Policy - Federal Level

Americans Making Power Act Proposes National Net Metering

July 8, 2010 - 12:33pm -- Anonymous

July 2010, Washington, D.C. - Rep. Jay Inslee (WA) has introduced the Americans Making Power Act, or AMP Act, which would establish a national standard for net metering. The legislation would allow Americans to feed back into the grid excess renewable power they generate through their homes, small businesses and even places of worship. This legislation would also improve reliability of the nation's electric grid by encouraging a more diffuse means of energy production.

Department of Energy Seeks Input on Wind Energy Workforce Development Roadmap

July 8, 2010 - 11:16am -- Anonymous
U.S. Department of Energy

Washington DC — The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued a Request For Information (RFI) to gain public input on the development of a Wind Energy Workforce Roadmap, which will provide details on the current workforce landscape in the wind industry as well as future steps necessary to train and develop a green workforce for the sector.

Power Through Policy: Best Practices for Cost-Effective Distributed Wind Survey

July 7, 2010 - 5:30pm -- Anonymous

The project, "Power Through Policy: Best Practices for Cost-Effective Distributed Wind," will identify policies most helpful in making consumer-owned wind turbines more affordable, measuring the impact of various policy combinations on the cost of energy, and highlighting attractive state and utility markets for small wind turbines that offer the quickest return on investment. The project will use a financial model to determine which policy options have the most impact on improving the bottom line of small-scale wind turbines.

E3 2010

2010

St. Paul, MN - This year's E3 conference takes place Tuesday, November 30 at the Saint Paul RiverCentre. E3 2010 keynote speakers include energy policy expert Daniel Kammen and U.S. Department of Commerce Assistant Secretary Nicole Y. Lamb-Hale. Conference topics will include:

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Rural Summit on Capitol Hill Seeks Sustainable Solutions

April 29, 2010 - 12:04pm -- Anonymous
“Local ownership through Community Wind development not only provides initial construction jobs, but more importantly it provides long-term economic activity.”
—Dan Juhl, Chairman and CEO, Juhl Wind, Inc.

Washington, D.C., April 28, 2010 - U.S. Senators Harry Reid, Blanche Lincoln, and Debbie Stabenow were joined by former president Bill Clinton and wind energy developer Dan Juhl as they hosted a Rural Summit at the capitol. The event brought together stakeholders from communities around the country to focus on revitalizing rural America through economic development and job creation, and preserving the rural way of life for future generations.

Vast Majority of Americans Want More Wind Power

April 22, 2010 - 3:49pm -- Anonymous
“An overwhelming majority of American voters, on a bipartisan basis, want more wind power.”

—Bennett, Petts & Normington

"Increasing the amount of energy America gets from wind is a good idea," agree 89% of American voters, according to a new poll released by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). The poll shows that only clean energy sources incuding wind, solar, and natural gas receive a favorable opinion, while coal and oil are given unfavorable ratings, and nuclear energy has split ratings with no majority opinion.

FITness Testing - Exploring myths about feed-in tariff policies

The US currently generates close to nine percent of its electricity from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydropower. During the past several years, renewable electricity markets have surged as a result of new federal and state policies. Thirty-five states and Washington, DC, have established renewable energy targets designed to increase the amount of renewable electricity in utility portfolios. Despite the impressive amount of new policies that have been implemented, many policy makers in the US are evaluating how to further accelerate renewable energy growth. As can be seen in the graph below, renewable electricity generation has declined since a peak at over 12 % in the 1990s because of decreases in hydropower output. The US will need to dramatically increase the amount of installed renewable energy capacity in order to surpass recent historical highs, improve energy security, create new jobs, and address the growing risks of climate change. Since the start of this decade, non-hydro resources, especially wind and solar energy, have grown rapidly in key state markets (Sherwood, 2009; Wiser & Bolinger, 2009). The question remains, however: is current growth fast enough to transition to a more sustainable energy supply and meet the threat of climate change?

Excerpt from “FITness Testing: Exploring the myths and misconceptions about feed-in tariff policies,” published by the World Future Council.

Download the report document and visit the web site in the links below.

Connecting Renewable Energy to a Smarter Grid

October 14, 2009 - 5:06pm -- Anonymous

There are many hurdles for connecting renewable energy projects to the existing electric power grid involving transmission lines, substations, regulatory processes and more. The good news is that both industry and government groups have invested in research on how to better connect renewable energy projects to the grid and how to construct a smart grid that can support a clean energy future.

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