Renewable Energy Summit

Stephanie Page, Ag Energy Opportunity in Oregon, addresses Energy Summit attendees

Ontario's first Renewable Energy Summit brought to sunny Eastern Oregon what cloudy Western Oregon businesses have known for a long time: renewable energy pays for itself, and with state and federal grants and tax credits thrown in, it pays for itself sooner rather than later.

Grant and tax helps for residential renewable energy are more scarce, but the concept of generating your own electricity is a compelling one.

Possible scenarios:

1. Decide you want to install renewable energy for your business or residence. Contact the following for information on installation:

• Kurt Christensen, Renewable Ag Energy http://www.wsus1.com/rae.html for "Solar Ranching" and biomass
• Mark Van Gulik and Bob Cavazos, Sunergy World, http://sunergyworld.com/ for commercial/ residential solar
• See Renewable Energy Business websites for Oregon http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/US/byS/OR/OR.shtml and Idaho http://energy.sourceguides.com/businesses/byGeo/US/byS/ID/ID.shtml

2. Grants and tax incentives may be available for your business-related project:

• Oregon's Don Hollis, http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/OR/bizcontact.htm USDA Rural Development, REAP grant applications http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/or/reap.htm
• Oregon BETC Business Energy Tax Credit http://www.oregon.gov/ENERGY/CONS/BUS/BETC.shtml
• Other State and Federal Incentives/Policies for Renewables and Efficiencies for tax breaks after your project is installed: http://www.dsireusa.org/incentives/index.cfm?re=1&ee=1&spv=0&st=0&srp=1&state=OR
• Soybeans as biofuels for the Treasure Valley? Steve Norberg, Field Crops and Watershed Management, Malheur Extension Office is looking into the possibility: http://bioenergy.checkbiotech.org/news/alternative_crop_draws_wide_interest

3. If you install "grid-tied" (hooked up to the power company) renewable energy sources, you may be able to earn money for extra generation by way of a "Net Metering" contract with Idaho Power.

Renewable generation projects smaller than 10 MW are known as "distributed energy" and may qualify for buy-sell contracts with Idaho Power, as well as green tags which can be sold on the renewable energy market. Contact:

• Randy Allphin, Idaho Power

from the Ontario Argus Observer:

http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2010/02/19/news/doc4b7ed3ce82d7f372047020.txt

by Larry Meyer 2/19/2010

ONTARIO — A Renewable Energy Summit at Four Rivers Cultural Center in Ontario Thursday drew about 120 people to hear about such topics as basic industry terminology, legislation and tax credits, tax incentives and specific types of renewable energy. . .

The event was hosted by Treasure Valley Community College and SunergyWorld and was about exploring the opportunities of renewable energy, TVCC Assistant Dean of Workforce Development Roger Findley said. . .

Findley said the time is right to get projects started in the local area. He said he would like to see local farmers and business people get involved.

Don Hollis, Oregon USDA Rural Development, spoke about the grants and loans from that agency. Rural energy programs administered by the USDA were funded by Congress in 2006 and, in the last Farm Bill, were funded at $99 million, he said.

“They’re building the funding up,” Hollis said.

USDA does grants, loans and a combination of both. Eligible technology includes wind, soybeans, biomass, geothermal, anaerobic digester and, just recently added, micro-hydro. Eligible developers are small rural businesses and ag producers.

“(They) must be located in rural areas,” Hollis said. “Congress has designed this program for smaller projects.”

Smaller projects, he said, would be something along the lines of rooftop solar panels.

Payette Looking at Nuke Plant

http://www.kivitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12027741
Feb. 22, 2010

The people of Payette County came out early and stayed late Monday as their county commissioners took up a proposed change to the comprehensive plan. That change would lay the ground work for Alternate Energy Holdings proposed nuclear power plant.

The plant has run into problems in Elmore and Owyhee counties over the last few years, so they moved west to try and build the plant. "It's an excellent site, because they want us there," AEHI spokesman Dan Hamilton said.

AEHI claims the plant would mean hundreds of millions to the local and state economy, by bringing in thousands of good paying jobs.

Those jobs are one of the concerns opponents have with the plant. They worry Idaho doesn't have the skilled labor needed to man them. "They're going to bring in their own personal help that they want to pay their skilled wages too, so what they're going to do here is hire minimum wage people," Payette resident Roger Smith said.

Smith also worries about contamination, and says security is a big concern for many people.

Others don't see it that way. It looks as if the plant has some powerful support. Several mayors are in favor of it, including Fruitland Mayor Dave Bishop. "Even the discussion and this small change will send a positive message that Payette County is not only interested, but ready."

This is just the first step of many to get approval for the plant. Planning and Zoning commissioners would also have to approve changes.

Commissioners have scheduled a second public hearing for March 22nd.

The Bloom Box: An Energy Breakthrough?

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/02/18/60minutes/main6221135.shtml

(CBS) In the world of energy, the Holy Grail is a power source that's inexpensive and clean, with no emissions. Well over 100 start-ups in Silicon Valley are working on it, and one of them, Bloom Energy, is about to make public its invention: a little power plant-in-a-box they want to put literally in your backyard.

You'll generate your own electricity with the box and it'll be wireless. The idea is to one day replace the big power plants and transmission line grid, the way the laptop moved in on the desktop and cell phones supplanted landlines.

It has a lot of smart people believing and buzzing, even though the company has been unusually secretive - until now.

K.R. Sridhar invited "60 Minutes" correspondent Lesley Stahl for a first look at the innards of the Bloom box that he has been toiling on for nearly a decade.

Looking at one of the boxes, Sridhar told Stahl it could power an average U.S. home. . .

"It is real. It works," he replied.

He says he knows it works because he originally invented a similar device for NASA. He really is a rocket scientist. . .

He invented a new kind of fuel cell, which is like a very skinny battery that always runs. Sridhar feeds oxygen to it on one side, and fuel on the other. The two combine within the cell to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity. There's no need for burning or combustion, and no need for power lines from an outside source. . .

An additional story from the Christian Science Monitor:

http://www.csmonitor.com/Innovation/Horizons/2010/0222/Bloom-Box-What-60-Minutes-left-out

BLM looks to Audubon to map sage grouse habitat

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is looking to Audubon Wyoming to map sage grouse habitat across the 11 states where the bird is found.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2011104919_apwysagegrousemapping1stldwritethru.html

By Mead Gruver (AP)
CHEYENNE, Wyo. — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is looking to Audubon Wyoming to map sage grouse habitat across the 11 states where the bird is found.

Sage grouse have been losing their sagebrush habitat for decades and now face listing under the Endangered Species Act. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service expects to announce a listing decision next week.

New regulations resulting from an endangered or threatened species listing could substantially affect a variety of land uses across the West, including gas development and wind energy. . .

Existing maps show the chicken-sized bird also inhabiting large portions of Nevada, Montana, Oregon and Idaho, and smaller areas in Colorado, Utah, California, Washington and the Dakotas.

SB 1020 dead . . . for now

Last year's resurrected HB 3058 bill to fast-track LNG pipelines (SB 1020) appears dead….for now. The bill was referred to the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee two weeks ago, but with no hearing scheduled by a key Senate deadline Thursday Feb. 4th, it cannot advance.

SB 1020 would have allowed out-of-state companies seeking to place utilities across Oregon rivers and streams to seek state-issued wetland-fill permits on family farms and forests without landowner consent. Please contact Senate leadership and thank them for helping stop this ill-advised legislation from rushing forward during the short February session.

Shutter Boardman by 2014?

An interesting development at the Credo network

http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/boardman/?r=5221&id=7511-524679-Upb25Nx

From the article and action petition :

Soon, Oregonians will be able to breathe easier. At long last, Portland General Electric (PGE) has proposed stopping Oregon's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions: the coal-fired Boardman power plant.

In a victory for environmental activists, PGE has proposed that they will close Boardman instead of enacting their previous plan -- spending $500 million to update the plant so they could keep operating it until 2040. Closing the plant in 10 years is a great first step -- but we can't wait until 2020 to shut Boardman down. We need to stop its carbon polluting ways as soon as possible.

Urge PGE to start the process of shutting down Boardman immediately with a final closure date of 2014.

Boardman is Oregon's only coal-fired power plant. Studies show it's responsible for half the haze in the eastern Columbia River Gorge and fouls the air as far as Mount Rainier. By closing it down, PGE will help clear the air across the Pacific Northwest. . .

Conservation efforts will play key role in meeting Northwest's energy needs

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2010/02/conservation_efforts_will_play.html

By Matthew Preusch, The Oregonian February 10, 2010

The Northwest should meet most of its electricity needs over the next two decades through extensive energy conservation efforts, and it's going to take more than just changing light bulbs.

That's the conclusion of a regional power blueprint the Northwest Power and Conservation Council that was unanimously approved Wednesday morning at council headquarters in downtown Portland. It focuses on the benefits of efficiency over building new power plants. . .

The plan estimates about 85 percent of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana's new power demand over the next 20 years - about 5,900 megawatts - could be met through conservation, with the rest coming from new renewable power sources like wind, as well as natural gas power plants. . .

The plan's estimated 5,900 megawatts of conservation - the rough equivalent of the power-producing capacity of 10 coal plants like Portland General Electric's Boardman facility - would come through things like homeowners increasing insulation at their homes and business refitting their buildings with power-saving lights, as well as more complex improvements to the grid that distributes power around the region.

Utilities will take the plan into account when setting their own strategies for meeting the future demand of their customers. . .

The unanimous passage of the plan comes after years of debate between council members and input from utilities and citizens' groups. . .

Idaho Power plans more generation from wind

http://www.idahopress.com/news/?id=29870
By John O’Connell Idaho State Journal 2/8/2010

POCATELLO — Idaho Power's new plan for meeting anticipated customer energy needs for the next two decades shows the utility's energy portfolio will grow increasingly diverse with a heightened emphasis on renewable sources.

Idaho Power filed its integrated resource plan for 2009 with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission in December.

Wind energy is slated to become an increasingly substantial energy source for Idaho Power. Spokeswoman Stephanie McCurdy said the utility put out a request for proposals in May seeking 150 megawatts of wind power generation.

Now, Idaho Power has 192 megawatts of wind capacity in its system, and by 2012, McCurdy said the company expects to have more than 600 megawatts of wind power.

To ensure a stable power source at times when wind power wanes, Idaho Power plans to build a natural gas combined cycle combustion turbine capable of producing 300 megawatts of power, called the Langley Gulch plant, in Payette County. Construction on the project is scheduled to start this August, and the plant should be on line by July 2012.

Idaho Power's plan also calls for 40 megawatts of geothermal power — about 20 megawatts of that total are part of a contract that's awaiting approval by the IPUC. . .

Grant County Farm Bureau takes aim at power line

http://www.bluemountaineagle.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=12&ArticleID=23009&TM=42875.18
Idaho Power’s 500-kV line would “alter the nature and character of the county landscape,” the organization says.

KIMBERLY - The Grant County Farm Bureau is urging Idaho Power to keep its 500-kilovolt power line out of the county.

In a Feb. 4 letter signed by GCFB president Bryan Vogt, the organization said it could not support any of the routes proposed through Grant County.

The letter, sent on behalf of some 150 landowners, businesses and individuals, cited Grant County's "multiple outstanding qualities and important natural, cultural, social and economic resources that ... will be adversely affected by the proposed project."

. . . The powerline would threaten those habitats and improvements, and would be "grossly inequitable in light of the sacrifice, compromise and dedication of our members to protect and conserve the very lands to be affected by the Project," the letter states.

The GCFB said it was particularly concerned about the impacts of the transmission line project on private property rights, property values and agricultural operations.

Idaho Power is considering possible routes through Eastern Oregon for its proposed 500-kV line from Hemingway, Idaho to Boardman, Ore. The proposal has been the subject of several meetings in Grant County since last fall, and similar meetings in Baker and Malheur County since 2008. . .

The GCFB letter supported siting of the line along the original route proposed by Idaho Power, along the Interstate 84 corridor, "as long as this is done in a manner that does not negatively impact high value agricultural land or other areas of resource concern."

The letter urged the utility to seek the input of Farm Bureaus in that area.

High Stakes: LNG and the Legislature

http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/02/high_stakes_lng_and_the_legisl.html
February 03, 2010, By Nick Engelfried

Suppose you had one month to address Oregon's biggest challenges, from raising education standards to maintaining our competitiveness in the increasingly crowded green economy. This month the Oregon Legislature has just such a chance before it, as lawmakers meet in a special session.

Given the stakes, you'd hope legislators would use the limited time of the special session to make concrete deliverables in the realms of education, economic vitality and environmental safeguards. You might not want your elected officials devoting the session to a resurrected version of a bill that failed to pass in 2009, and which redefines the language in relatively obscure land-use codes.

But then, you probably haven't given thousands of dollars' worth of campaign contributions to your legislators. . .

HB 3058 went down in flames, but not before The Oregonian published an investigation of the gas industry's power in politics, reporting that Northwest Natural donated $210,000 to political candidates since the beginning of 2008. . .