Journal

Western Climate Initiative Issues Final Design Document

dcassell — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 18:50:34 +0000

Following the collapse of climate change legislation in the US Senate, on July 27, 2010, the Western Climate Initiative (“WCI”) released the Final Design for its regional cap-and-trade program. The WCI was formed in 2007 with a goal of reducing regional greenhouse gas emissions 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020. Currently, seven states and four Canadian provinces are participating members of the WCI, while a number of other states and provinces in the United States, Canada, and Mexico have joined as observers. The WCI’s cap-and-trade program, which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2012, will apply to all economic sectors, including emissions from electricity generation, industrial sources, transportation, and residential and industrial fuel combustion.

State Provides Public and Private Pollution Prevention Funding

kbellar — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:01:36 +0000

Earlier this month, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment (“MDNRE”) announced the award of nearly $250,000 in Community Pollution Prevention (P2) Grant funding to five municipalities for projects that focus on climate action planning. The recent P2 funding was awarded to Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Hazel Park, Southgate and Ypsilanti, each of which received an average of $50,000 each to develop local climate change action plans.

EECBG Grant Funding In Action

kbellar — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 16:59:21 +0000

Earlier this week, the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth ("DELEG") announced that Genoa Township in Livingston County successfully installed five Windspire® wind/solar hybrid turbines. The project and installation was funded by a state Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant project.

The Windspire® wind energy conversion turbine is manufactured in Manistee, Michigan with domestic materials. The turbines are capable of generating more power than the township hall requires, feeding power back to the electrical grid. When power is fed back to the grid, a net meter attached to the system spins backwards and reduces the town’s energy bill by the amount of energy generated. According to the Township, at an average wind speed of 12 mph, one turbine will produce 2000kWh of power which is 25% of the energy usage for an average home.

The state Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (“EECBG”) are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”). Designed to aid smaller communities in developing and implementing energy efficient technologies and programs, these funds support various projects, such as the re-tooling of energy systems in older municipal buildings, installing light-emitting diode street lighting, creating or expanding community recycling programs, and installing small-scale renewable energy generating systems. To date, DELEG has granted $17.6 million to 129 EECBG funded projects across the state.

Information on current nationally-available ARRA and non-ARRA federal grant opportunities is available here. The Clark Hill iGreenLaw Team can provide assistance throughout all stages of the funding process. Please send us a message using the form in the right column for more information regarding iGreenLaw’s services.

Federal Panel Concludes that Carbon Pricing Necessary to Promote CCS Development

dcassell — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:37:08 +0000

According to a federal Interagency Task Force on Carbon Capture and Storage, large-scale carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) is technically viable, but widespread adoption will require a price on carbon to make it economically viable.

Regional Climate Initiatives Back in the Spotlight

kbellar — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:00:41 +0000

After months of anticipation, the Democratic-controlled United States Senate recently abandoned (at least for now) its efforts to pass a sweeping federal energy and climate change bill. Analysts recognize that this change in events puts the spotlight back on regional efforts to control energy consumption and climate change, such as the Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord (MGGRA), the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), and the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

Texas Refuses to Implement EPA Greenhouse Gas Rules

dcassell — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:59:41 +0000

Texas officials informed the U.S. EPA this week they will not change or reinterpret Texas’ air pollution laws to comply with new federal greenhouse gas regulations, arguing that the new climate rules are illegal.

Energy Bills Dead for Now

dcassell — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 19:20:07 +0000

Senate Democrats called off plans to conduct test votes on competing Republican and Democratic energy and BP oil-spill bills before the Senate's August recess, delaying further consideration until September.

Automaker Moves Towards Compliance with Emissions Rule

kbellar — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:58:29 +0000

General Motors Co. recently announced that it will begin using a groundbreaking refrigerant that will drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the air conditioning units beginning in 2013. GM plans to use the new chemical across its Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac brands.

According to GM, the new refrigerant, developed by Honeywell and DuPont, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 99.7%, in comparison to the current refrigerant used. This near-elimination of emissions is possible by use of a new chemical in the refrigerant, HFO-1234yf, which remains present for only 11 days in the atmosphere before breaking down. The current industry-standard chemical used now, R-134a, remains in the atmosphere for more than 13 years.

Under the recently-released Environmental Protection Agency/Department of Transportation Light-Duty Vehicle Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards and Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards Final Rule, GM may be eligible for regulatory credit for greenhouse gas emissions reductions resulting from use of the new refrigerant. GM said that such regulatory credits will help it meet the Final Rule-mandated 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions fleet-wide by 2016.

Climate Bill Collapses in the Senate While Legislators Move to Handcuff EPA

dcassell — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:22:31 +0000

Senate Democrats yesterday abandoned their efforts to pass a broad energy and climate bill, instead electing on focus on a less controversial package that would ensure that BP would pay for the cleanup of the gulf oil spill and would promote further production of natural gas as well as the manufacturing of natural gas vehicles.

Climate Maneuvering in the Senate

dcassell — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 19:39:50 +0000

Senators Jay Rockefeller (D. W.Va.) and George Voinovich (R. Ohio) introduced a bill today to promote carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technologies that they say could be made part of a broader energy package that is slated for Senate action later this month.