Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle (D) has been elected to serve as chair of the Midwestern Governors Association. He plans to hold a summit of Midwest governors in his state this fall to discuss regional efforts to achieve energy independence and fight global warming.

Unlike the northeast states and the western states that are formally agreed to collaborate on cutting global warming pollution, the Midwest has yet to go so far. But with its abundant renewable energy sources like wind, biomass, and biofuels, it is poised to join other states in moving toward a cleaner, more secure energy future.

At the signing, Governor Doyle announced:

With our vast agricultural and forestry resources, our strong research institutions, and our strong manufacturing base, I want the Midwest to become the Saudi Arabia of renewable energy with Wisconsin at the forefront.

As for his work in his own state, Governor Doyle has signed executive orders creating a task force on global warming and a state energy office. Doyle aims to get 25 percent of Wisconsin's electricity and 25 percent of its transportation fuels from renewable sources by 2025. He also signed an executive order creating a Task Force on Global Warming that will bring together business, industry, government, energy, and environment leaders to develop global warming solutions. Way to go, cheesehead neighbors!

American Wind Energy Association
Wisconsin State Journal

Nevada State Senator Bob Coffin (D-Las Vegas) wants to repeal a law that states, quite logically, that burning tires for electricity does not constitute renewable energy except in limited circumstances. Coffin believes the existing law hinders other technologies from developing and wants it rewritten to say “any system that involves creating electricity from tires” is renewable. Sounds like he took a page from President Bush’s playbook that declared nuclear power is “a renewable source of energy.”

Senator Coffin wants to count tire burning towards Nevada’s standards for renewable energy production. The state has a Renewable Energy Standard requiring all Nevada investor-owned utilities to get 15 percent of their energy from renewables by the year 2013.

Here enters commonsense: the Republican Senator from Henderson, Joseph Heck, points out that the bill doesn’t prevent the most destructive forms of tire burning from happening. For example, open burning of tires releases known carcinogens, among other nasty pollution problems, and could count as renewable energy with the change in the law.

The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee will vote on the bill at a later hearing.

In addition to renewable tire burning, the Committee heard other bills last week that included exempting co-ops, nonprofits, and renewable energy systems from state environmental review laws. The Committee approved that bill, despite opposition from state regulators and the Nevada Conservation league who argued it creates loopholes that would allow for a utility plant built on private land to sidestep the permitting process.

Sounds like Nevada senators have their hands full, hopefully closing up all the loopholes others are trying to tear open. This is a lesson for all of us: Good laws that encourage a clean, renewable energy system still have to be protected and safeguarded from those wed to the dirty way of doing things. Make sure your elected officials know you’re keeping an eye on them.

Associated Press
Energy Bulletin
Western Resource Advocates

The Global Warming Solutions Act in the Maryland legislature mimics the policy California lawmakers passed late last summer. The MD bill requires carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to be reduced to their 1990 levels by the year 2020. According the Chesapeake Climate Action Network, the bill also requires energy efficiency measures, cleaner cars, and directs state agencies to draft global warming solutions plans. To hit the emissions targets, the Global Warming Solutions Act uses a “cap-and-trade” system.

A cap-and-trade system is a market-based solution to cutting CO2 emissions efficiently and with flexibility, resulting in real reductions. First, lawmakers establish a limit or “cap” to the emissions (in this case lowering them to 1990 levels by 2020). Often the caps are aimed at particular sources, like power plants. Next, the amount of emissions that are allowed under the new law are divided up into individual permits. Each utility is allowed to emit a particular amount of pollution according to their number of permits (normally a permit is equal to one ton of pollution).

The permits create a financial incentive for emission cuts by designating a cost to the pollution. A company that has cut emissions sufficiently can sell their extra permits to companies not able or willing to cut emissions enough to meet the requirements. This helps to ensure that companies cut emissions while remaining profitable.

Maryland already has a renewable energy standard that requires 7.5 percent of its energy to come from renewable sources by 2019. It’s also passed the Healthy Air Act, a strong power plant clean-up bill that will cut mercury and CO2 emissions. These laws and the Global Warming Solutions Act are just more examples of the states taking meaningful action on global warming and energy. The federal government will have to work even harder to catch up.

Hugg.com: Global Warming Solutions Act
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Maryland Sierra Club
Union of Concerned Scientists

Sluggish action from the federal government is prompting many companies to tackle global warming and make the transition to renewable energy on their own.

Companies whose bottom lines are being impacted by global warming have been some of the first to call for action. Diavik Diamond Mines of Canada, which works in the Arctic region, now has to pay more money to transport materials by helicopter, rather than relying on the ice bridges to move equipment – because those bridges have melted.

Allstate Insurance recently announced it would not accept new homeowner policies in NJ, CT, and DE, or New York City’s five boroughs. Allstate and others are worried about the increase in extreme weather events that scientists are linking to global warming (the strength of the storms are linked to global warming, not the number of storms). Fireman’s Fund Insurance of Florida hasn’t denied anyone coverage, but instead created global warming-friendly incentives: discounts to commercial owners who rebuild damaged property using green building practices.

On the other hand, some companies are predicting increased sales because of global warming or are identifying new market possibilities. Whirlpool predicts rising sales of energy-efficient appliances, and DuPont has partnered with BP to develop, produce, and market a “next generation” of biofuels. In the future, DuPont expects that 60 percent of its business will be related to biofuels.

According to Ceres, an organization that works with companies and investors on global warming issues, the number of companies addressing global warming has increased in the past four years. More than 60 of them with net revenues of approximately $1.5 trillion have voluntarily set targets to cut their global warming pollution.

In a recent survey of 31 major companies for a report on corporate climate strategies, 90 percent reported that they believe that government regulation is imminent. Many corporations – especially utilities – have called for federal regulation because of the increasing number of states enacting their own legislation, thereby creating a "patchwork" of different rules and regulations.

At least four major bills calling for mandatory caps on global warming emissions have been introduced in the Senate this year, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has declared that climate change will be a priority on her agenda. Hopefully the American people and businesses will see real action from their elected leaders this time around.

Via Grist.

When I woke up this morning, it was -16 degrees windchill. So I think I’d get a lot better perspective on this story from Hawaii if Green Options insisted I cover the news from there…

Newly elected Mayor Charmaine Tavares of Wailuku, Maui – the county seat of Maui County – plans to spend her first year in office drawing up progressive policies for renewable energy.

Although many of her constituents are calling on her to implement policies now, Tavares insists that a thorough and thoughtful renewable energy plan will take time to draw up and determine the best course of implementation. Tavares, who has been particularly enthusiastic about renewable energy for years, noted to the Maui News,

People have been waiting for the state to drive this, but I think the planets have aligned so everyone can contribute to this goal.

Her proposals may include growing fuel crops on the island, property tax incentives for renewables, and grants for research and development. In order for the plan to be successful, Tavares notes that local governments must be an active partner with the private sector.

Hawaii may also soon join 12 other states by adopting its own version of the Kyoto Protocol. However, as Sustainability in Hawaii points out, the bill introduced to monitor and cap global warming pollution is missing a key number – a target date. The same bill also features the ultimate goal of moving Hawaii to the #1 spot of lowest emitter of global warming pollution per capita in the nation. The state is currently 33% above the lowest emitter: Rhode Island.

The Maui News
SusHi: Sustainability in Hawaii
Wikipedia: Wailuku, Hawaii

Delaware officials are debating who should be the state’s newest electric provider. Spurred by a 50 percent rate hike last year, Delmarva Power has been told by the state legislature that it needs to contract with instate suppliers for 400 megawatts (MW) of power. Among the contenders: an offshore wind power company called Bluewater Wind.

Proposals from other companies wanting to work with Delmarva include traditional coal-fired power plants and coal gasification plants. Bluewater Wind is the only company proposing a renewable solution with its wind farm proposal off the Delaware coast or in the Delaware Bay.

Nearly 200 turbines would be erected, with a price tag of around $1.5 billion dollars and serving about 130,000 households. The fuel – wind – is always free, compared with the volatile costs of power from fossil fuels. There’s also no concern about future carbon regulations that could spike the rates for customers of coal plants.

Besides providing clean, local electricity, wind also provides other economic opportunities for the state. Dr. Willet Kempton, Professor at the University of Delaware’s College of Marine Studies, pointed out:

[Wind] is Delaware’s largest economic competitive power source. This is an opportunity for Delaware to move ahead and develop business, develop expertise by our workers, maybe attract manufacturing to Delaware, develop service related to wind operations.

A decision on the source of the new power is expected in the next few weeks.

Delaware State News
Bluewater Wind

The Swedish government, consumers, and businesses have joined hands and taken the leap to escape fossil fuels completely by the year 2020.

Already, 26 percent of Sweden’s energy comes from non-fossil fuels sources. There are cars that run on methane instead of gasoline, and heat that comes from wood pellets instead of oil. Currently, most of their non-fossil fuel electricity comes from hydroelectric power and…nuclear. But don’t choke on your lingonberry just yet – the government has committed to get new electricity from clean, renewable sources like wind and wave power, rather than more nukes.

These advances aren’t happening overnight: the Swedish government had to make the policies that brought about these changes, like tax breaks for heating homes with renewable fuel and a green certificate system that requires utilities to get a certain amount of their electricity from renewables. What’s more, motor giant Volvo plans to be the first heavy industry to emit no global warming pollution by the end of this year.

Solid government policies, determined consumers and innovative businesses could catapult the Swedes out of the fossil fuel age. In fact, I’d bet my lefse on it.

BBC: Sweden aims for oil-free economy
Environmental Science and Technology Online: Sweden to kick fossil fuel habit by 2020
MSNBC: Sweden hopes to be totally green by 2020

Last week President Bush signed into law the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, which includes legislation extending clean energy-related tax credits through 2008. Originally set to expire in 2007, the credits include a 30 percent credit for homeowners who invest in a solar energy system for electricity or heating water (max of $2,000), a 30 percent credit for businesses that invest in solar energy systems (no limit), and the extension of the production tax credit (PTC) for wind power.

Policies like these are vital to the renewable energy industry and to businesses and homeowners wanting to make the switch to cleaner, more efficient energy. But we could do even better if these credits were stable and long-term. Consistent policies for clean energy keep the market going, investor interest high, and cost increasingly lower. Rhone Resch, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), agrees:

"While this bill does not constitute a long-term solar growth policy, it does provide some breathing room for solar projects in the 12- to 18-month pipeline…It ensures that the solar industry will continue to grow at a record rate in 2007. The passage of this bill with an extension of the solar ITC is recognition by Congress that solar is indispensable to our clean energy future."

SEIA and other renewable energy interest groups like the American Wind Energy Association will be lobbying the new Congress for long-term extensions.

American Wind Energy Association
Fact Sheet: Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006
Solar Energy Industries Association

Pennsylvania – quite the forward-thinking state when it comes to renewable energy development, especially wind – has passed a new state law ruling that wind turbines, like any other business equipment, cannot be counted by tax assessors.

The controversy began when Wayne County considered the wind turbines on the Waymart wind farm to be power plant buildings, rather than business equipment. At that time, state law exempted the value of business equipment, but stated that buildings surrounding power plant structures could be taxed. When the law was written, no one considered that energy could be made without a traditional building around the source, and so the confusion and lawsuit began.

Critics point out that regulatory uncertainty like this one and the undulating production tax credit are hampering wind’s growth. Although wind is the fastest growing energy source, it could be growing even faster with a stable and uniform regulatory climate. Stay tuned to the next round of legislative sessions to see what states do to encourage renewable energy development and move toward a more secure and efficient energy system.

Photo credit: NREL/DOE

AP: PA wind farms get help from new tax law

ABC News: Wind is fastest growing energy resource