·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
• • • • •

A statewide energy council approved a three-year energy efficiency plan on October 6 that is designed to save Massachusetts consumers more than $5 billion in electricity costs while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The measure, based on an agreement between Governor Deval Patrick and Attorney General Martha Coakley, requires the state’s four investor-owned utilities to scale up their energy efficiency programs to reach greater numbers of customers, and provide them more significant energy savings through a combination of improved energy assessments and incentives for investing efficiency. The $1.1 billion cost of this initiative over three years would be funded primarily by distribution charges on electricity bills, proceeds of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative allowance auctions as well as third-party capital.

The plan sets an energy savings target of 2.4% for electricity sales in 2012. Utility energy efficiency programs have traditionally produced savings of 0.8% to 0.9 % annually, backers said. If energy efficiency investments reach the 2012 target, it will save 2,648,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, or 15% of the utilities’ annual residential customer usage. With energy savings of 2.4% per year going forward, Massachusetts would meet 30% of its electricity needs by 2020 through improved energy efficiency, rather than additional generation. Now that it has passed the state’s Energy Efficiency Advisory Council, it will go to the Department of Public Utilities for final approval this fall. See the Massachusetts governor’s press release.

Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed an agreement on October 12 to spur the development of environmentally appropriate renewable energy on federal lands in California. Among its major provisions, the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) will establish a Renewable Energy Policy Group to guide the cooperative work; develop a strategy to identify areas suitable and acceptable for renewable energy development; identify renewable energy zones based on renewable energy development potential and environmental, wildlife, and conservation criteria; prioritize application processing for solar development in renewable energy zones; and coordinate with federal and state agencies to identify energy and transmission needs, as well as to designate transmission needs and corridors. The MOU also commits the U.S. Department of the Interior and California agencies to develop a timeline for applicants to follow in order to meet incentive deadlines set by the Recovery Act. Secretary Salazar and Governor Schwarzenegger called the agreement “a model of federal-state initiative and cooperation.” See the press releases from the Interior Department and Governor Schwarzenegger, as well as the full MOU (PDF 39 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

The new agreement follows the Interior Department’s opening of a new Renewable Energy Coordination Office in California on October 9. The department previously established similar offices in Arizona, Nevada, and Wyoming, along with renewable energy permitting teams in six other western states. These offices and teams support the speedy permitting of renewable energy projects and supporting power transmission projects on public lands. To lead the overall initiative, the Interior Department has also established a National Renewable Energy Office at the Washington, D.C., headquarters of its Bureau of Land Management (BLM). See the Interior Department press release.

One successful conclusion to such federal and state cooperation occurred on October 12, as Secretary Salazar inaugurated Arizona’s first commercial-scale wind project. The Dry Lake Wind Power Project is located on a combination of BLM-managed federal lands, Arizona State Trust Lands, and private lands on the Rocking Chair Ranch in Navajo County. The project required the cooperation of the Interior Department, the Arizona State Land Department, Navajo County, Rocking Chair Ranch, the project developers, and the Salt River Project, which has agreed to buy the power from the project. Phase I will generate 64 megawatts of wind power with 30 wind turbines. When fully constructed, the project could provide up to 378 megawatts of wind energy from 100 to 200 turbines. See the Interior Department press release.

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon dedicated a new renewable energy and waste heat utilization project on October 19 that will reduce energy costs at two state correctional facilities in Jefferson City. Landfill gas harvested from the Jefferson City Landfill will be captured and piped to a nearby power generating facility. Columbia Water and Light Company will purchase the electricity. Excess heat generated by the engine-generators at the facility will be captured to supply steam and hot water for two nearby state correctional facilities.

Utilizing the waste heat generates considerable savings for the Jefferson City Correctional Center and the Algoa Correctional Center on their utility bills. Altogether, the project will save Missouri taxpayers an estimated $400,000–$500,000 in energy costs each year plus an additional $670,000 in annual operating costs by shutting down the boiler at Algoa.

The project represents the state’s second landfill gas facility. For more information, read the governor’s October 19 press release.