Naked Energy

SEH making solar silicon in Vancouver

2009-09-19T08:09:00.000-07:00

Washington Governor Christine Gregoire visited SEH America's Vancouver campus yesterday to talk about the expansion of the company's silicon wafer production facilities. The Japanese company's $55 million purchase in June of Hewlett-Packard's campus doubles its land in Washington and gives it five times more free space for expansion.

It seems likely that a large portion of the expansion will be in solar silicon production. The company, which holds the largest global share of the semiconductor market, has already begun producing its silicon wafers for use in solar panel manufacturing, said executive vice president Tatsuo Ito at his visit with the governor. The conversion was "easy", he said.

If SEH does dramatically expand its solar silicon production in coming years, it would help bring Washington back into the running as a major solar manufacturing state. As I reported earlier this week in The Columbian, Washington ranked No. 4 among the top 10 most favorable states for silicon-based solar panel manufacturing, according to a report by GTM Research, yet it's the only state among them that doesn't have any major constructed or planned facilities.

Carrotmob funds efficiency in Portland

2009-05-29T10:53:00.001-07:00

Portland is starting its pilot Clean Energy Fund project soon to provide on-bill financing for energy efficiency retrofits in certain neighborhoods. But a new, slightly more chaotic version of financing sustainable upgrades will come to Portland in June -- Carrotmob. The movement, which started in San Francisco, is essentially a flash mob or "reverse boycott" that floods chosen businesses with a crowd of customers in support of their sustainability efforts. Carrotmob Portland will have its first event June 21st, at Hotlips Pizza on Hawthorne. All the store's revenue that day will go toward energy efficiency upgrades at Hotlips.

It's more of a social movement to draw attention to sustainable businesses than a doable funding mechanism for the city. But it seems like a model that could work for some businesses, with or without the flash mob. Artichoke Music on Hawthorne, for example, was able to raise enough money through some folk music shows for a full heating, ventilation and air-conditioning upgrade this year. I had the pleasure of attending their first air-conditioned show a few weeks ago. Not all businesses have such a devoted following, however.

Pacific Ethanol files for bankruptcy

2009-05-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Back in April, I pointed out that Pacific Ethanol (PEIX), which owns a 40-million-gallon-a-year ethanol plant in Boardman, could follow the fate of Cascade Grain Products, the other giant ethanol producer to build in Oregon in response to the state renewable fuel standard. Pacific Ethanol had defaulted on its construction loans and had 30 days to renegotiate them. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week, joining 10 other ethanol producers in bankruptcy according to Marketwatch.

Federal money for electric car charging stations

2009-05-13T17:34:00.000-07:00

The Oregonian reported yesterday that Oregon applied for $15 million in stimulus money for electric vehicle charging stations. The state already has some of the most advanced charging station infrastructure in the country with just a handful of charging stations installed. The grant is aimed at expanding the network to help ensure car owners have a place to charge when they use their proposed $5,000 state tax credit to buy the new plug-in hybrid Nissans coming to Oregon in 2010.

The Daily Journal of Commerce also had a similar article two weeks ago, announcing the state's request for charging station proposals. They reported the state is seeking $12.5 million in federal stimulus money, which the state would match to create a total funding pool of $25 million to build about 1,200 charging stations.

Shorepower Technologies, which designed PGE's new charging station, installed last July at its Portland headquarters, seems like a good candidate for developing the Oregon charging network. I know that Coulomb Technologies, which operates subscription-based charging networks in the Bay Area is also interested in bringing their service to Oregon.

Piling on Support to Equalize Biomass and Wind Subsidies

2009-04-30T09:23:00.000-07:00

The biomass industry has become a rising star in Congress in its push to bring renewable energy tax credits for biomass in line with those provided for wind, Bob Cleaves, president of the Biomass Power Association, told attendees at the International Biomass Conference yesterday in Portland. The industry lobby in the past didn't have enough clout to win subsidies for biomass producers, he said.

"All of a sudden, we have traction to get parity with wind energy," said Cleaves.

The Association has adopted Ron Wyden's catchy term for biomass - the "half-credit technology" - to illustrate that biomass receives only half of the 2.1 cents per kilowatt-hour credit that wind and other renewable projects receive for green electricity production. They're pushing for reform in the energy tax code to provide a subsidy per ton of CO2 reduced for each technology. Cleaves claims that biomass provides "the biggest bang for taxpayers' buck in carbon replacement" with four times the environmental benefits of wind.

In testimony to the Senate finance committee last week, Tufts economist Gilbert Metcalf demonstrated how even renewable technologies that receive equal subsidies, geothermal and wind, are actually subsidized very differently when compared on a subsidy-per-ton of CO2 basis. Given that an average wind turbine produces energy about 27% of the year (its capacity factor) compared to geothermal's 73%, the subsidy ends up being $7.74/ton of avoided emissions for geothermal and $12.28/ ton of wind, according to Metcalf's calculations. In other words, taxpayers are paying wind producers 60 percent more to reduce CO2 emissions than they're paying geothermal producers.

The Senate finance committee meeting last week on "technology neutral" energy tax policy provides an interesting glimpse into the debate.

Smart grid opportunities for software developers

2009-04-24T08:04:00.000-07:00

Smart grid technology may have many hurdles to overcome before it's widely adopted by consumers and utilities, but that just means the opportunities for making money (and losing it) in the space are huge for today's software developers and IT professionals, agreed panelists at yesterday's InnoTech smart grid presentation in Portland. The panel steered away from hype, however, challenging the notion that the smart grid is the next Internet revolution because the benefits haven't yet been proven.

Here are the list of top business opportunities and challenges for smart grid technology I pulled from the panel:

- Software companies should work with utilities to use existing technologies, or a combination of technologies, to create new tools for managing the grid, said Patrick Mazza from Climate Solutions. This is also the best way for software companies to tap into the smart grid stimulus funding, since the U.S. Department of Energy will distribute most of it through utilities, he said.

- Smart meters only scratch the surface of the smart grid, said Steve Jennings from BPL Global, who said the best approach is to develop a platform that addresses applications across the grid, from the power plant to the home. Interoperability is the key to developing technologies that work across the spectrum of the smart grid.

- Smart grid developers have yet to find the killer app, the feature that fuels adoption. Jeff Hammarlund, who teaches the smart grid graduate seminar at Portland State University, thinks that killer app will be smart appliances but utilities must adopt variable rate schedules based on time-of-day electricity use before any consumer application can be successful.

- Steve Blaine from CH2M Hill was the lone dissenter in the group, arguing that paying billions to upgrade the grid with digital communications may not have any real benefit for consumers. He thinks the real opportunity lies in energy storage. Why build a smart grid to manage renewable power production, for example, when all you need is the ability to store energy that's generated off-peak?

Cisco builds an EcoMap in San Francisco

2009-04-22T07:59:00.000-07:00

Cisco announced today that it's building an interactive map of carbon emissions in San Francisco, similar to the solar map the city launched in 2007.

Residents can already log on and see the solar energy potential of their roof. The new Urban EcoMap, developed by the same contractor CH2M Hill, will use the Google maps interface to show the carbon footprint of any given zipcode, as well as carbon savings (or emissions) that result from the everyday choices residents make, from waste disposal to transportation to home energy use. The site will operate on an open platform to allow user-generated updates and integrate with social networking sites to allow collaboration and discussion.

The city of San Francisco is partnering with Cisco to provide data from waste management, public transportation and other agencies. A resident could log on and map out their route to work, for example, to see the carbon savings that would result if they choose to walk or bike instead of drive or bus it.

I've also heard that the map will use data from an infrared thermography fly-over of the city that determines heat loss from individual buildings to measure the potential for energy efficiency upgrades for any address.

The idea is to raise awareness of how individual choices affect a neighborhood's carbon emissions and to provide an easy way for citizens to take actions that lower their carbon footprint.

It's still unclear just how they're measuring carbon emissions and the carbon reductions that result from behavioral changes, however. There isn't really an adopted standard yet for measuring carbon emissions in the U.S., though the E.P.A. is working on rules for reporting greenhouse gas emissions and building a national greenhouse gas registry. It seems that any calculation from the EcoMap would provide a ballpark range of emissions with the potential to show just how small a dent you actually make with one individual action.

The map goes live to the public on May 21 when Cisco will unveil a similar map it's developing for Seoul, South Korea.

Designing Portland's Sustainability Center of Excellence

2009-04-15T16:58:00.000-07:00

Several construction projects now underway in Portland will attempt to meet the Living Building Challenge, which shoots past LEED standards for sustainable design to achieve a building with net-zero energy and water use, among other goals. The problem is, even the best architects in the greenest city in America aren’t quite sure yet how they’ll get there. I wrote about some of the initial ideas Portland designers have for the city's Sustainability Center of Excellence today on the NYTimes Green Inc. blog:

Some of Portland’s most celebrated thinkers in green design gathered last week with city and state officials at the Gerding Edlen Development Co. offices to dream up features for the city’s proposed Sustainability Center of Excellence - a state-of-the-art high rise that would function both as an emblem of hyper-green design, and a locus for green-building research and education in the region...

One popular idea was the “aware chair,” which would recognize the distinct print of each users’ backside and automatically adjust the lighting, temperature and other features of an office environment to a collection pre-set preferences. Also discussed: electricity-generating revolving doors attached to a “macho-meter” that instantly displays the entrants’ push power (and presumably, his or her contribution to the building’s zero-energy profile.)

See the full article here.

Sustainable Businesses Tackle Portland's Rose Quarter Plans

2009-04-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

A new sustainable business trade association has formed in Portland with the intention to lobby city and state government on behalf of small green companies.

The group of about 30 sustainable business leaders formerly known as PDX Lounge met for the first time last week at the Leftbank to set an agenda, which includes establishing a statewide trade association, building a support network for green businesses and perhaps embarking on a regional marketing strategy. They'll meet again today at Leftbank from 6 - 8 p.m. to discuss the Rose Quarter redevelopment plan with members of City Council.

"Our hot button issue right now is the new proposed soccer stadium and bright lights district," said said Sattie Clark, a co-owner of Eleek who's organizing the sustainable business association meetings. "A lot of people are disturbed by what is happening and the lack of public process. Certainly as sustainable businesses, we can organize the dissenters."

Sustainable businesses are increasingly frustrated with the Portland Business Alliance, which supports projects such as the Columbia River Crossing and the Rose Quarter expansion that have questionable green benefits, said Clark. Green businesses want an association that represents their values, she said.

The city had previously committed to opening an interim sustainable business center at Leftbank while the proposed Sustainability Center of Excellence is completed, but the project was axed due to budgetary concerns.

Oregon could get fed backing for home energy scores

2009-04-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Gov. Kulongoski was ahead of the curve when he proposed SB 79, requiring a home energy performance rating for every house on the market. The L.A. Times reported this weekend that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan wants an energy score for homes on the market and corresponding mortgage incentives to make energy efficiency improvements. He made the same comparison Kulongoski did, that knowing the efficiency of your home should be as easy as knowing the gas mileage of your car. That's good news for Oregon. The state can require as many energy certificates as it wants, but without sufficient buy-in from mortgage lenders or other financing programs, the retrofits and energy savings won't happen.

Down come the ethanol giants

2009-04-09T09:17:00.000-07:00

Nigel Jaquiss reports in WWeek on the implosion of Cascade Grain's new $200 million ethanol plant in Clatskanie and the political process that pushed millions of taxpayer dollars to be lost in the failed plant. The article, "Corndoggle," (ha!) points out that Oregon lawmakers essentially created a market for ethanol in the state with the renewable fuel standard then loaned money to Cascade Grain for the plant's construction only to have it close after operating for just seven months. The company blames the spike in the price of corn for its demise, but Jaquiss sites unnamed sources that say the plant was shoddily built and its product was loaded with sulfates.

It's interesting to point out that Pacific Ethanol (Nasdaq GM:PEIX), which owns the other giant ethanol plant built in Boardman in response to the RFS, is also currently in default on their construction loans. They operated profitably in 2007 but reported a $146,000 loss in 2008 and now have until the end of April to renegotiate their loans, according to a March 31 report to investors. Its chairman and CEO have pumped $2 million into the company to keep it afloat and their annual report is optimistic they can ride out the downturn as their competitors (see above) fall by the wayside.

Oregon's five hot areas in energy

2009-04-07T16:29:00.000-07:00

People often ask me what the hottest topics are in energy right now and what I'm covering. Here's a short list of what I think are the top five areas generating the most buzz in Oregon and a few reasons why. Oregon's focus isn't much different than the national focus, but Oregon has its own unique spin. I'm interested to know - what are your top 5??

1. Smart Grid

The state's leading energy consultants, high-tech companies and utilities are all looking for opportunities in this emerging sector. The Clean Technology Alliance recently held a brain-storming session for Portland companies interested in tapping the $4.5 billion federal stimulus allocation for smart grid. And Portland State University is scrambling to become the center for thought, innovation and collaboration in the space with a graduate-level research seminar and spring smart grid conference.

2. Energy Efficiency

Some $33.5 million will be available through the Oregon Department of Energy for energy efficiency retrofits and Housing and Community Services for low-income weatherization. Senate Bill 79 would mandate minimum levels of efficiency and implement a rating system for all homes on the market in Oregon. And Portland will begin a pilot project for on-bill financing of energy efficiency projects in select neighborhoods.

3. Electric Vehicles

Portland is apparently competing with San Francisco now for the title of EV King, writes clean car blog Gas 2.0. Gov. Kulongoski is making a concerted effort to attract EV manufacturers to the state and the legislature is considering HB 3253 that would provide a $5,000 tax credit toward the purchase of plug-in hybrids.

4. Sustainable Communities

The newly-founded Portland + Oregon Sustainability Institute is pushing the eco-block concept of sustainable urban planning, a gray water recycling bill is in the legislature and the city is adopting a district energy plan in Portland's North Pearl District.

5. Cap and Trade

Businesses and environmental advocates are watching SB 80 closely. RePower Oregon recently announced a new proposal to drop the trade part of the cap and trade bill and establish a fund for offset projects instead. The state's growing sustainable business cluster is counting on the state to put a price on carbon to stay competitive and there's concern that legislators will drop the ball on this one. On the flip side, large emissions-heavy industries are pushing to kill the bill, arguing it would hurt the state's already damaged economy. (See my Green Inc. article on the economics of regional cap and trade here.)

SE Portland Block Plans District Solar Heat

2009-04-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

Neighbors on one entire block in Southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood are on board to install a district solar thermal system to heat their homes.

Only a handful of the 14 houses on the block get enough sunlight to power a solar system. But those choice spots can get enough energy to heat the whole block, said John Sorenson, president of MidTech Energy and a consultant on the project. So the neighbors, inspired by MidTech's Sunnyside district energy plan, which has stalled due to lack of funding, decided to pool their resources and install their own solar thermal system. (They're also seeking funding from the city for upfront capital costs and will need city approval to install it.)

They'll start with full energy efficiency retrofits in every house on the block to ensure the renewable power doesn't go to waste. Then the fences will come down and they'll dig up their backyards to install a series of interconnecting pipes. Solar panels on a central plant and on a few neighbors' roofs will then heat the water, which is pumped to heat exchange systems in every house on the block.

Instead of rebuilding the fences, the neighbors also plan to install a bioswale down the center of the block for rainwater catchment and permaculture. Sorenson hopes the project will serve as a pilot for the Sunnyside district energy plan.

See my past coverage in the Daily Journal of Commerce here and here.

Oregon gets extra $33M for energy efficiency

2009-03-26T14:20:00.000-07:00

Oregon will receive an additional $33,501,500 for local energy efficiency improvements under federal stimulus bill block grants announced today by the U.S. Department of Energy. The grants come on top of the $80 million already headed to Oregon for weatherization and other energy projects. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation block grants will provide $9,595,500 to the state Department of Energy. The rest of the total will be doled out to cities , counties and tribes, including $5.6 million to Portland, $1.5 million to Salem, $3.2 million to Clackamas County and $2.6 million to Washington County.

In all, the feds will provide $3.2 billion for the national program, which will provide funding for residential and commercial energy efficiency retrofits as well as transportation projects. Money was allocated to states based on population and energy consumption.

The full list of grant allocations in Oregon can be downloaded from the DOE here.

PGE considers small hydro projects

2009-03-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Portland General Electric is looking into installing turbines in streams, canals and rivers, to help fill its renewable portfolio. The utility was set to meet with Roger Bedard at the Electric Power Research Institute this morning to explore whether such small hydrokinetic projects, essentially underwater wind turbines, make economic sense, said John Esler, PGE's project manager for hydro licensing.

The decision comes amid the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's call for utilities to boost the nation's hydro production by 90,000 megawatts in the next 10 or 15 years through upgrades to existing dams and hydrokinetic development. A two-year extension of the production tax credit under the economic recovery act is also good motivation to develop hydrokinetic projects.

The problem is that hydrokinetic technology is about where wind energy was 20 years ago, said FERC chairman Jon Wellinghoff in a speech to the Northwest Hydroelectric Association on Wednesday. "It'll be a matter of economics," he said.

Thomas Friedman lectures Oregon governor on carbon pricing

2009-03-09T14:31:00.000-07:00

New York Times columnist and author Thomas Friedman spoke at noon today at Portland State University about the dual opportunities presented by the climate crisis and financial crisis while Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski listened from the front row. At times, Friedman addressed the governor directly (though not by name), calling on elected officials in general and governors in particular, to institute regulations that put a price on carbon dioxide emissions. The Oregon Legislature is in the midst of a controversial debate over a statewide cap and trade program, which was proposed by the governor but has faced criticism from some industry lobbyists who fear the program would undermine economic growth (see my Green Inc. post from last month on the state's cap and trade efforts).

Energy technology will be the next great industrial revolution, said Friedman, "but whatever you invent always has to compete against cheaper fuels." Placing a price on carbon, whether through a carbon tax or a cap and trade system, helps level the playing field for low-carbon technologies, he said, looking directly at the governor. "Without a price signal that makes dirty fuels more expensive, we won't get a clean, green revolution," said Friedman.

He then admonished the crowd of some 1,300 students and members of the general public attending the free event to "change your leaders, not your light bulbs" if elected officials aren't producing the kinds of regulations the green revolution needs to reach mass adoption.

Carbon budget shapes Portland's new climate change goals

2009-03-04T11:08:00.000-08:00

In his state of the city speech last Friday, Portland Mayor Sam Adams announced the city's new goal to reduce carbon emissions 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050. That's a huge undertaking, even for Portland, which managed to reduce emissions enough to equal 1990 levels in 2007, but is still short of its goal for 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2010. So the question is, how exactly is the city going to accomplish this?

The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability's formal plan isn't due out for public comment until June, but some of the details have trickled out. The city is basing its plan on a carbon budget for 2050 - basically trying to divvy up emissions allowances from every source - transportation, electricity, home heating, etc, so that it all equals 20 percent of 1990 emissions.

That means fundamentally changing the way the city works, said BPS's deputy director Michael Armstrong. One goal for cutting transportation-related emissions, for example, is to make every destination necessary for daily life, from dentist offices and grocery stores to parks and schools, accessible within a 20-minute walk from home. So city policies such as zoning and parking fees will become much more aggressive to promote denser development.

The city is also considering completely eliminating electricity from the carbon budget, meaning all of the city's electricity needs would be met with renewables. Doing the same for home heating is a bigger challenge, said Armstrong, but they're assessing the possibility for district energy development in some neighborhoods.

Portland mayor announces clean energy fund

2009-02-27T16:28:00.000-08:00

Mayor Sam Adams today launched the Portland Clean Energy Fund to provide homeowners low-cost loans for energy efficiency upgrades. The fund has been under discussion for some time, as I reported in a Jan.6 NYTimes Green Inc. post, but now it's official. The city will start with a pilot project, providing loans to 500 households. The monthly energy savings will appear on homeowners' utility bills and the associated cost savings will go toward repaying the loans. The program will be expanded to include the entire city by the end of the year, said Adams in his state of the city address to City Club:

"This creates jobs now and keeps money in Portland in the long run. It is a critical part of the City’s Climate Protection Strategy and a great example of how we can reduce carbon emissions while strengthening our local economy. And, it’s a program that adds to our city’s triple bottom line and is working to create long-term, living-wage jobs."

The mayor also mentioned new initiatives to lower carbon dioxide emissions 80 percent by 2050; a $5,000 tax credit to businesses that install solar panels; and a plan to develop new commercial green building standards.

(Audio of the speech is available here)

UO reports $3.3 billion annual cost of climate change inaction

2009-02-17T16:15:00.000-08:00

Taking a business-as-usual approach to climate change will cost Oregonians at least $3.3 billion a year, or $1,930 per household by 2020, according to a report released today by EcoNorthwest and the University of Oregon Climate Leadership Initiative's program on climate economics. The report is meant to complement previous studies that calculated the cost of implementing climate change mitigation, such as a proposed cap and trade system under Senate Bill 80 .

Potential costs were divided into seven categories, with public health taking the largest hit at $688 million in additional annual costs by 2020 due to increased ozone levels and rising average temperatures. Energy production will also suffer as a result of the forecasted effects of climate change with a potential reduction in summer runoffs leading to lower hydropower generation at a cost of $74 million a year. Higher temperatures will also require more energy for air conditioning, which could cost an extra $16 million per year and will make electrical transmission less efficient costing $29 million per year by 2020.

Many potential effects are missing from the report, as the authors acknowledge, saying there wasn't yet enough data to accurately assess the costs. One example that springs to mind is the potential increased compliance costs for utilities that operate dams. With lower river flows, the dams will be much more likely to fall short of maintaining critical salmon habitat.

Obama promises alternative energy in inaugural speech

2009-01-20T12:55:00.000-08:00

Many in Portland's environmental advocacy and clean energy communities gathered this morning at Living Room Theaters to watch Barack Obama's inaugural address. Stoel Rives' Ashley Henry and the Oregon Environmental Council's Andrea Durbin hosted the event, which packed the theaters to capacity. In one room, the crowd watched the big screen with rapt attention as the 44th President gave his speech, then erupted into cheers and applause at the first mention of energy.

"Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

The president went on to say the country will meet the many challenges it faces and referenced his economic stimulus plan, promising to rebuild roads, bridges and electric grids.

"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

And he spoke of rolling back "the spectre of a warming planet" and an end to consuming the world's resources "without regard to effect."
Energy use and climate change were only a small part of the address, but the President clearly felt they earned a mention among other pressing world issues such as peace, justice and prosperity. For the full text of the inaugural address and to compare it to previous addresses, The New York Times has a useful multimedia graphic.

First step for clean tech: Fix the markets

2009-01-16T10:09:00.000-08:00

Today on the NY Times' Green Inc. blog I wrote about how clean tech investors have become more discerning in the companies they do deals with. VC is still flowing to certain select areas of the industry, such as electric vehicles and green IT. But it's important to note that commercial lending is still frozen. And as Ron Pernick of Clean Edge puts it:

"If markets are broken it doesn't even matter what your project is."

Investors are still lending because they see the long term prospects of the sector -- the world's demand for new energy sources isn't going away. But in the short term, investors are paying attention to how successful the incoming Obama administration will be in passing its proposed stimulus package.

More analysis needed on Crossing's CO2 emissions

2009-01-13T15:17:00.000-08:00

An independent panel of experts has completed its review of the greenhouse gas emissions analysis on the Columbia River Crossing project and concluded it could use some more work.

The draft environmental impact statement released last May "likely underestimate(s)" the greenhouse gas emissions reductions that would come with a new bridge compared to the no-build alternative, according to the panel's report released last week. The new bridge wouldn't include a lift and would have improved safety features meant to lower the risk of traffic accidents. But the draft analysis didn't account for emissions created by congestion on the bridge due to lift activity or accidents.

We expect that the build scenarios, especially those that eliminate the bridge lifts and reduce crash-related congestion, will further reduce carbon emissions...

The panel also suggests seaparating the emissions analysis on the transit portion of the project from the highway portion. Adding transit to the bridge may not actually lower greenhouse gas emissions overall. Train or bus rapid transit operations, depending on how frequently they run, could end up greater than or equal to the emissions saved by getting people out of their cars and onto transit. More analysis is needed in the final EIS.

The panel's full report is available on the CRC's web site.

Solar maps could help community energy planning

2008-12-22T09:39:00.000-08:00

Time has an article today about engineering firm CH2M Hill's efforts to map renewable energy potential in cities. They worked with the city of San Francisco and Google maps to create a map that shows solar installations and the potential for solar power in each neighborhood. A homeowner can zoom in to a satellite image of her roof to see exactly how much solar energy she could potentially harvest and what the savings would be in terms of carbon emissions. The site also tracks the number of solar installations and total ghg savings citywide. It's pretty fun to play with.

Considering renewable energy development and efficiency projects in terms of microclimates at the neighborhood or even individual street level seems to be an idea taking hold in several communities across the country. The University of Nebraska has a pilot project to help a neighborhood lower its energy use by 25 percent, for example.

And I've heard from one sustainable development planner in Portland that there's a regional effort underway in Portland and Seattle to create energy districts -- local improvement districts in Oregon legalese -- to help pay for neighborhood energy projects. All ratepayers in the district would pay the same set amount for utility bills, creating a pool of money to complete efficiency projects and incentive to encourage their neighbors to do the same. It seems like CH2M Hill's renewable energy maps would be useful in directing energy investments at the community level.

Blumenauer says auto industry bailout should replace entire federal fleet

2008-12-11T10:04:00.000-08:00

Congressman Earl Blumenauer spoke last week at the Northwest Energy Coalition conference in Portland about a number of energy issues facing Congress in the coming months.

After speaking at length about what an Obama economic recovery plan should look like, he expressed his disgust for a proposed $34 billion auto industry bailout. He acknowledged that passage was likely, however, and proposed his own ideas for how it should go down. (The House approved a much smaller $14B package yesterday)

"We might just buy the flippin company [General Motors] and install a CEO who can run it and a board to oversee it," said Blumenauer.

The feds should then insure that the money is used to invest in next-generation, clean technologies by placing an order with the Big Three to replace the entire federal fleet with plug-in hybrid electrics and cars that run on compressed natural gas or 100-percent biofuels, he said.

"We get something in return for our bailout money and we get to our goal," for greener transportation options, said Blumenauer.

Blumenauer also had some ideas about how to allocate money to states for energy efficiency projects, which I wrote about today on the NYTimes Green Inc. blog.

Oregon cuts dams even as hydro gains steam

2008-12-01T12:32:00.000-08:00

The NYTimes' Green Inc. blog has a posting today about the increased popularity of hydropower projects in U.S. rivers as a cleaner, sometimes cheaper, alternative to traditional energy resources.

In Oregon, this may not be exactly true. Many existing hydro projects are being decommissioned, including those on the Rogue River and the Sandy River, to allow for upstream fish passage. And I don't know of any re-licensing projects here that are adding turbines to existing dams.

But at least one tech company, Symbiotics, is still building hydro projects here. Or, more accurately, they're installing inflatable dams on top of irrigation dams to generate power where there was once just a concrete slab. And their work is going gangbusters. When I talked to COO Brent Smith a few months ago for the Relicensing Review he said he expects FERC to approve at least three more project licenses by the end of next year.

Kulongoski takes Nissan for a spin

2008-11-19T10:50:00.000-08:00

Gov. Ted Kulongoski is in Japan this week meeting with auto industry execs about promoting Oregon as a port of entry for electric cars. Today he announced a partnership with PGE and Nissan, which agreed to provide electric cars for the state's vehicle fleet in 2010. PGE will provide the charging stations (and the power) for the cars.

Nissan posted this video of the governor taking their prototype electric car for a test drive. The governor is promoting electric cars as one solution to reducing CO2 emissions from Oregon's transportation sector.

FUEL documentary opens tonight in Portland

2008-11-14T10:52:00.000-08:00

Josh Tickell will debut his documentary film, FUEL, to the public at the Fox Tower Stadium 10 theater today. Tickell has been traveling the country promoting biofuels and railing against Big Oil and the auto industry. His film, which won an audience award for best documentary at Sundance this year, chronicles his journey and digs into the connections between automakers, oil barons and the U.S. government. At a time when the Democrats in Congress are considering an auto industry bailout, it can't hurt to get a different perspective.

FUEL
Fox Tower Stadium 10
846 SW Park Ave.
11/14 - 11/20

Showtimes: 11:45am, 2:20pm, 4:55pm, 7:30pm, 10:15pm

Utilities in the business of transportation

2008-11-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Oregon's Transportation Vision Committee released its report to Gov. Kulongoski last week, laying out a multi-year strategy for infrastructure investments and policy changes. Reading through it more closely today, something odd jumped out at me.

The long list of committee members mostly consists of the usual suspects in transportation planning -- the Oregon Department of Transportation, the Bicycle Transportation Alliance, Associated General Contractors, etc. -- but somewhat new to the scene are Oregon's two largest utilities. Pat Reiten, the president of Pacific Power, was front and center in the report, as the author of the introduction and committee chairman.

When I spoke to Pat just before the release he emphasized the report's focus on plug-in hybrid electric cars and the governor's proposed retooling of the Residential and Business Energy Tax Credits toward the purchase and development of those vehicles. I was surprised because PGE has been very vocal about its support of hybrid cars, launching its pilot program for electric car charging stations this summer. But Pacificorp has been more cautious.

It now seems that Pacificorp is gearing up for the transition to electric vehicles, too.

Room for Fuel Cells in Oregon's Clean Tech Strategy?

2008-11-10T11:50:00.000-08:00

Bend fuel cell producer IdaTech got a shout out in today's EnergyBiz Insider .

... economic doldrums are dampening energy demand and affecting the level of investment in emerging technologies. In due course, however, that will change. As the demand for power resumes, regulatory bodies around the globe will insist on greater efficiencies and less pollution. And therein lay the possibilities for fuel cells, which have matured and may soon be ready for prime time.

"The time is now," says Harol Koyama, chief executive of IdaTech, at the Fuel Cell Seminar and Exposition in Phoenix. "The financial issues will go away in 18 months. We will see mass commercialization and consolidation will occur.

Fuel cells haven't gotten much policy play at a state level in Oregon, where their energy storage capabilities are still considered emerging technology. And in a transportation application, Gov. Kulongoski and the transportation visioning committee have focused instead on plug-in electric hybrid technology. But there's still quite a bit of interest in them nationally and established companies, including IdaTech and Clear Edge Power, exist right here in Oregon. If the technology really is poised to grow despite the recession, perhaps there is a place for fuel cells in Oregon's clean tech economic development strategy.

Software developers say smart grid is smart biz

2008-11-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

VC investors, utilities and tech startups told Portland's clean tech community last night that the smart grid represents a larger opportunity for software companies than the Internet. With just about every aspect of modern life becoming electrified, be it our cars, health care system or server farms, and limited resources to produce the juice, utilities and consumers are demanding new devices and software for controlling the electric grid.

That means building smart appliances that interact with the grid and a grid that knows how to talk back, as well as control centers that allow for visualization, training and optimization, similar to systems already used by Internet giants.

The smart grid needs "all sorts of things that the folks at Google and Cisco and Qualcomm know all about but have really been applied very rarely to the power grid," said Jesse Berst, managing director of GlobalSmartEnergy at a smart grid forum held by the Clean Tech Alliance.

Business opportunities lie within every step of transmission along the electric grid from producers to consumers. Now, if utilities would only go along with it...

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T11:21:00.000-07:00

Iberdrola Renewables has a Halloween gift for the country's friendly, though spooky, nocturnal mammals. The Portland-based wind power provider this week released its company-wide bird and bat protection plan to serve as a template for wind farm policies.
The plan is a series of best practices aimed at wildlife protection during construction and operation of the turbines. It acknowledges that solid methodology of assessing the risk to bats before a project is built doesn't exist yet. The company is working with the Bats and Wind Energy Cooperative to establish better research methods. The full document is available online .

This infrared video may be a little hard to see, but the little pink dot is a bat flying into a turbine blade and getting batted (pardon the pun) off to the left. You can see more videos on the BWEC web site.

Kulongoski unveils climate change proposal

2008-10-27T12:47:00.000-07:00

The Governor announced his comprehensive climate change package this morning at OHSU's LEED-platinum rated building on the South Waterfront. Energy efficiency and conservation measures got the most emphasis, with the governor backing a requirement to build only net-zero energy homes and businesses by 2030. He urged Oregonians to look beyond short-term fixes to falling home values and an economic recession to the potential for long-term savings on energy costs through weatherization of current buildings and new green building requirements.

Here are some of the other policies he's proposing for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and promoting efficiency, renewable energy and sustainable transportation:

- Adopt a carbon cap and trade market that would take effect in 2012.
- Establish a new reporting system for carbon emissions.
- Energy performance certificates for existing homes.
- Expansion of the business energy tax credit to 50% from 35% for efficiency projects.
- A new fund to assist low-income homeowners with weatherization.
- A pilot program to install solar panels on homes that feed back into the grid.
-Create a BETC fund, similar to the Oregon Cultural Trust, that allows taxpayers to deduct contributions in order to provide up-front capital for energy projects.
- Develop a low-carbon fuel standard.
- Congestion pricing.
- Shift the hybrid vehicle tax credit to electric plug-in hybrids.
- Adopt least-cost planning for transportation, improve the current system first before investing in new roads and bridges.

Constellation is moving to town

2008-10-21T10:02:00.001-07:00

The last few days the energy business news has been abuzz with the pending $4.7 billion acquisition of Constellation Energy by MidAmerican Holdings Co., the parent company of Oregon's very own PacifiCorp. I don't know what the deal means for Oregon consumers, if anything. But the company is about to get even more ginormous.

Clean energy for a new economy

2008-10-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Congressional Democrats told DowJones Newswires today that they'll try to spin their climate bill as a necessary part of the nation's economic recovery plan next year. The question is if Dems can get support to spend $6 to $8 trillion over the next decade on green technology and renewable energy when the financial system is in upheaval and the economy is in the tank.
Here in Oregon it seems Sen. Ron Wyden and Gov. Kulongoski are thinking the same thing -- the key to economic recovery will be investing in a green future. I spoke to the Governor on Friday on a tour of the new SolarWorld plant in Hillsboro. He said now is not the time to retreat, but to increase the state's investment in renewable energy job creation.

FERC makes power grab over ocean energy projects

2008-10-16T11:17:00.000-07:00

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has upped the ante in its yearlong fight with the Minerals Management Service over who gets control over ocean energy projects off the coast. The agency issued an order today asserting its power to permit and license ocean energy projects on the Outer Continental Shelf, three miles offshore.
The move is roughly equivalent to John McCain or Barack Obama issuing a press release stating "I am now President." FERC is not the decider. When I talked to Ann Miles, director of hydropower licensing at FERC, in Portland last month, she told me it will be up to the courts or Congress to decide who has ultimate authority. Similarly, Bob LaBelle at MMS told me last month that the agencies have agreed to disagree and will continue to work together amicably until it's resolved.
So what does this mean for ocean energy developers looking for clarity in the licensing process? Not much. Only that it may now be even more difficult to get a permit, depending on MMS response to the order. FERC and MMS were in the process of negotiating a memorandum of understanding on the issue. Now, who knows?

Biggest EVER solar array EVER

2008-10-14T09:52:00.000-07:00

OK. So everyone's reporting that PGE is installing a 1.1MW solar array on a ProLogis distribution center in Northeast Portland -- the BIGGEST EVER in the Northwest. The problem is, I get press releases every other month that say the "BIGGEST" solar array in _____ (fill in the blank). That's cool. But what I want to know is how is this better/ different and not just BIGGER? Toyota just completed a 2.3MW installation on its auto parts distribution center in California that covers 242,000 square feet. The ProLogis array will cover 328,000 square feet with about half of the generating capacity. Solar Integrated Technologies manufactured PGE's solar panels, but the Toyota panels are from SunPower. Is the lower capacity/ sq.ft. due to the technology or the environment?

Clean tech says time to invest

2008-10-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

I don't know who on earth has money to invest right now. But Clean Edge consulting's Ron Pernick said last night that the current chaos on Wall Street means it's more important than ever to invest in clean energy technologies. Pernick just happened to be presenting his company's Carbon-free Prosperity report to legislators and business leaders at the Portland Art Musueum (see post below) on the day the Dow fell below 10,000 for the first time since 2004.
He called on state leaders to bring much-needed public resources to the constrained credit market, though he recognized that state funds are limited. Perhaps the biggest blow to the state's clean tech sector will be limits on the BETC due to tighter state revenues, he said.
"We'll have to look really carefully about where to focus the BETC dollars," said Pernick.

60,000 new clean, green jobs??

2008-10-06T09:22:00.000-07:00

A new report released this morning by Clean Edge and Climate Solutions lays out a 10-point plan for creating up to 63,000 new jobs by 2025 in Oregon and Washington. The "Carbon-free prosperity" report calls for more state and local programs and incentives to spur growth in five clean-energy sectors, including solar PV manufacturing, green building design services, wind power development, sustainable bioenergy, and smart grid technologies.

One of the most ambitious suggestions in the report is that the states can achieve 78 percent carbon-free electricity production by 2025. To reach that goal, Washington would need to raise its RPS from 20 percent by 2025 to 25 percent. Both states would also raise their targets for energy efficiency and conservation by 50 percent.

Standing in the way of clean sector job growth is the region's limited transmission, lack of academic support, regional planning and venture capital, and low-cost energy that makes renewables less competitive, according to the report.

The report doesn't, however, estimate the cost to taxpayers of implementing its suggestions. Neither does it give a comparison of what a similar investment in other industries would produce in terms of job growth. Some 60,000 jobs over 15 years seems like a lot, but Oregon has lost more than 25,000 jobs over the past year alone.

Local politicians tackle energy issues

2008-10-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

On the eve of the VP debates, the nonprofit Future of Energy and the Oregon Environmental Council held their own knock-down forum last night for local candidates focused on energy issues. Several hundred concerned citizens showed up at the Bagdad theater last night to hear candidates for City Council and Multnomah County Commission as well as a few elected officials duke it out over regional energy policies. Here are some of the more interesting tidbits I heard:

City Council candidate Amanda Fritz said one of the best ways to educate Portlanders about greenhouse gas emissions is to provide safe walking and biking routes for kids to school. "We can't pretend a top-down solution will work." She also called for reliable public transportation and accountability for the city's green job programs.

Her opponent, Charles Lewis, said the city and county should lead by example by installing solar panels on all publicly-owned buildings, starting with City Hall. Unlike Fritz, Lewis didn't see the point to tracking green job creation programs, saying the reports are just bragging, "let's just do it." Lewis said the city's revolving loan program for small businesses is the best way to grow the green workforce.

When asked for his "energy confession", candidate for County commission Mike Delman said he knows food production is energy intensive and confessed a penchant for eating red meat. But he said he's trying to cut down on that and he's installed rain barrels at his house. Delman was against a city green building policy that would penalize developers for not meeting certain energy efficiency standards, saying it would hurt small businesses. He also confessed to recently learning what LEED is.

Judy Shiprack, Delman's opponent for the commission, admitted she drives to the grocery store. But she said her travels in Europe have opened her eyes to the possibility of biking everywhere and she'd like to create safer city streets for bikers. She suggested a European model that automatically faults the driver in the event of a collision with a cyclist. Shiprack supports rewarding developers for energy efficiency and penalizing them for falling below a city standard. She also supports creating local improvement districts to help homeowners pay for energy efficiency upgrades.

City Commissioner Randy Leonard said he would support a tax in the Portland region to provide free public transportation for all, saying "I don't think it would cost homeowners much money."

When asked whether he supports building new LNG pipelines in the region, Metro councilor Rex Burkholder said he didn't know enough about the tradeoffs to answer that question.

The real cost of the Oregon RPS

2008-02-27T19:51:00.000-08:00

The Bend Bulletin had a story yesterday that hits on one of the biggest issues Oregon utilities are facing in this post-RPS world, which is how they're going to pay for renewable energy integration.

I had an interesting talk with an energy attorney this week who said she expects renewables to be more costly for utilities than anyone ever predicted. And with cost caps at 4% in the current law, that could seriously limit renewable development. One saving grace is that Oregon's RPS allows utilities to buy power from out of state. So Oregon can buy low-cost wind power from Montana, for example, and still meet the RPS targets. Other states aren't so lucky. Washington state may need to scrap its RPS and start over because the law requires utilities to meet the goals with in-state production, and it's going to be too costly for utilities to implement.

Oregon's Dead Zone

2008-02-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

I'm anticipating the Oregon Wave Energy Trust to release a report soon outlining what research the state needs to tackle first to determine the effects of wave energy parks on ocean life.

Oregon's migrating gray whales will also be concerned with the results of the report, I'm sure. I was amazed to learn on a visit to the Hatfield Marine Science Center that scientists still have no idea, for example, where exactly whales travel when they migrate from Alaska to Mexico. (I also had the chance to see my first whale spout through a research team's binos, woo hoo!)

But as the Seattle P-I reports, researchers know something is already really wrong with marine life off the Oregon coast, which suffers from severely low oxygen levels or "dead zones". The question is, will wave parks add insult to injury?
Where's Anthony Michael Hall when you need him?

Wasted

2007-09-16T22:51:00.000-07:00

An Oregonian article by Scott Learn today says that waste reduction generates the third highest reduction in carbon emissions behind fuel-efficient cars and renewable energy. This statistic is surprising to me because I thought residential and commercial energy efficiency measures presented the biggest potential for carbon reduction.

In any case, waste reduction has a huge potential carbon savings. Recycling a ton of phone books, for example, prevents 0.72 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from being produced. But not producing that ton of phone books in the first place saves 1.72 MTCEs, according to the EPA.

Seriously, when will phone book deliveries be optional?

Save the rainforests with palm oil!

2007-09-13T00:11:00.000-07:00

Ok, so everyone knows, or maybe they don't, that imported palm oil from Malaysia = bad for the environment. Importing vegetable oil for biofuels production doesn't solve the foreign oil dependence problem. And there's the energy cost of shipping it from across the world and the heat it takes to keep the oil warm to prevent it from becoming margarine. And, palm just happens to be grown in the same small slice of the tropics where rainforests predominate.

That's why attendees of the NEBC's business of biofuels conference were all blown away Thursday by a presentation by Brian Young from Seattle-area biodiesel monolith Imperium Renewables. Young argued that, yes the palm oil industry is largely responsible for deforestation, but the biofuels industry has the chance to change that. No one else has taken the initiative to introduce the industry sustainable business practices, but the biofuels industry is big enough that it could make a difference. Essentially, if we don't buy palm oil for biofuels production, we're contributing to rainforest loss.

Poplar Science

2007-08-30T17:38:00.001-07:00

Washington State University researcher Jon Johnson is partnering with Portland company GreenWood Resources to study the use of poplar trees as a feedstock for ethanol production. Hybrid poplars are apparently a low-cost, low-impact crop and are the fastest growing temperate trees. I see the merits in this -- vertical biomass growth rather than acres and acres of corn, for example. On the far end, I also see a potential excuse for further selective cutting.

Green car dealer = oxymoron?

2007-08-28T12:04:00.000-07:00

Ecomotion , a new green car dealership selling electric, hybrid, biodiesel and smartway vehicles is opening on Sandy Blvd in Portland.

And I'm not surprised, considering Portland's appetite for bizarre-looking vehicles (complete with impeach-now bumper stickers) and alternative transportation.

Peddling in Portland is at an all time high, with the census bureau slotting the city as the #1 bike-commuting city in the U.S.

I consider the green dealer another resource for those whose definition of "alternative fuel" does not include their legs. But a green car, is still a car.

Bright lights, big energy bill

2007-08-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

Cost-conscious companies are lowering their energy bills by scaling down "signage" -- btw, I'm opposed to the use of this word, it sounds like a noun from an early 90s Pauly Shore movie. Portland sign fabricator, Security Signs, has noticed more of its customers are swapping high-energy bulbs for LEDs. Apparently bucking the trend is Mark Lindsay's Rock & Roll Cafe, which boasts a whopping 600 incandescent bulbs surrounded by ruby red premium neon. The cafe, opening Monday at Sandy and 41st, wanted the sign to have a 50s dazzle, and that's what they got; its energy use also screams low-cost hydropower.

Anyone got a spare turbine blade?

2007-07-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

A Wall Street Journal article a few weeks back decried a pending windmill shortage that is stalling alternative energy projects in the U.S. Tell that to PGE, which seems to have a spare one lying around for display. Vestas next weekend will park a 131-foot turbine blade outside PGE's World Trade Center offices, presumably for a photo op. Vestas staff will be on site to answer questions about wind energy and look small.

Homemade biofuel

2007-07-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

A summertime activity almost as good as cranking your own ice cream. PCC is offering a workshop on how to make your own biodiesel.

Small Scale Biodiesel Production
PCC Sylvania Campus
Saturday July 28th
9am - Noon
Room: AM103 Tuition $19
Fees: $25

For registration online:

PCC Biodiesel Class

I want my 24 cents

2007-07-19T13:45:00.000-07:00

I heard from an ODOT employee yesterday that Oregon has what's called a lawn mower refund for the gas tax. If you buy gasoline to use in your lawn mower you can apply for a refund on the 24-cent per gallon gas tax you paid at the pump. And sure enough, ORS 318.280 provides for a refund of the tax if the gas is used in equipment like lawn mowers and boats, which don't ever hit the roads. My comment was that a lawn mower still burns the fuel and creates air pollution. His response was that the purpose of the gas tax is to pay for road use, not carbon emissions. What ever happened to that carbon tax idea floating through the Legislature this year?

Oregon law

PGE's new plan

2007-07-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

PGE yesterday released its new integrated resource plan, which lays out how it plans to invest in renewable energy projects over the next eight years.
When I interviewed Peggy Fowler earlier this year, she wouldn't talk about the renewable portfolio standard because the company had not yet finished the IRP but assured me that the IRP would go above and beyond what state standards require. Now the standard has passed and I wonder how the IRP measures up.
Among other things the plan calls for
- expansion of the Biglow Canyon wind farm
- an additional 218 MW of renewable power each year
- expansion of efficiency programs in partnership with Energy Trust
- longer purchase power agreements to even out price volatility when they purchase from the open market

Green mortgages

2007-07-11T23:56:00.000-07:00

Portlandneighborhood.com has a new real estate blog. And the first entry is energy-efficient mortgages! Basically the mortgage broker calculates how much energy you'll save through efficient construction, design or remodeling and that amount is added to the borrower's income in calculating the mortgage. You can borrow more, presumably because you're not paying as much for energy.

Check it out: Ross's Reader

Biodiesel parade

2007-07-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Finally, an alternative energy event that isn't "carbon neutral". To celebrate energy independence month (declared so by Gov. K) next Thursday a caravan of 50 cars, vans and trucks running on biofuels will parade from Ecomotion to Jay's Garage in Portland where participants will view Josh Tickell's new documentary on biodiesel, Fields of Fuel.

WHEN: Thurs., July 19, 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
WHERE: Start at Ecomotion, 1625 NE Sandy Blvd.
End at Jay's Garage, 734 SE 7th Ave.

Packwood not charmed by streetcar

2007-07-10T23:58:00.000-07:00

Former Senator Bob Packwood (R-Oregon) spoke out against a possible streetcar extension to Lake Oswego at a citizens advisory committee meeting tonight, saying that streetcar lines exist only to build high rises and Lake O. wants to remain flat.

His comments came shortly after committee chairman Dave Jorling gave an impassioned appeal that committee members consider global issues such as climate change, peak oil and the war on terror when deciding on the local streetcar option.

"Maybe Lake Oswego is happy to become a dense town," Packwood, a resident of the Dunthorpe neighborhood, said. "I hope that's not the future of Lake Oswego; it's a charming town."

The $1.1 billion question

2007-04-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Monday April 30th was the deadline for cities to submit their congestion relief programs to receive a piece of the US DOT's $130 million urban partnership agreements for reducing traffic -- part of its $1.1 billion strategy to reduce urban congestion. It will be interesting to see the results, especially considering that tolling, the number one anti-congestion strategy in the DOT's strategy has been so wildly unpopular.

Businessweek:Private roads a dead end
Texas stops private toll roads
Texas governor poised to veto toll ban

Bloomberg calls for congestion pricing

2007-04-24T19:22:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, as I was eating a tira misu gelato waffle cone in little Italy on a weekend trip to NYC, a few blocks south at city hall Mayor Bloomberg was announcing his Earth Day plan to start congestion pricing in Manhattan. His plan, to charge cars $8 or trucks $21 to enter the city anywhere below 86th Street, would go into effect in 2009 if he can succesfully sell it to state and local politicians.

"It sounds like a lot of money, but you go to the movies, it's 12 bucks, so let's put some of this stuff in perspective here," he said. "People that drive into the city generally _ you have to be careful to not say everybody _ but if you look at the statistics, tend to be people that can afford it, because otherwise they'll take mass transit. -- Bloomburg, in an April 23, AP article

Many European cities including Stockholm, London and Paris have implemented such a system with success for exactly the reason that Bloomberg stated. Those who can afford it, pay it. Those who can't, find alternative means of transportation. Such a system may seem unfair to working class citizens, but economists say, congestion pricing is one good market solution for combatting congestion and the associated carbon dioxide emissions.
The only better option to a zoning price is a per-mile fee, according to The Undercover Economist , by Tim Harford, an idea Oregon has been testing for the past year in a small pilot project but has so far failed to implement more broadly. Bloomberg's idea, while progressive for a U.S. city is nothing new. Oregon's system, if succesful, would be revolutionary.

Global warming gets a hearing

2007-04-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

I heard from the Oregon Environmental Council today that three bills aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and imposing tougher regulations on utilities and large industrial emitters will have their first hearing -- a joint House and Senate committee meeting -- next Wednesday at the capitol. Legislators will be briefed tonight and the public will be allowed to testify next week. The introduction of the bills is cutting it really close, the deadline to be out of committee is April 30. But the bills would go a long way toward bringing Oregon up to speed with our West Coast neighbors and could actually enforce the goals the state set 15 years ago for greenhouse gas reductions, should they all pass.

A pickle of a water problem

2007-04-16T20:28:00.000-07:00

An Oregon Senate bill, SB 483 , introduced a few weeks ago would permit farmers to withdraw more water from the Columbia River to increase crop production and spur economic growth in the northeastern part of the state. And farmers, including Kent Madison (who's growing canola to crush into biodiesel and selling it to SeQuential), have argued they'll need the water to meet the state's biofuels mandate should it pass. The interesting thing is that drawing more water from the Columbia also reduces flow rates through the Bonneville Dam, which is being used currently to integrate wind farms into the regional electrical grid. That could create problems for the proposed renewable energy standard which would mostly be met through wind resources. Oh, how to solve this pickle of a problem?

Capital Press: Supporters say tapping Columbia helps farmers

Fueling cars or cows?

2007-04-14T10:34:00.000-07:00

Buried in USBank chief economist John Mitchell's economic update this month was this little nugget on agriculture:

The Agricultural Statistics Service reported data on Oregon wineries and production for 2006. ... There were a total of 52,000 acres of corn planted in Oregon, well short of the 800,000 acres required to fuel the planned ethanol plants in the state.

Two big ethanol plants are scheduled to come online in 2008 in Oregon. Pacific Ethanol's 35 million gallon facility in Boardman and Cascade Grain Products' 113 million gallon plant near Clatskanie. And US Ethanol just started construction on a 55 million gallon one across the river in Longview, WA.

If an acre of corn produces about 328 gallons of ethanol, according to a Cornell researcher, and if all the corn grown in Oregon was used to make ethanol it would still only produce about 17 million gallons.

Where will all this corn come from? And what is the ultimate price? I've read several articles in the past few weeks indicating that the higher demand for corn created by the demand for ethanol has led to higher food prices because feed corn for cows and chickens is suddenly more expensive. Oregon, with its shocking hunger statistics should think very carefully about the road it takes in promoting alternative fuels.

Oregon passes RPS

2007-04-10T17:26:00.000-07:00

The Senate today passed SB 838, which sets minimum standards for renewable energy in the state -- 25% of new electricity generation from renewable resources by 2025. When it's signed by the Governor, that will make Oregon's clean energy standard among the most aggressive in the country.

I wonder how long this will stay up...

2007-04-07T17:16:00.000-07:00

I snapped this photo while waiting for a light to change at the corner of Burnside and MLK last week. This seems to be a pretty poor marketing strategy 'What is better than a Hybrid? A Subarau.' -- in the hybrid capital of the U.S. But it's also a misleading sign. Zero emissions is highlighted in pink. The "Partial" in front of zero emissions can get lost in a drive-by viewing. Partial zero emissions (PZEV) is the next best thing to a hybrid -- lower emissions and better fuel economy than your standard car. But, like this sign, it's somewhat half-assed. A PZEV meets the same emissions standard as an electric hybrid, but the hybrid is still more fuel efficient.

Batter up!

2007-04-02T18:26:00.000-07:00

Baseball season opens this week and I'll be doing a little pitching of my own. On Thursday I will moderate a panel discussion on energy for the Portland Business Alliance's sustainability day. Thor Hinckley, Tomas Endicott and Troy Gagliano will discuss renewable energy development in Oregon on Thursday, April 05 at 2:30 p.m. in the Flag Room of the World Trade Center in Portland (PGE headquarters). I will try to make my questions for Thor harder to even out his home field advantage.

Tomas Endicott is a co-founder and managing partner of SeQuential Biofuels, LLC, which developed Oregon’s first and only commercial biodiesel production plant in Salem. Thor Hinckley has been the manager of PGE’s renewable power program since October 2000. He is currently project manager for the development of PGE’s new Renewable Future renewable power offering and oversees the installation of PGE’s solar power projects. And Troy Gagliano is a senior policy specialist for the Renewable Northwest Project focused on project siting, regulatory issues in Idaho and Oregon, media relations, and represents RNP on the Energy Trust of Oregon's Renewable Advisory Committee.

RPS out of committee

2007-03-28T20:24:00.000-07:00

The senate environment and natural resources committee voted unanimously on Tuesday in favor of the 25% renewable portfolio standard, SB 373, proposed by Gov. K. The interesting thing is, nobody knows how much passage of the bill is going to cost utilities and ratepayers. Earlier this week I spoke to PGE, which is working on a cost analysis of wind integration to meet the RPS goals. I have a hard time believing, however, that utilities such as PGE would support the RPS without knowing first how much this will cost.

Role Reversal

2007-03-20T22:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the first contractor meeting I've attended at which the contractors were informing the city about biodiesel instead of vice versa. When members attending the Northwest Utility Contractors Association meeting tonight asked a Bureau of Environmental Services construction manager about a new B5 mandate on all the city's public works projects, they were met with a blank stare. I had heard that the city was considering incorporating a biodiesel requirement into all their construction contracts. But this was the first I'd heard it was already happening. NUCA will have a special meeting on biodiesel next month to inform all of its members about the new requirements.

A chance to start from scratch

2007-03-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

What a difference a river can make. Tonight I attended a citizens' advisory task force meeting for the Clark County high capacity transit system study, which is evaluating development potential for travel options in the Vancouver metro region. I've attended many transportation planning meetings in Portland with Metro, TriMet and ODOT, but with the exception of Columbia River Crossing meetings, this was my first journey into Clark County transportation planning.

The list of differences in planning approaches between PDX and Vancouver is long (the link between land use planning and transportation is a big one), but the energy reporter in me was struck by the absence of peak oil or energy-related costs as primary concerns on the task force's list of priorities. I guess the heightened concern for energy consumption has not yet migrated across the Columbia with the many Portland businesses and property-tax refugees.

When I asked a member of the regional transportation council why there was no specific mention of energy costs or savings related to new, large transit projects, in the task force's list of considerations, his response was that the fuel costs were included generally in the estimated operating costs.

I was amazed. Here's an entire county that's basically starting from scratch to design its first high capacity transit system -- a huge opportunity to get it right from the start -- and it's using the same planning process that it utilized in the 1980s to evaluate the region's options.

Those crazy Iowans and their gas

2007-03-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

The Iowa Association of Mucipial Utilties is planning a project to pump high pressure air into underground caverns that they will then release and mix with natural gas to power electrical turbines. As much as I love my home state I'm dubious of a process that, in essence, is forcing a giant underground fart to make up for electrical generation lost on Midwest wind farms when the wind isn't blowing. My most pressing question is, if it takes energy to pump it down and energy (in the form of natural gas) to release it, is there a net-benefit? Perhaps the money would be better invested in a process I recently heard about being developed in Washington state to direct methane generated by cows into natural gas pipelines.
True, one big issue surrounding wind generation is its intermittant production. In the Northwest we use hydropower from Bonneville to supplement production on wind-less days. The trick is to find a similar renewable resource that can fill the production gaps. Giant farting caverns don't quite accomplish that. But maybe if the only way to develop wind projects is to do this, it's worth it overall?
Sowing the wind, reaping the electricity

The Watt-com era

2007-03-14T17:35:00.000-07:00

The NYTimes had a story today comparing the Internet startup/ dot-com era of the 90's to the atmosphere surrounding energy start-ups in the Valley, what reporter Matt Richtel called the "watt-com era." (wish I'd thought of that.) The story mentioned several prominent dot-com investors who, having made their millions in high tech, are switching to "clean tech".

...high tech has given way to “clean tech,” the shorthand term for innovations that are energy-efficient and environmentally friendly. Less fashionable is “green,” a word that suggests a greater interest in the environment than in profit.

Oregon still laments missing the dot-com wave of investments. Our Silicon Forest still doesn't come near the level of investment and activity in the Silicon Valley. And now, having identified clean energy and sustainable industries as our new economic development strategy, I wonder if we'll be playing catch-up on clean tech as well. Will the Clean Valley be wiping up with Green Forest ?

Start-up Fervor Shifts to Energy in Silicon Valley

Washington leads again with GHG legislation

2007-03-08T16:50:00.000-08:00

The Washington state senate today introduced a greenhouse gas emissions reduction bill that calls for the state to revert to 1990 GHG levels by 2020. It comes just weeks after Washington Governor Christine Gregoire signed a five-state agreement to set clear GHG reduction targets and a market-based strategy to achieve them. Kulongoski also signed that agreement but we've seen no GHG legislation in Oregon yet. When will that happen? I've heard from the governor's office and environmental groups that it's in the works. And seeing that the city of Portland has already reached the goal set out by Washington state, I also wonder if the governor's legislation would go a step further to put Oregon in a leadership role for the region.

Biofuels bill passes with flying colors

2007-03-01T18:08:00.000-08:00

The Oregon House of Reps passed the biofuels bill today. (Watch for my story on the bill in Monday's DJC.)

The session started with one representative after another standing to voice some reservations, then referring their reservations to the Senate for further debate before ultimately voting in favor of the bill.

Discussions went on for over an hour (about midway through one Rep's aide leaned over to comment that everything had been said but not everyone had said it).

Everyone seemed to be clamoring to show their support. Only one Representative stood to say she would not be voting for the bill: Kim Thatcher, a Republican from Keizer.

"I'm definitely all for biofuels and renewable energy, in fact I have a PV, a photovoltaic system on the roof of my business and I would really like to support this bill 100 percent but there are some things that need to be fixed. I'm going to withold my support at this time and hopefully it will get fixed on the Senate side," Thatcher said.

Now the bill goes to Senate committee. I'll be watching to see which issues the Senate takes up -- if they take on all the issues mentioned on the floor of the house today, it could take a while to reach a vote.

Biofuels bill reaches a vote

2007-02-28T17:20:00.000-08:00

The Oregon House tomorrow is expected to vote on HB2210, which will provide tax exemptions for biofuels production facilities and set a statewide renewable fuel standard. The bill has been sailing through committee and environmental groups and industry expect it to pass. Tomas Endicott today said he expected it to pass with 20 Republicans on board. I hope to be in Salem for the vote - minus any snow (fingers crossed).

The embarrassed American

2007-02-24T23:42:00.000-08:00

Almost a month after the IPCC report on climate change came out and it's still a hot topic here. Global climate change and CO2 emissions have come up in almost every conversation I've had with Europeans of many nationalities over the past few days without any provocation from me. One conversation, in particular, comes to mind.

A Portuguese man raised the topic at a table including Americans, Germans, French, and Bulgarians. What began as a high-minded scientific discussion soon devolved into an argument between the EU citizens and a lone, very outspoken American. Global warming is rhetoric, it's kitsch for puritans who, having realized there is no God have turned to a force of nature to bring forth destruction and doom, said a man from Denver. And if humans are indeed the cause of climate change the only natural conclusion would be to exterminate humans, he continued. He doesn't see any real solution to the problem aside from human extinction and therefore it shouldn't be addressed, especially not by government regulation.

The EU faction of the table was shocked by his statements.

Not all Americans think this way, I was quick to point out.

Yes, but what about your vice president?

I couldn't deny it. Cheney had just spoken out against the IPCC report. It's difficult to argue that Americans have a real concern for global climate change when our elected leaders at the highest level still refuse to acknowledge what the rest of the world has now accepted.

Beer == Energy

2007-02-24T23:11:00.000-08:00

Last night, at yet another Brussels bar, Beer Mania -- home to 400 Belgian artisanal beers -- a Frenchman once again gave me an excuse to write about beer on my blog. Upon learning that I am a journalist, he set about convincing me to write an article on Beer Mania. I write about energy and transportation, I said, I'm a serious writer. But beer equals energy, he said. True, I said. I had not eaten anything in ten or so hours so the three beers in my system were indeed sustaining me.

Oregon's backyard biofuels movement -- those fanatics who gather their own used cooking grease to formulate biodiesel in their backyards and garages -- has been compared to Oregon's ardor for basement micro brews. And on my visit to the SeQuential production facility in Salem last spring I met a biodiesel production manager who had, in fact, managed a brewery for several years before accepting his current position. So the link between beer and energy isn't so far-fetched.

Sure, I said, I'll write about Beer Mania.

Euro-Ford

2007-02-23T22:25:00.000-08:00

Last night at Le Roy d'Espagne pub in Brussels, after downing the biggest glass you've ever seen of Leffe blond, I met an employee of Ford Motor company, whose European division has offices in Antwerp. Feeling completely unhindered I asked him how much longer he expected to have a job. He replied that unlike the American division, Euro Ford is doing quite well.
Pardon? I asked. Pourqoui?
It's simple, he said, Euro Ford has embraced smaller more fuel efficient models. He then went on to talk about how much SUV's disgust him. Only the most wealthy Europeans drive them, he said, as a way to flaunt their wealth.
Oh, I said, SUV's in Belgium are like Hummers in America?
He would guess so, he said, though he'd never seen a Hummer in real life before.
Pardon? How can two divisions of the same company be so different? I asked. He broke it down for me, asking how much I pay for a gallon of gasoline, converting that to Liters and then adding in his country's fuel tax.
D'ac. I said. Je comprend.

Smith the Stone age senator

2007-02-19T15:45:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month the international panel on climate change released its fourth annual report, reviewed by hundreds of esteemed scientists worldwide, stating that climate change is undeniably caused by increased global carbon emissions due to human activity. The report received wide media attention and the overwhelming concensus is that the climate change debate is over.

That's why I was shocked as all hell to hear Oregon Senator Gordon Smith say this morning to a roomful of Portland business leaders, in essence, that yes scientists say climate change is real, but it's only a "7/10's of one percent" increase in temperature and that Greenland, now covered in ice, was once a temperate farmland. This after stating his support for our state's new focus on sustainable industries.

"I believe mankind is having an impact, I just don't know the percentage of that impact," Smith said.

I would expect such a business-friendly politician to seize the opportunity global warming awareness has created to capitalize on sustainable industries. Instead, I heard a politician having a hard time admitting he was wrong.

Smith's website

Greening the Super Bowl

2007-02-04T09:41:00.000-08:00

This is the first year the NFL is purchasing carbon offsets in an initiative to make the Super Bowl a carbon neutral event. Working with the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, they calculated the carbon emissions of Dolphin stadium during the event and have planted trees and purchased renewable energy credits to offset it. Unfortunately, the calculation doesn't include the travel to and from the event by the teams or the fans. Or the energy used by millions of ginormous televisions across the nation (although it does include the eight brand new 108 inch plasma screens just added to the club level of the stadium).

Read about the NFL's environmental program

Read the Forbes.com story about the program

Doomsday scenario

2007-01-31T21:53:00.000-08:00

The Portland peak oil task force draft report "Descending the Oil Peak: Navigating the transition from oil and natural gas" is now available on the city's OSD website. I have not yet read the entire 86-page report and I admit I'm scared to after a friend confessed he's seriously hesitant about having children after hearing about its predictions. But Portland is one of the few cities in the country taking peak oil seriously enough to incorporate it into long-term planning and I believe it is worth the read, even if only for the temporary form of birth control.

PGE's spendy green marketing

2007-01-28T10:16:00.000-08:00

Gail Kinsey Hill reported in Sunday's Oregonian that PGE's marketing expenses comprise more than half of the premium that customers of their green energy program pay to purchase renewable energy. She compares PGE's costs to the amount Pacificorp pays for marketing a similar program. In other words, much less of the additional 0.8 cents per kWh PGE customers pay actually goes to purchasing green tags. The implication is that PGE is mis-using the funds they receive for green energy and, in addition, receive disproportionate attention for their green practices because of their excessive marketing efforts.

What's missing from the story is exactly how those marketing efforts have paid off -- What is the overall impact of the marketing dollars spent in terms of renewable energy purchased and promoted? This article definitely makes me think twice about the green energy programs, but I'm not jumping to any conclusions about PGE's marketing expenses just yet.

Green Power at a Premium

Faithful energy lobbyists

2007-01-28T09:49:00.000-08:00

One of the emerging players in the Legislature's renewable energy debate is the Oregon Interfaith Power and Light lobby, a faith-based effort to help curb global warming supported in part by the Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon. I spoke to Jeff Hammarlund, a PSU professor and energy policy expert, on Friday who said he is representing Interfaith power and light as a consultant on the Governor's climate change advisory committee. Jeff, who helped craft the Northwest Power Act, is now participating in the drafting of the state's renewable portfolio standard. So far, he said, they're encountering the largest opposition from the state's public utilities that are concerned about the cost of implementing the standard.

Biofuels straight from the source

2007-01-25T22:40:00.000-08:00

Josh Tickell , author of From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank -- the Bible for biodiesel co-ops and independent fuel producers -- will be speaking in Portland next month at a Young Professionals of Portland event about his new book Biodiesel America. I'll be interested to hear his perspective on Oregon's fledgling biofuels industry and the larger issue of sustainable biofuels development.

Energy drinking game

2007-01-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

On a side note...those playing the State of the Union Drinking Game , here's the final tally for energy shots:

Ethanol -- 2 shots
Addicted to oil -- 1 shot
Hydrogen -- 1 shot
'Nukular' - 3 shots

The President's Plan

2007-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

In his state of the union address yesterday President Bush presented a new energy security plan that calls for a 20 percent reduction in gasoline consumption, achieved mostly by alternative fuel use. His plan includes a mandate to incorporate 35 billion gallons of alternative fuel a year to the nation's fuel supply by 2017. However, the President didn't specify the source of that alternative fuel. On the Jim Lehrer news hour tonight, Clay Sell, deputy secretary of the US Dept. of Energy, said he expects 15 billion gallons of that mandate to come from corn-based ethanol. With the remainder from cellulosic ethanol and coal-to-liquid fuel conversion. All of these options achieve the President's goal of lowering our nation's dependence on foreign oil. The question is, are they environmentally sustainable as well? Corn doesn't grow well in Oregon, for example, and corn-based ethanol quickly becomes an import from the Midwest, with the transport of the fuel, alone, becoming a significant environmental cost.

See my June 12 article in the DJC, "When Biodiesel Won't Cut it"

Here's an excerpt:

Biofuels could provide 37 percent of U.S. transport fuel within the next 25 years, according to a new report by the Worldwatch Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based environmental advocacy group.
But growth of crops such as corn and soybeans - traditional feedstocks for biofuels production - is energy- and water-intensive. And with limited farmlands available, feedstock production for fuel would have to supplant food production.
"There's never going to be enough cropland to replace all the petroleum we use" with biofuels, said Jan Auyong, an Oregon State University professor.

PGE will go halfway

2007-01-22T21:13:00.000-08:00

I talked to Mark Fryburg, PGE spokesman, today who said that in a couple of weeks his company will release a new integrated resource plan that, among other things, will increase the goal of contribution from renewables and efficiency measures to 50 percent of its overall power production. PGE's current goal is 25 percent. The change is the result of a number of factors, Fryburg said. PGE customers are demanding more of their energy from renewables. But also they are required by the public utility commission to update the plan every five years. I suspect that the proposed renewable portfolio standard is also a factor in PGE's decision. If they were to keep the 25 percent standard, there would be nothing to differentiate them as the green utility in Oregon when a 25 percent goal becomes a mandate.

Biodiesel documentary

2007-01-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

The biodiesel industry in Oregon has received enough attention in the last year that only hermits and people from Remote have never heard of it. Still, how many actually know how it's made?

"From Plow to Pump" is a documentary about the biodiesel product life cycle beginning with the cottonseed farmer who supplies the oil for the production process to the tractor trailer that is fueled with BioWillie biodiesel.

The program aired on January 12 on PBS and can be viewed at pbs.org along with an extended interview with Willie Nelson -- who I might add is an investor in SeQuential Biofuels, the first (and so far only) biodiesel production plant in Oregon.

Climate change and the CRB lecture today

2007-01-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

Water = Energy in the Northwest and any environmental issue that affects the Columbia River, especially, also affects our long term ability to sustain the region's hydropower production.

Kyle Dittmer, a hydrologist and meteorologist with the Columbia River Inter-tribal fish commission is speaking today at PSU on the effects of climate change on the Columbia River Basin.

Kyle Dittmer
Friday, January 19th 12:00 – 12:50 PM
PCAT Building Room 120

Learn about climate changes in the tribal sub-basins of the Columbia River and the effects it will have on our rivers. Discover insights into the 21st Century climate and a possible new ice age from Danish climate researchers, as well as how the key to our climate’s future lies in the Greenland glaciers

Toyota's risky strategy

2007-01-17T17:41:00.000-08:00

I've been reading Daniel Esty's Green to Gold, a book on creating value with good environmental strategy. In contrast to Ford's decision to lower cost and quality to remain competitive (see my post on Gov. K's incredible hulk), in the early 90's Toyota made the risky decision to focus on energy efficiency and build the Prius, a gas-electric hybrid car. Here's what the book had to say about how Toyota became the now #2 auto manufacturer in the world:

"Toyota saw the Green Wave coming and responded. The company promoted value innovation and ended up with a breakthrough product that enhanced profits and sustained shareholder value. That's what EcoAdvantage is all about."

Snow day!

2007-01-16T18:01:00.000-08:00

The mountain came down to Portland today and brought six inches of snow. I braved the morning commute on public transportation only to get stuck in traffic that at times left enough pause for our bus driver to get out and smoke a cigarette. (I could have used a beer then. Now will do.)

Thank Science, though, for alternative transportation.

The Portland aerial tram, in particular, came in handy today for a couple whose baby was scheduled for a heart transplant at OHSU. The parents couldn't make it up the hill to the hospital so the city allowed them to ride the tram up the hill and into surgery.

I heard this story from a construction manager who was leading a tour of the tram today. Bored at the office with no one to call, my editor and I decided to borrow a flexcar and drive to the waterfront to ride the tram -- not yet officially open to the public, it was open today due to the weather.

Conclusion: Public transportation lowers overall carbon emissions AND saves babies' lives.

The way the wind blows

2007-01-15T23:08:00.000-08:00

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council tomorrow is scheduled to release its Northwest wind integration action plan, which will, in part, decide how the proposed 25 percent renewable portfolio standard will play out in the Legislature. If the cost of integrating new wind power generation into the current system or adding additional capacity is determined to be "too great", the proposed standard will face greater resistance from utilities and large electrical customers.

The ability to integrate wind power into Bonneville's hydropower system "will be a key issue" in the debate over a renewable portfolio standard, Senator Alan Bates, D-Jacksonville, told me at a natural resources committee meeting in June.

Here's an excerpt on the issue from my June 28 article in the DJC:

...the uncertain cost of wind power could hamstring the Legislature's ability to pass the standard next year, state senators and lobbyists say....
Wind projects, due to the increasing cost of natural gas, are the most cost effective renewable resource to develop, according to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council.
Wind generation has proliferated in Oregon, in part due to the aggressive standards set by California in 2002.
And wind power represents about one percent of the region's total power generation. But, say utilities, wind power development projects may already out-pace the current system's ability to integrate the additional power generation.
The council, which oversees regional power planning, estimates that up to 2,000 Megawatts of wind energy will come online in the next five years. The region's 2005 power plan forecast for that same amount of wind energy integration over the next 20 years.
"We've had much more rapid development of wind power than we envisioned in the power plan and we're beginning to get to the point where there's uncertainty over the ability to integrate that power" into the current system, said Jeff King, senior resource analyst for the council.
The council and the region's electrical utilities are calling for caution in passing rigid standards that would put undue cost on utilities and that wouldn't, in the end, produce a net benefit.
"Unless we have some certainty on cost, there's a significant risk that a mandate will limit utilities' ability to compete," said Michael Early, executive director of the Industrial Customers of Northwest Utilities.

Here's what the first phase of the action plan will determine:
• The amount of wind capacity that can be operationally integrated using the existing system
• The amount of integrating capacity required per megawatt of wind capacity
• The cost per average megawatt of these integrating services
• Wind capacity that can be accommodated by the existing main grid transmission system
• The years remaining until transmission upgrades are required
• The nature and cost of these upgrades

Poetic coal coverage

2007-01-14T10:36:00.000-08:00

While Oregon is making strides toward a renewable portfolio standard and receiving much media attention for its new focus on sustainable industries, let's not lose sight of the fact that 40 percent of our power still comes from burning coal and the region's six major utilities have plans to add over 10,000 MW of coal-fired power to the region in the next decade.
The social and environmental impacts of fossil fuels -- from the mining to the burning -- are still an important story and finding new ways to cover it can give insight to the consequences of our policy decisions. A Dan Barry column in the Times today on mining town Logan, W. Va. is an excellent example of this kind of coverage.

A way of life seen through coal tinted glasses

"That daily reminder of coal’s dominion courses again through this small town of a city, stopping traffic, giving pause. It is a coal train, maybe 90 open cars long, creaking and groaning and coating the old brick buildings hard against the tracks with a fine, black dust.
And as a cold dusk settles like more dust on Logan’s tired streets, Chuck Gunnoe sits in an unheated launderette and explains how coal runs through veins beyond those in the surrounding hills. He is a coal miner seeking work, and he yearns to have his boots muddied, his face blackened — to be swallowed again by the Appalachian earth..."

Gov. K's Incredible Hulk

2007-01-06T08:42:00.000-08:00

Pixelworks CEO Allen Alley is turning badass green.
Speaking Thursday at the Oregon leadership summit in front of the state's top elected officials and business leaders he admitted that he "recoiled in horror" last year when Harvard business professor Michael Porter suggested that the key to Oregon's economic future is sustainable industries.
Then he related this little story: in 1976 as an engineer with Ford motor company, he was there when Ford was debating how to take on Honda and Toyota. Ford decided to sacrifice quality in order to cut costs and remain competitive in the global business market. That was a big mistake.
Going green may initially cost businesses more, but in the end they win customer loyalty through quality products and an environmental ethos, said Alley.
"Ford learned the hard way, in Oregon we needn't do the same," he said.
Wow. Here's the Republican former head of a wafer fabrication company saying that becoming environmentally-forward is actually a competitive advantage. And he's not the only one...business leaders across the state are adopting sustainability as the state's new economic development priority.
"I believe it's possible to have tremendous economic growth and it is possible and in fact essential to do it in harmony with our planet," he said.
At the same meeting our Democratic Gov. K announced that Alley will be his new deputy chief of staff. I felt like I was witnessing the transformation from an ordinary business man into the incredible hulk.
Here were his final words:

"People in China do not aspire to create another soul-less urban sprawl of malls and pavement. They aspire to what we have: a thriving vibrant community that cares about each other and is building a better future for our children in harmony with our planet. I now believe our innate understanding of what is fundamental to the preservation of mankind and our planet is the essential component that will provide the foundation for our leadership in global business."