An Ignoble Experiment

2. Appeal challenges federal court decision of Cape Wind's NSTAR contract

Utilities take note: 12 major U.S. corporations are sending you a message. They want more options for purchasing renewable energy.

Credit: Flohuels/Wikimedia Commons

Because utilities and energy suppliers are not meeting these companies' ambitious renewable energy targets, the 12 companies have signed the Renewable Energy Buyers' Principles in order to better communicate their purchasing needs and expectations to the marketplace. To this end, the World Resources Institute (WRI), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Rocky Mountain Institute partnered to develop with the companies the principles, which spell out what the companies need in order to purchase more renewable energy, such as more procurement options and long-term contracts.

The companies -- Bloomberg, Facebook, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Mars, Novelis, Procter and Gamble, REI, Sprint, and Wal-Mart -- are hoping the principles will open up new opportunities for collaboration with utilities and energy suppliers to increase their ability to buy renewable energy.

With a combined renewable energy target of 8.4 million MWh per year through 2020, the 12 participating companies are seeking a market shift to achieve their sustainable energy goals. Large-scale buyers often have to work around traditional utilities to purchase renewables at competitive prices at the scale they need, increasing complexity and transaction costs.

The six Buyers' Principles are: greater choice in procurement options; more access to cost competitive options; longer and variable-term contracts; access to new projects that reduce emissions beyond business as usual; streamlined third-party financing; and increased purchasing options with utilities.

These principles address several major obstacles large companies face in procuring and installing renewable energy. For example, large buyers find that current renewable energy markets are complicated to navigate and don't deliver the products corporate customers are looking for. The sheer volume of renewable energy needed to meet their goals demonstrates both a clear demand and a market opportunity for any provider who can deliver what they need.

"We know cost-competitive renewable energy exists, but the problem is that it is way too difficult for most companies to buy," said Amy Hargroves, director of corporate responsibility and sustainability for Sprint. "Very few companies have the knowledge and resources to purchase renewable energy given today's very limited and complex options. Our hope is that by identifying the commonalities among large buyers, the principles will catalyze market changes that will help make renewables more affordable and accessible for all companies."

The Buyers' Group is not a power purchase group. It is an informal consortium of companies interested in overcoming the obstacles to buying renewable energy and sharing best practices. The group is expanding as more companies recognize the need for market change, and as more simple and cost-competitive renewable energy options appear, other innovative companies will join the original pioneers.

For more:
- see the Buyer's Guide

Related Article:
Renewable energy 2012: A year of transition

Read more about: World Resources Institute, Sprint
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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3. Moniz signs energy agreements in Beijing

In an appeal of a federal court decision which dismissed a multi-party challenge of Cape Wind's high priced contract with NSTAR, Laurence Tribe, an expert in constitutional law, will argue that the decision by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Stearns favors Massachusetts regulators, NSTAR and Cape Wind and seriously misinterprets the Constitution's Eleventh Amendment in dismissing the case brought forth by the Alliance, the Town of Barnstable and a group of local businesses and residents.

"The opinion of the district court relied on and quoted what my treatise on the Constitution had said about the Eleventh Amendment to reach a conclusion that neither I nor, much more importantly, the U.S. Supreme Court, would agree with -- a conclusion that would make that relatively narrow constitutional provision a veritable engine of destruction for otherwise valid constitutional challenges to state laws, policies, and actions," Tribe, a Harvard professor of constitutional law and the author of the most-cited treatise on the Constitution, said.

That decision was appealed by the alliance and others to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Boston in June. The suit alleged that Massachusetts regulators had discriminated against out-of-state power companies -- despite their lower costs -- by pressuring NSTAR to buy power from an in-state energy company, Cape Wind. The suit alleged that Massachusetts regulators also exceeded their authority in setting wholesale rates for this contract, an action reserved for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

According to estimates in the NSTAR contract, the purchase of power from the Cape Wind project would raise electricity bills for NSTAR customers by nearly $1 billion over the life of the contract.

The case alleges that NSTAR was coerced into signing a no-bid contract that violates federal law, discriminates against affordable green power producers from out of state, and burdens small businesses and municipalities with unnecessarily high electricity costs.

For more:
- see this article

By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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4. CA water agencies campaign for conservation

Upon his return from Beijing to participate in the sixth U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) to discuss global, regional, and national security and economic issues, U.S. Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz declared that the trip was productive.

"Increased cooperation between the United States and China is imperative to solve the enormous energy and climate challenges we face," Moniz said in a statement. "This week, the message has been consistent in every meeting and extremely encouraging: a shared desire for our two countries to work closely together to combat climate change, and develop and deploy clean energy."

Secretary Moniz signed two agreements with the Chinese that will enhance "significant new cooperation on energy issues."

For example, Moniz signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China's National Energy Administration (NEA) for cooperation on strategic petroleum reserves, enabling the DOE's Office of Petroleum Reserves and NEA's National Oil Reserve Office to share information on technical, management, and policy issues related to oil stockpiles. DOE and NEA will conduct annual technical meetings to allow the two countries to understand each other's systems and decision-making -- facilitating effective response to disruptions in the global petroleum supply.

Under a separate MOU concerning electric vehicles and industrial energy efficiency, the parties will cooperate in the fields of electric vehicles and related technologies, as well as energy efficiency improvements for end use products.

Moniz also met with the China Atomic Energy Authority to discuss collaborations on nuclear power and nuclear security, including joint efforts to reduce use of highly-enriched uranium in research reactors around the globe.

To wrap up his trip, Secretary Moniz met with the Chinese Minister of Science and Technology to review research progress and discuss expansion of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). CERC, launched by President Obama and former Chinese President Hu Jintao in 2009, currently serves as a framework for joint research in key areas, including energy-efficient buildings, low-carbon coal technologies, and electric vehicles.

For more:
- see this report

Read more about: U.S. Department of Energy
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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5. Business case for MHDV getting better

As California faces its most severe drought in recent history, 15 water agencies and city governments from around the Inland Empire (IE) will launch iEfficient, a coordinated multimedia public outreach campaign to urge water conservation.

Credit: Association of California Water Agencies

Some of the participating water agencies includes Yucaipa Valley Water District, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, San Bernardino Municipal Water Department, Riverside Highland Water Company, San Bernardino Valley Water Conservation District, West Valley Water District, Western Municipal Water District, and East Valley Water District.

A dynamic advertising campaign features freeway billboards, social media engagement and a kickoff event at the Inland Empire 66ers game, as well as a website connecting customers to existing tools and providing information on how to put those resources to work protecting local water resources. The resources connect the knowledge and experience of the 15 water agencies and local governments to make water efficiency convenient for residents and businesses alike.

"By collaborating, we are able to reach more people with the message that they are a vital part of the solution," said Bob Tincher, manager of water resources, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. "We're partnering with other agencies, but most importantly we're partnering with the community to conserve. It is time for the IE to show the rest of the state that we take water conservation seriously."

The impact of drought conditions are being felt across the state, putting regions like IE at increased risk for wildfires – and the drought will not go away any time soon, so water resources need to be conserved now for the future. iEfficient is one way local agencies are conserving and meeting the state mandate to cut water use 20 percent by 2020.

With the public's support, the collaboration hopes the Inland Empire will serve as a model of regional cooperation and set an example for the rest of the state.

For more:
- see this article

Read more about: water efficiency
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By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

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