Ohio Lawmakers Fine-Tune Renewable Energy Mandates

Ohio utilities would still have to find more of their power from renewable sources like solar and wind but not as much as required by current law under a bill that could soon see a Senate vote.

A revised version of House Bill 114 rolled out last week would get rid of the House-passed concept of replacing the mandates with voluntary goals carrying no penalties for failure.

The bill also seeks to resolve a four-year feud over the siting of wind farms.

Court to US Treasury: ‘Basis Equals Purchase Price’

The U.S. Court of Federal Claims decided that Halloween was the perfect day to release its Alta v. United States opinion, and the plaintiffs are enjoying the treat.

Plaintiffs sued the Treasury for the alleged underpayment of over $206 million in grants under section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009, which provides owners of certain renewable energy projects a grant equal to 30 percent of the property’s “basis.”

“And therein lies the dispute.”

Heineman Signs Bill to Offer Wind Energy Tax Incentives

Gov. Dave Heineman signed a bill into law Tuesday that will pave the way for a massive wind farm project in Nebraska.

The wind farm bill (LB104) by Omaha Sen. Steve Lathrop will remove a barrier to the development and export of wind energy in Nebraska. It will offer tax incentives that could lead to Nebraska getting a $300 million to $400 million wind farm project by TradeWind Energy of Lenexa, Kan.

U.K. Says Energy Law to Bring ‘Massive’ Cut in Pollution

Energy Secretary Ed Davey urged lawmakers to back away from immediately imposing targets for carbon emission from U.K. power plants, saying legislation being considered now will make a “massive” reduction. 

His department estimated the law being considered in Parliament tomorrow will stimulate 110 billion pounds ($168 billion) of investment in power stations and the electric grid. It includes guaranteed power prices for atomic reactors and wind farms and payments for gas plants that remain available to smooth peaks and troughs of intermittent renewable generation. 

Parliament adopts law increasing 'local content' for renewable energy plants

In an Oct. 16 interview with the Kyiv Post, Mykola Romaniuk, the pro-presidential Party of Regions lawmaker who proposed the law, argued the bill would stimulate the development of the renewable energy sector in Ukraine.

But the draft law was amended before the second reading. Initially, the law stipulated that all wind farms launched after Jan. 1, 2013 will have to have 30 percent of local content and those launched from Jan. 1, 2014 should have at least 50 percent of domestic goods and services used to develop their facilities.

New rules could boost New England renewable power

New England is decidedly short on coal mines and oil wells, but electricity grid watchers say a recent federal order could help the region finally unlock the power in the energy sources it does have.

A federal order issued last fall is intended to make it easier to construct transmission lines, costly and controversial projects that are notoriously tough to build.

Vermont Statehouse 2012: A legislative preview

On Tuesday, 180 lawmakers will converge on the Statehouse after a seven month hiatus for Round 2 of the 2011-2012 biennium. Judging from interviews with committee chairs, the upcoming session will be fast and furious. Lawmakers have an impressive array of complicated issues to address in four short months, and there is little expectation that the session will drag past the first week in May (this is an election year after all).

UK: Renewables policy overhaul promises “clean, green, secure energy”

The government has today unveiled long-awaited changes to the UK's renewable energy subsidy regime, proposing new support levels for a raft of clean energy technologies, and setting out plans on how it aims to reduce subsidies over time.