parties “took note” of the Accord and many countries expressed their support for the plan. read more

Nevada has been ruled out as an alternative disposal site for low-level radioactive waste from South Carolina. The Nevada Test Site, about 65 miles north of Las Vegas, is being excluded from discussions about the nearly 15,000 drums of depleted uranium because the energy department agreed to conduct a statewide environmental impact statement before accepting new waste there and the review could take longer than a year. read more

On December 4, 2009, New Mexico U.S. Representative Harry Teague announced over $100 million would be funded for an algae-based biofuel refinery near Las Cruces, New Mexico. California-based Sapphire Energy, with a present test facility in Las Cruces, is planning to build a facility in which fuel could be refined from algae. read more

EPA issued a widely anticipated finding today that greenhouse gas emissions “endanger … the public health and the public welfare of current and future generations.” This finding is a prerequisite to EPA finalizing its proposed light-duty vehicle GHG emissions standards proposed in September and is a step towards regulating emissions from stationary sources such as power plants and refineries. read more

The University of Nevada, Reno, as part of the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE), has received $3.2 million from the U.S. Department of Energy for renewable energy research in addition to the $5.7 million NSHE has secured over the past two fiscal years from the Department of Energy. read more

How to end reliance on coal? Pay homeowners for feeding electricity into the grid at a rate that is double the rate they pay for electricity. Over three gigawatts (!) of solar electric generation have been installed in Germany this year, leading to the sell out of all available solar panels in that country. Time will tell, but it appears that one half of all of the installed photovoltaic capacity in the world is now in Germany! read more

As big as you can afford. While the fabled “London Array”, which contemplates 1 gigawatt of production capacity in the Thames Estuary, is truly enormous, Sweden plans a wind farm array in Lappland (where the reindeers live) that will generate over 3 gigawatts. They will use 7.5 megawatt turbines, that will be far higher than a football field is long: over 35 stories high. See the video, and more details, here. read more

EnviroMission (USA) Inc., the Phoenix-based subsidiary of the Australian company EnviroMission Ltd., already has a few parcels under option in La Paz County and recently received an initial approval from the Southern California Public Power Authority ("SCPPA").  The company plans to construct a plant in Arizona that will generate electricity using "solar tower" technology.  This new technology, described here, essentially heats air near ground level using a greenhouse effect and then funnels it into a huge tower as it rises, driving wind turbines.  Unlike photovoltaic and concentrating solar, the solar tower does not require any water and can operate at night and on cloudy days since it is powered by radiant heat rather than direct sunlight. read more

Four months after signing into law new tax incentives for the renewable energy industry, Arizona governor Jan Brewer welcomed China’s largest solar-panel manufacturer to the Valley of the Sun. Suntech Power Holdings Co. announced on Sunday its decision to locate its U.S. headquarters and an 80,000 to 100,000 sq. ft. manufacturing facility in Phoenix. The facility, which will assemble panels that convert sunlight into electricity, is slated to begin operations in the third quarter of 2010. Initially, it will employ 75 Arizonans, and that number could grow to 250 at full capacity. read more

The Greenbuild 2009 International Conference and Expo opened on Wednesday at the Phoenix Convention Center.  An annual event organized by the U.S. Green Building Council, Greenbuild is the largest convention of its kind, with over 20,000 attendees and exhibitors expected this year. read more

Dow Chemical recently introduced its "Powerhouse" line of solar shingles.  The solar shingles use thin-film solar technology but can be installed by roofers without any specialized tools or training. read more

Alfredo Alonso, lobbyist, and Garrett Gordon, land use attorney, in the Lewis and Roca office in Reno, Nevada, recently obtained final land use approvals for an 80-acre environmentally conscious business and industrial park called the "Village Green Commerce Center". read more