New Publications in the OurEnergyLibrary
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Deloitte Research Center for Energy & Industrials
January 3, 2020
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The Brookings
Institute
January 6, 2020
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American Wind Energy Association & University of Delaware
January 23, 2020
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Last week,
Erik Peckar
from Vineyard Power Cooperative (which is permitting Massachusetts' first offshore wind farm) and
Laura Morton
from the American Wind Energy Association commented on community involvement in offshore wind permitting and other renewable energy projects. Read their comments below and the connecting comment threads:
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"
Vineyard Power Cooperative, based on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and the local community partner of Vineyard Wind, has developed
a new state policy,
Community Empowerment
,
that would empower cities and towns
in the Commonwealth to enter into
long-term PPAs
[power purchase agreements] with specific renewable energy projects of the community’s choice.
Given one of the main barriers to renewable project development includes the need for long-term contracts with creditworthy buyers
...Community Empowerment, an enabling piece of legislation, pairs developers of renewable energy projects with local communities wanting to stabilize energy prices and purchase more renewable energy....
Mechanisms that allow for these long-term contracts to occur with individual towns currently do not exist without
the town or developers taking on a certain amount of risk." -
Erik Peckar
, General Manager, Vineyard Power Cooperative
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"Having been involved in the offshore wind project off Block Island, which is the first working offshore wind project in the United States, I think the two things that made the project work was the political joining of the two parties and the unions in Rhode Island and the
prompt regulatory approvals
, and the
tax credit
....
Land-based approvals should include local communities
but they can be overruled by state findings in which localities can participate.
Reasonable time limits for approvals should be set
. If there is a basis for it,
fees can cover the cost of regulatory approvals
so the proposed developers can justify the governmental staff time spent on their projects."
-
Elliot Taubman
, Commissioner of the Block Island Utility District
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Reply to
Elliot
:
"There is indeed an
opportunity for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of regulatory approvals for offshore wind projects
. You mention the
involvement of local communities
, which is critical for the success of any project. In fact, just yesterday, AWEA and the University of Delaware’s Special Initiative on Offshore Wind partnered to produce the new
Offshore Wind Public Participation Guide
to help the public engage in the existing federal feedback process for U.S. offshore wind development...
." -
Laura Morton
, American Wind Energy Association
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"
It is critical that
states considering major introduction of offshore wind projects
, such as New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and California, are
looking at whether their utilities’ IRP [integrated resource plan] processes are maximally-competitive for all clean energy options
including offshore wind and are considering key federal government policy scenarios necessary to reduce national net greenhouse gas emissions towards zero by mid-century...."
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Reply to
Henry
:
"The
processes to procure offshore wind in the Northeast varies by state.
In some cases, the
state itself is issuing the solicitations
and making the procurement decisions. In other states,
the utilities are doing so
. But, in all cases, the
procurements
are happening as a result of state policies
that requirement procurement of offshore wind and other zero/low-carbon resources....
"
-
Laura Morton
, American Wind Energy Association
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Our
offshore wind discussion
is continuing for one more week! Afterward, we'll be sharing highlights from the discussion with our partners, journalists, and congressional offices. We welcome replies to comments in the discussion and new comments on the following:
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- Would an offshore wind tax credit be the most helpful policy to support the development of the offshore wind industry? How much of a difference would it make to the growth of the industry?
- How can the United States streamline the reviewing and approvals of offshore wind projects?
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Upcoming February Discussion:
Starting next week, we'll be discussing federal carbon tax policy, including the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763).
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Podcast Spotlight
Interested in leasing a wind turbine? In this WindTalk podcast,
Russell Tencer
, the Founder and CEO of
United Wind
, provides insight on the distributed wind industry and explains how leasing a wind turbine actually works. He also mentions farmers who installed wind on their dairy farm.
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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order requires that PJM establish technology-specific minimum offer price rules (MOPRs) for all new and existing state-subsidized resources. The MOPR would raise clearing prices, which some groups claim would discriminate against clean energy resources in favor of incumbent fossil fuel generation. benefiting the largely fossil fuel resources remaining in the market.
Read more from Kathryne Cleary
, Research Associate at Resources for the Future.
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Washington, D.C.
- When: Tues, Jan 28, 10 a.m.
- Where: 2123 Rayburn House Office Building
- When: Tues, Jan 28, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Where: 1300 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004
- When: Wed, Jan 29, 9-11 a.m.
- Where: 1225 Eye Street NW, Suite 1000, Washington, D.C. 20005
San Diego, CA
- When: Tues-Thurs, Feb 4-6
- Where: San Diego Convention Center, 111 West Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101
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To see more upcoming energy events across the country, visit the OEP
Events Calendar
.
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The Our Energy Policy Foundation is a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit and does not have or endorse any specific political, programmatic, policy, or technological agendas, but rather seeks to encourage a broad discussion of all points of view. OurEnergyPolicy's mission is
to facilitate substantive, responsible dialogue on energy policy issues and provide this dialogue as a resource for the public, policymakers, and the media.
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