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State Renewable Portfolio Standards Under Attack by State Legislatures

By Michael J. Hecker on Posted in Renewable Energy

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) are under attack. This may sound surprising to some, especially considering the upsurge in public consciousness regarding the development of clean and green technologies. But in statehouses across the United States, debates are ongoing regarding the need for RPSs, largely due to the increasingly lower prices for certain traditional energy sources, such as natural gas. As these prices continue to fall, many states—including those with significant traditional energy production—will continue to question the necessity of such standards. A recent article in Bloomberg helps illustrate this point.

Currently, 29 states and the District of Columbia have RPSs, and another 7 states have non-binding goals. Generally speaking, these standards/goals require utilities in the state to obtain a portion of their power capacity or generation from renewable sources by a date certain. Depending on the state, and the relevant political atmosphere, the standards/goals may be minimal or quite aggressive. For instance, the California RPS, which was created in 2002, and was later expanded in 2011, requires privately-owned utilities, electric service providers, and community choice aggregators to increase their use of renewables to 33 percent by 2020. Continue Reading

Cleantech Funding Sees Continued Support in Obama’s Proposed 2014 Budget

By Elizabeth A. Holden on Posted in Renewable Energy

President Obama released his proposed “Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2014.” The budget proposal contains a significant increase in spending on clean energy, including additional support for solar, wind, geothermal, and water energy; an investment in transitioning consumers and businesses to increased energy efficient practices; and the reduction of support for conventional energy suppliers.

Clean Power Stimulus

The proposal includes a provision for $615 million to stimulate an increase in the use of clean power, which includes an end goal of decreasing cost for the end-user. The proposal also includes a plan to spend 29 percent more than current rates on solar and wind power in an effort to make them competitive with conventional sources of energy. The additional spending would be used to more efficiently integrate those systems into the grid. In addition, the budget provides an investment of $153 million in research and design intended to transition the current electric grid to a Smart Grid.

Vehicle Technology

The proposal includes an investment of $575 million in vehicle technologies, $282 in the development of advanced biofuels, and $2 billion in mandatory funding for an Energy Security Trust to transition conventional cars and trucks off of oil. The proposal states an effort to make electric-powered cars as affordable as conventional cars within the next decade. Continue Reading

Wind Farm Insurance: Avoid the Risk of Loss

By Alba Alessandro on Posted in Renewable Energy

Wind turbineWind energy is a force to be reckoned with. U.S. wind power capacity represents more than 20 percent of the world’s installed wind power with a utility scale of 60,000MW.

In 2012, of the 39 states with utility-scale wind installations, Texas, California, Iowa, Illinois, and Oregon led the pack with the most wind capacity installed. A wind turbine has a life expectancy of 20 years, but mechanical breakdowns and lightning are the largest risks. Without the right type of insurance in place—including a wind farm insurance package—the risk of loss increases exponentially. Limits of liability can range from $5 million to $20 million, with deductibles ranging from $20,000 to $1 million.

Wind farm insurance packages can include: construction insurance, physical damage, and third-party liability insurance coverage for delays in building of a wind farm, loss of earnings, and business interruption once the operation is running. Specifically, wind turbine coverage can compensate the policyholder for production losses if the wind farm’s annual wind levels fall below forecast.

This blog entry discusses property and warranty insurance. The presumption is that the wind farm has statutory and discretionary coverage—workers’ compensation, employer’s liability, professional liability, commercial auto, and general liability—in place. Continue Reading

Advantages of Paying Patent Maintenance Fee Before March 19

By John R. Miller, Ph.D. and Ranjana Kadle, Ph.D. on Posted in Intellectual Property

A new fee schedule from the United States Patent and Trademark Offices (USPTO) will take effect on March 19, 2013. As a result, most of the patent related fees—including maintenance fees—will increase significantly. For example, patent maintenance fees for large entities due at 3.5 years, 7.5 years, and 11.5 years will increase by 39 percent, 24 percent, and 54 percent respectively. After March 19, a 75 percent discount will be available for applicants that qualify as micro-entities. The 50 percent discount for small entities will continue to be available.

The USPTO allows patent owners to pay maintenance fees without surcharge during a period starting six months before the maintenance fee due date and for six months after that with a surcharge. Consequently, patent owners may want to take advantage of the applicable payment windows and pay any maintenance fees due on or before March 18, 2013, to avoid the increased fees.

Energy Legislation Contained in New York’s Budget Proposal

By Joseph N. Endres on Posted in Renewable Energy, Tax Incentives

Governor Cuomo released his 2013-2014 New York State Executive Budget proposal for the coming fiscal year. The budget proposal contains two items of interest for those in the clean energy industry. First, the proposed legislation creates an “electric vehicle recharging equipment” tax credit. Second, the budget proposal clarifies that natural gas in any form may be purchased exempt from sales tax provided that it is converted into “compressed natural gas” for use in the engine of a motor vehicle.

Electric Vehicle Recharging Equipment Credit

The governor is proposing to replace the expired “alternative fuels refueling property” tax credit with a new tax credit for “electric vehicle recharging property.” The alternative fuels refueling credit expired in 2010 and was intended to create an incentive for business to install certain refueling property for vehicles that utilized various “clean-burning” fuels (e.g., certain biodiesel, ethanol, compressed natural gas, etc.).

This new credit is intended to create a similar economic incentive for electric vehicle recharging property. If the legislation becomes law, the new credit could be applied against a taxpayer’s Article 9 corporation tax, Article 9-A franchise tax, or Article 22 personal income tax. For each installation of electric vehicle recharging property, the credit is equal to the lesser of $5,000 or 50 percent of the cost of the installed property. None of the costs of the electric vehicle recharging property can be paid for by grants from the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority or the New York Power Authority. Also, it is unclear exactly what constitutes an “installation” for purposes of the credit. Continue Reading

Proposed Amendments to New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act Do Little More Than Provide Lip Service to Sustainability

By Charles W. Malcomb on Posted in Green Building, Renewable Energy

Over the last two years, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has proposed and adopted changes to the State Environmental Quality Review Act’s (SEQRA) environmental assessment forms and implementing regulations. After more than a year of public review and comment, DEC adopted revised environmental assessment forms on January 25, 2012. Before last year, the forms had not been substantially revised since 1987. The SEQRA environmental assessment forms are appendices to the SEQRA regulations and are used by public agencies to evaluate whether proposed actions will result in significant adverse environmental impacts, which would require further study. The forms solicit information about the components of a project and are designed to aid and focus the agency’s attention on relevant impacts. The new SEQRA forms include questions designed to highlight new areas of environmental concern, such as climate change, smart growth, use of renewable energy, and brownfield redevelopment. For example, the forms now require information about:

  • State energy code compliance
  • The use of mass transit
  • The availability of biking or pedestrian facilities
  • Greenhouse gas emissions
  • The use of green infrastructure
  • Whether a brownfield site will be remediated
  • The quantity of energy to be used

There may be new forms requesting additional information, but there is no corresponding directive on how this information should be used by an agency, and little that would result in fast-tracking sustainable projects. Continue Reading

Another Piece of the Patent Puzzle Going Into Place

By Alfonzo I. Cutaia on Posted in Intellectual Property

Since the passage of the America Invents Act (AIA) in September 2011, many of its provisions (such as prior user rights, false marking provisions, inter-partes review proceedings, etc.) have already been implemented. On March 16, 2013, another key provision will take effect—the change from a first-to-invent system to a first-to-file system. Cleantech companies, both large and small, should be aware of the implications of this change and how to adapt to it.

The change from the first-to-invent (pre-AIA) system to a first-to-file (AIA) system will expand the prior art that will be relevant to patentability of an invention. For example, under the current first-to-file system, applicants were able to eliminate certain prior art references by establishing an earlier date of invention. Under the AIA, this will no longer be a possibility because the date of invention will not be relevant.

This change also does away with proceedings to resolve which of two applicants was the first to invent a technology (therefore being entitled to the patent for that technology)—the so-called “interference proceedings.” Under the AIA, the relevant question will be “which inventor filed the first application?” Companies involved in the fast-moving cleantech industry may need to reconsider at what point during the technology development process a patent application should be filed. However, filing too early can also be problematic because the application may not sufficiently enable a nascent technology. This would affect whether or not priority would be accorded to any claims in any continuing applications. Continue Reading

Solyndra Redux? Electric Car Company Charges Political Favoritism in DOE Loan Program

By Daniel A. Spitzer on Posted in Investing

An electric car manufacturer and battery maker have sued the Department of Energy (DOE) and several of its top officials for $225 million, asserting they were victims of political favoritism in a federal loan program. In two suits filed last week, XP Vehicles Inc. and sister company Limnia Inc. assert the $25 billion Alternative Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program (ATVM) was “fixed” to favor politically connected applicants like Tesla and Fisker Motors. Because of the division of federal court jurisdiction, there were two suits filed, one in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No.1: 1:13-cv-00037, and the other in the Court of Federal Claims, Case No.1:12-cv-00774-MMS. The suits also allege DOE shared the plaintiffs’ confidential technical information with other applicants.

The goal of XP and Limnia was the production of a lightweight SUV with a sales price below $20,000. In 2008, XP applied for a $40 million loan for the SUV project, while Limnia requested $15 million to manufacture the vehicle’s battery. Although XP and Limnia assert they initially received positive reviews of their application and confirmation that the loan program’s requirements were met, the two loan applications were eventually rejected. The suit alleges the initial reasons given for the denial made no sense—such as denying the SUV because it is a hydrogen fuel vehicle, which it was not—and that later, “backfilled” explanations similarly failed to support the DOE decision.

Paragraph 26 of the complaint summarizes the allegations of misconduct: Continue Reading

New York Governor Pushes for Increased Cleantech Investment

By Michael J. Hecker on Posted in Investing, Renewable Energy

During his State of the State address on January 9, 2013, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo discussed a number of important topics regarding the development of cleantech projects in the state. First, Governor Cuomo announced his intention to develop a $1 billion green bank in order to leverage public dollars with private-sector matching funds for cleantech projects within the state. In my most recent post regarding Lisa Jackson’s resignation, I discussed the use of green banks by one of Lisa Jackson’s potential successors—Daniel Esty—who oversaw the development of a similar type of bank in Connecticut. The governor did not identify in his address how the public funds for the green bank would be raised, which certainly could raise questions regarding its long-term implementation, but the most likely source would be from the state’s energy efficiency or renewable portfolio standards. Given the size of New York’s economy in comparison to Connecticut, as well its enviable stance of being the host of Wall Street, the green bank structure could be a potential boon for the state.

Second, Governor Cuomo announced that he would be appointing Richard Kaufmann to a cabinet-level position focused on the state’s energy program, including leading the effort associated with the development of the green bank. Mr. Kauffman is a veteran of the energy and financial sectors, having served in Washington and the New York financial markets, and most recently, having acted as a senior advisor to Secretary Steven Chu in the U.S. Department of Energy. The governor’s decision to hire Mr. Kauffman is a clear sign that he envisions New York as a potential long-term leader in the use and development of clean energy. Continue Reading

Lisa Jackson to Step Down as EPA Administrator; Is a Cleantech Innovator Next in Line?

By Michael J. Hecker on Posted in Renewable Energy

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that Lisa Jackson will step down following President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address in January 2013. During her tenure, Ms. Jackson has drawn a great deal of attention from congressional Republicans, public interest groups, and news media outlets for EPA’s stance on various topics, including the Keystone XL oil pipeline, global warming, and regulatory changes. Also of note, during Ms. Jackson’s tenure the EPA significantly increased its efforts to understand the potential environmental impacts of nanomaterials.

Of note to cleantech followers, Ms. Jackson has overseen EPA’s imposition of new regulations on a number of traditional fuel production sources, such as coal-fired plants. Many have cited these increased regulations as providing cleantech companies with an opportunity to make an aggressive push in the marketplace due to a more level playing field. And with President Obama’s call for new investment in the cleantech sector during his recent presidential campaign, a great deal of attention had been placed on Ms. Jackson’s potential role in that initiative. Continue Reading