Page 12 - PCCA Journal 1st Quarter 2012

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PCCA Journal|1
st
Quarter 2012
12
News Briefs
Continued from page 11
competitive electricity market through
2020. An executive summary is available
at www.pikeresearch.com.
FERC Issues First Pilot
License for Tidal Power
Project in New York
T
he Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission (FERC) recently is-
sued its first pilot project license
for a tidal energy project located in New
York City’s East River.
The project, owned by Verdant Power
and known as the Roosevelt Island Tidal
Energy (RITE) Project, is 1,050 kilowatts
and uses the East River’s natural tidal
currents to generate electricity. Turbine
generator units are mounted on the riv-
erbed and capture energy from the tidal
flow. The pilot license issued to Verdant
Power is for 10 years.
“Issuing a pilot license for an innova-
tive technology is a major step in the ef-
fort to help our country meet our renew-
able energy goals,” FERC Chairman Jon
Wellinghoff said. “FERC’s pilot process is
doing what it should: allow for explo-
ration of new renewable technologies
while protecting the environment.”
FERC developed the pilot license
process in 2008 to allow developers to
test new hydrokinetic technologies, to
determine appropriate sites for these
technologies, and to confirm the tech-
nologies’ environmental effects without
compromising FERC’s oversight.
Projects eligible for a pilot license
must be (1) small; (2) short term; (3)
located in an environmentally non-sen-
sitive area; (4) removable and able to be
shut down on short notice; (5) removed,
with the site restored, before the end
of the license term unless the licensee
obtains a new license; and (6) initiated
by a draft application with appropriate
environmental analysis.
FERC has seen rising interest in the
possibility of developing hydrokinetic
projects. FERC has issued 100 prelimi-
nary permits to study the feasibility of
developing a specific project. Another
nine entities are in the pre-filing stages
of developing license applications, and
three entities have filed license applica-
tions.
USDA Announces
Funding for Two
Renewable Energy
Programs
A
griculture Secretary Tom Vil-
sack on February 3 announced
the availability of FY 2012
funds for two key programs to encourage
the use of renewable biomass and pro-
duction of advanced biofuels. About $25
million will be made available through
each program.
The Repowering Assistance Program
provides approximately $25 million in
funding to biorefineries that have been
in existence on or before June 18, 2008.
The purpose of the program is to provide
a financial incentive to biorefineries to
use renewable biomass in place of fossil
fuels used to produce heat or power. By
providing this assistance, USDA is help-
ing these facilities install new systems
that use renewable biomass.
The amount of the payment will be
based on the cost effectiveness of the
renewable biomass system and the per-
centage reduction in fossil fuels used by
that biorefinery. The maximum amount
an individual biorefinery can receive
under the notice is 50 percent of total
eligible project costs up to a maximum
of $10 million.
Eligible costs must be related to con-
struction or repowering improvements,
such as engineering design, equipment
installation, and professional fees. The
application deadline to receive funds for
fiscal year 2012 is June 1, 2012.
AWEA Hails Council
on Jobs and
Competitiveness
Endorsement of
Production Tax Credit
A
merican Wind Energy Associa-
tion CEO Denise Bode recently
applauded the President’s
Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
Road Map to Renewal report’s endorse-
ment of extending the Production Tax
Credit for wind energy, which is the top
legislative goal of the U.S. wind indus-
try, to keep Americans working in wind
energy.
The jobs council’s report recom-
mends that, “Making the R&D tax credit
permanent and extending production
tax credits will also promote the type
of innovation and investment America
needs to diversify its generation portfolio
and prepare for rising levels of energy
demand.”
“This endorsement of an extension for
wind energy’s key Production Tax Credit
(PTC) is yet another indication of how
vital wind power has become as a source
of American jobs and how important fast
action on the PTC is to keeping this eco-
nomic success story going,” Bode said.
“Business leaders such as the members
of the President’s Council on Jobs and
Competitiveness recognize that wind
power has installed more than a third
of all new electric generation in recent
years and has created one of America’s
fastest growing manufacturing sectors.
With a stable PTC, the wind industry is
poised to grow to almost 100,000 jobs
four years from now and stay on track to
support 500,000 American jobs by 2030,
as projected during the George W. Bush
administration.”