Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus released a discussion draft of legislation that would consolidate 42 energy tax incentives into two technology-neutral incentives for lower-emission electricity and transportation fuel.
But news that President Obama would appoint Baucus ambassador to China made the outlook for the proposal even more uncertain than it was already. Sen. Ron Wyden (D., OR), Baucus’ expected successor as chair, has not committed to support of Baucus’ package, but has been exploring technology-neutral options himself.
The Baucus draft would keep existing tax credits in place through the end of 2016. Facilities placed in service after then would receive a technology-neutral tax incentive based on greenhouse gas emission levels. While wind power’s credits would remain at about current levels, solar projects, which use the investment tax credit more than the production tax credit, could lose.
More: National Journal; Politico; EarthTechling
FutureGen Faces Another Challenge
The Sierra Club filed suit over the federal government’s beleaguered FutureGen project, possibly adding to the years of delay the carbon capture and sequestration project has already had. The suit targets Ameren Energy Resources, which owns a plant in Meredosia, Ill., that is to be retrofitted for the government-supported project. Environmental permits for the project do not ensure sufficient controls, the Sierra Club said.
More: Journal-Courier
States Urge EPA Flexibility
Delaware, Illinois and Maryland were among 15 states that urged the Environmental Protection Agency to let states use flexible approaches to cutting greenhouse gas emissions instead of requiring individual power plants to install emission controls. In a letter, the states — which also included Washington, California and Minnesota — said their flexible approaches have succeeded in reducing emissions, and argued their methods could be templates for others as EPA writes rules for existing power plants.
More: Reuters
Bill Would Fix Munis’ Problem
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation to loosen Dodd-Frank restrictions that have restricted public power utilities’ ability to engage in swap deals for risk management. The Public Power Risk Management Act (S.1802) is similar to a bill that passed the House unanimously.
The change would put municipal utilities on the same footing as other utilities, raising the limit on transactions for which a muni’s counterparty has to register as a swap dealer. The current low limit makes counterparties reluctant to engage in the transactions.
More: Sen. Joe Donnelly
EIA: Gas Overtakes by 2035
Natural gas will exceed coal as the largest single power generation source around 2035, the Energy Information Administration said. By 2040, EIA said in its preliminary annual energy outlook, gas will supply 35% of U.S. power and coal 32%. The agency sees average electricity use growing at about 0.9% a year.
More: UtilityDive
DOE Outlines Storage Vision
The Department of Energy outlined near- and long-term performance targets for power grid storage, including an AC storage system with a capital cost of less than $250/kWh able to run for more than 4,000 cycles. The report was prepared for Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Ron Wyden. “The expansion of the electricity system can be accelerated by the widespread deployment of energy storage, since storage can be a critical component of grid stability and resiliency,” DOE said.
More: DOE; Greentech Media
Co-ops Get More RUS Loans
Cooperatives in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Virginia are among co-ops in 25 states that got Rural Utilities Service loans for power projects in the latest round of government awards. The total of $1.8 billion is mostly for power line upgrades and generation, but includes about $45 million for smart grid technology. On RUS’ latest list are EnergyUnited Electric Membership Corp. in North Carolina; Bedford Rural Electric Co-op in Pennsylvania; Cumberland Electric Membership in Tennessee and Kentucky; and BARC Electric Co-op in Virginia.
More: Greentech Media
