On Jan. 26, 2012, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) was ordered to solicit public comment on whether it should have halted Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) financing programs. The order came as a result of a ruling from the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on December 20, 2011. As a result of the order, the Federal Register now lists an advance notice of proposed rulemaking by FHFA on PACE.

PACE financing programs allow property owners to obtain financing for alternate energy and energy efficiency projects secured by special assessment payments levied on real property. Many PACE programs were set to begin operating when, in July 2010, the FHFA ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to stop underwriting residential mortgages that included PACE assessments in July 2010. Litigation has been ongoing since that time. As a result, the recent appeals court decision is considered not only a win for property owners, but also for local governments, businesses and environmental organizations that support PACE and the economic development they feel it would bring to their communities.

As the court-mandated 60-day comment period moves forward, more than 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives are working to gain bipartisan support for the PACE Assessment Protection Act (H.R. 2599). If successful, this bill would prevent FHFA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other federal mortgage organizations from blocking state and local PACE laws. Read here for more information on H.R. 2599.

For more information on PACE financing, visit Bricker & Eckler’s Energy SIDs and PACE Financing Resource Center or contact J. Caleb Bell at 614.227.2384 or jbell@bricker.com.

After showing initial interest in a solar energy plan developed by the Shaker Heights-based firm Carbon Vision, the Marietta City School District is no longer pursuing the project because the initially projected energy savings of $20,000 for the first year did not take into account the $60,000- to $80,0000-worth of savings that the district would experience each year over the next two years as part of an electric aggregation contract, an article in The Marietta Times reports. For more read the full story here.

Lockheed Martin won a $1.1 million contract Friday for the "development and ground demonstration of the integrated power system and payload" into an Air Force Small Unmanned Renewable enerGy long Endurance Vehicle (SURGE-V) aircraft, an article in Military & Aerospace Electronics reports. This U.S. Air Force-sponsored project aims to develop and demonstrate a "green hybrid small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that runs on renewable energy," the article said. For more read the full story here.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that funds are once again available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) to provide assistance to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to complete a variety of energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. For 2012, USDA has approximately $25.4 million budget authority available to fund REAP activities, which will support at least $12.5 million in grant and approximately $48.5 million in guaranteed loan program level awards. USDA is accepting the following applications:

• renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement grant applications and combination grant and guaranteed loan applications until March 30, 2012;
• renewable energy system and energy efficiency improvement guaranteed loan only applications on a continuous basis up to June 29, 2012;
• renewable energy system feasibility study applications through March 30, 2012; and
• energy audits and renewable energy development assistance applications through Feb. 21, 2012.

A note sent to potential applicants from the USDA Rural Development Office in Columbus, Ohio, indicated that the REAP funds available this year are "reduced substantially" from previous years, increasing the competition for the limited funds available. More information on the REAP program is available here.

The Michigan Jobs & Energy Coalition, which includes business, labor and agriculture groups, is collecting funds and signatures for a 2012 ballot initiative that would raise Michigan's current renewable energy standard from 10 percent by 2015 to 25 percent by 2025, according to articles on CleanTechnica.com and MichiganRadio.org. This would put Michigan into the "top tier of state renewable energy targets nationwide" – equal to that of Ohio, CleanTechnica.com reports. For more, read the CleanTechnica.com article here (including an infographic on renewable energy standards by state) and the MichiganRadio.org article here.
 

U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu said that highly efficient gas turbines should be integrated into wind farms and giant solar arrays so that electric utilities can shut down the coal-fired power plants that serve as the "spinning reserve" for generating power when the wind stops or clouds obscure the sun, an article in The Plain Dealer reports. Read the full story here.

The Battelle Memorial Institute, a Columbus-based nonprofit research institution, has made available streaming video from The Ohio Governor's 21st Century Energy & Economy Summit, which took place from September 21-22, 2011, at The Ohio State University. Topics included coal; wind, solar and efficiency; environment, technology and community impacts; alternative transportation fuels; etc. Speakers included Gov. John Kasich, energy industry executives and energy policy specialists. To view videos from the summit, visit the Battelle website here. 

Perrysburg-based Willard & Kelsey Solar Group has reduced payments on two state loans and laid off 40 employees this month, the latter of which renders the company ineligible for $3 million in state tax breaks for which it was conditionally approved, the Toledo Blade reports. The company, which is "partially funded by millions of dollars in state loans and grants," will be inspected by the state Office of Air Quality Development Authority in February to ensure that a $5 million loan intended for an assembly line was well spent, the article said. For more, read the full story here.
 

Advanced Energy Economy Ohio, a business organization representing the interests of renewable energy companies, determined in a report that "renewable energy premiums in Ohio are likely to approach zero by 2025." Using Bloomberg data, the report shows that the price of electricity has fallen in states with Renewable Portfolio Standards similar to Ohio's. The report, titled "Renewable Energy: Myth vs. Market Reality," also faults other comparative studies for not factoring health costs into the price of conventional electricity. Check back for a link to the report when it becomes publically available.

EverPower Wind Holdings Inc. plans to add more wind turbines to its Buckeye Wind Project in Champaign County, Ohio, after acquiring more leasing rights from Invenergy Wind North America LLC, according to an article in the Springfield News-Sun. In a letter to the Ohio Power Siting Board, attorneys for an EverPower subsidiary said the company plans to submit an application for the Buckeye II Wind Farm, which would consist of 57 wind turbines spread across about 13,500 acres. A lawsuit involving the first phase of the Buckeye Wind Project is under review by the Supreme Court of Ohio.

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (the "Commission") has approved a settlement agreement between the Ohio electric distribution utilities owned by FirstEnergy Corp. and the Ohio Consumers' Counsel ("OCC") resolving allegations by OCC that FirstEnergy's interconnection and net metering procedures were too burdensome and expensive for residential customers utilizing wind turbines to generate electricity. Under the terms of the settlement, FirstEnergy must post specific information about its interconnection and net metering requirements on its web site and host a workshop for interested parties regarding its interconnection application process. The Commission's order approving the settlement is available here.

The (Findlay) Courier reports that Marathon Petroleum Corp. plans to develop a $4 million solar project that will help power the City of Findlay's sewage treatment plant. The project will aid the company's emerging energy technology research, which also focuses on wind and biofuels, according to the article. The project is expected to generate about 1 megawatt of electricity per year, which will be donated to the city. 

America is thinking too small on energy efficiency matters, and "crowding out" economically beneficial investments in energy efficiency by focusing on riskier and more expensive bids to develop new energy sources, according to a new report from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). Titled "The Long-Term Energy Efficiency Potential: What the Evidence Suggests," the new ACEEE report outlines three scenarios under which the United States could either continue on its current path, or cut energy consumption by the year 2050 almost 60 percent, add nearly two million net jobs, and save energy consumers as much as $400 billion per year. The full report and accompanying materials are available here.

From Sept. 30 to Oct. 5, some of the world's most respected minds in ecological science will meet at the Greater Columbus Convention Center to discuss methods for restoring the planet's ecosystems. Almost 600 participants from over 55 countries will participate in 70 symposia and 11 workshops at the fourth annual EcoSummit. Nobel, Pulitzer, Kyoto and Stockholm Water prize winners will be among the many speakers. For more, visit the summit's website here.

The (Cleveland) Plain Dealer reports that Cleveland-based Cliffs Natural Resources is exiting the alternative fuel business, selling its biomass production plant in Marquette, Mich. to RNFL Acquisition LLC. The idled plant made biomass fuel cubes from wood and switchgrass. RNFL expects the plant to produce roughly 300,000 tons a year of the combustible cubes. According to the article, RFNL is already beginning to line up customers, some of which could be Ohio utilities interested in biomass as an option to comply with the state's renewable portfolio standard. For more, read the full article here. 

A recent article in The New York Times spotlights two California companies that are planning to build solar storehouses that use solar thermal technology to provide electricity while the sun is down, thereby solving one of solar energy's main problems – the need for expensive gas-fired generators to operate as backup capacity. For more read the full story here.

As noted by The Washington Post's Wonkblog, renewable energy overtook nuclear power as an energy source in the United States for the first time in decades in 2011. The most recent figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) show that renewable energy provided 11.95 percent of domestic U.S. energy production through the first nine months of 2011, compared with just 10.62 percent from nuclear. But the story explains that "[t]he two things that most people associate with the term 'clean energy' — namely, wind and solar — are nowhere close to overtaking nuclear power," with the "vast bulk of 'renewable' power in the United States still com[ing] from large-scale hydropower (4.35 percent), biomass (3.15 percent) and biofuels (2.57 percent)." The story continues:

Going forward, however, that could well shift. The nuclear industry is more focused on replacing soon-to-retire plants than expanding outright. There aren’t likely to be too many more large-scale hydropower plants in the United States — the prime hydro sites have all been taken. And as for biomass and biofuel, critics have raised serious questions about whether either of these sources are as sustainable as alleged. On the other hand, solar and wind were by far the fastest-growing energy sources last year — solar electricity grew 46.5 percent and wind by 27.1 percent (though it’s unclear whether either source can maintain that hectic pace now that Congress has allowed a few key subsidies to expire.)

The article notes that the other "big story" in the EIA figures is natural gas's fast rise as an energy source and coal's decline. 

The Yellow Springs News reports that SolarVision is moving ahead with plans to develop a 2.5 megawatt solar project in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Last May, Yellow Springs finalized a contract with SolarVision in which the Westerville, Ohio-based company would finance, construct, own and maintain solar facilities on the village-owned Glass Farm land for 20 years, according to the article. Putting together financing for the project has taken SolarVision longer than expected, the article notes, but construction is now expected to start in six months.

National Public Radio's Morning Edition program ran a story this week examining how relatively low natural gas prices in the United States are impacting the solar energy market. With increased production due to the kind of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling now occuring in Southeast Ohio holding the line on the cost of electricity produced by natural gas, payback periods for some solar projects are on the rise, according to the story.

An article in The Columbus Dispatch highlights the Ohio Department of Development's new Energy Loan Fund, which aims to provide low-cost financing to manufacturers, small businesses and public entities for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. Additional details on the new program are available here.

The federal tax package signed into law by President Obama last week did not include extensions of two popular renewable energy incentives: the U.S. Department of Treasury's Section 1603 cash-grant program and production tax credit ("PTC"). Extension of the Section 1603 program, set to expire at the end of 2011, was and remains unlikely. But renewable energy supporters are optimistic that lawmakers will extend the PTC, which expires at the end of 2012. News of the tax package is available here and here. 

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio ("PUCO") is developing a plan to spread the cost of economic development incentives around to electricity ratepayers statewide, according to a recent Gongwer News Service article (subscription required). The proposal, which would offset the cost of reduced rates for companies that expand their job base, is being developed by PUCO Chairman Todd Snitchler and is aimed at helping Ohio compete with states that can offer energy-intensive customers very low electricity rates.

Chairman Snitchler told Gongwer that the proposal would expand the current “reasonable arrangement program,” which allows businesses to negotiate for reduced rates with utilities. Under that program, other customers within an electric company’s service territory typically pay an additional fee to offset the “delta revenue” resulting from the reduced rates for businesses that have special arrangements. The PUCO is considering whether to solicit additional public comments or to move forward with proposed rules, with a decision expected in the first quarter of 2012, according to the article.

An article in the Springfield News-Sun reports that residents of Champaign County were recently notified by letter that their lease agreements with Invenergy Wind North America LLC were being sold to EverPower Wind Holdings Inc. EverPower is "in the process of constructing more than 50 wind turbines in Champaign County as part of the Buckeye Wind Project," the article said. The project is expected to generate 150 to 200 temporary jobs, 8 to 10 full-time jobs and "as much as $20 million in taxes to the state, county and township governments and to local schools over the life of the project." It is currently on hold until the Ohio Supreme Court delivers a decision in a case brought by a group opposed to the location and noise of the turbines. For more, read the full story here.

Following up on a previous post, the Ohio Department of Development’s Office of Energy recently announced the launch of the Energy Loan Fund program to provide low-cost financing to energy efficiency and renewable energy projects. The program is targeting manufacturers, public entities and small businesses, and is a successor to a grant program funded through the state Advanced Energy Fund that expired at the end of 2010. Additional details about the program are available from Bricker & Eckler LLP.

With 315 projects, Ohio "leads the nation with more green school projects underway than any other state," according to a press release from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a private non-profit organization dedicated to the development of energy-efficient buildings. According to the USGBC website, the projects are certified Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which means that an independent third party verified that the projects use strategies "aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality." For more on this story, read the press release here. For more on LEED certification, visit the USGBC website here.

Within one to two months, all 152 turbines of the Blue Creek Wind Farm in Van Wert County will be running, according to an article in The Times Bulletin. Representatives from Iberdrola Renewables, the wind farm's developer, say that if conditions are right, additional turbines could be constructed in Van Wert County either as an addition to the Blue Creek Wind Farm or as part of a new wind farm. With the current market price of electricity low, extension of the federal production tax credit for wind projects will be critical to the success of these and other wind farms, the article said. Read the full story here.

Eisenhower Middle School in Oregon, Ohio, will receive more than 68 percent of its energy from two wind turbines that are set to be operational in January, Fox Toledo reports. Clay High School, also in Oregon, currently has its own wind turbine project underway, as well. For more, read the full story here.

An article in The Times-Reporter says that Columbia Gas of Ohio received approval from the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) to "continue its energy-efficiency programs for an additional five years." The expanded measures of the program are expected to save customers up to $300 million in gas costs, the article reports, with up to 274,000 customers eligible. In addition to home energy audits, energy-efficiency rebates and no-cost home weatherization for income-qualified customers, Columbia's energy-efficiency portfolio will now include online energy audit tools, energy usage comparison information and energy-efficiency education in schools. For more read the full story here.

Two representatives from Americans for Tax Reform, a conservative advocacy group, wrote an op/ed piece for Politico.com wherein they argue that states with renewable energy standards cause residents to pay more for power and sizeably reduce real disposable income. The two also argue that states with high unemployment like Ohio lose jobs because of renewable energy mandates. For more read the full op/ed piece here.

According to the TechColumbus web site, the Advanced Energy Hub, a division of the Ohio Department of Development, will host a free event highlighting "various clean, green and industry clustering activities in the central Ohio region" on Thursday, January 12, 2012, from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. at TechColumbus on Kinnear Road in Columbus. Registration is currently open for the morning session, keynote luncheon, and the afternoon session and mixer. For more details check out the TechColumbus event page here.

The Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance is looking to hire a Commercial Energy Finance Manager to "help develop and manage energy efficiency lending products" for the Energy Alliance and its partners in the Greater Cincinnati community. Click here for the full position announcement.
 

Citing an inability to secure an investment partner, as well as "the decisions of Congress to eliminate funding for the Department of Energy's loan-guarantee program applicable to offshore wind, and the failure to extend the federal investment and production tax credits for offshore wind," NGR Energy announced yesterday that it is "halting active development of offshore wind projects for the near term," according to an article in North American Windpower. For more, read the full story here.

The Ohio Department of Development announced yesterday the launch of the Energy Loan Fund, which provides "low-cost financing to manufacturers, small businesses, public entities, and nonprofit organizations for energy-saving projects." To qualify, projects must accomplish three goals: "realize a minimum of 15 percent reduction in energy usage, achieve economic benefits, and improve environmental quality." The program will utilize federal funds as well as more than $7 million from the state's Advanced Energy Fund. For more, read the full press release here.
 

A new study released by the American Wind Energy Association finds that extension of the federal renewable energy production tax credit (PTC) would help create and save 54,000 jobs in the U.S. wind energy industry in the next four years. If Congress allows the PTC to expire, the report concludes that jobs in the wind industry would be cut in half, meaning a loss of 37,000 U.S. jobs, and private investment in the industry would drop by nearly two thirds. News coverage of the AWEA study is available here, here and here.

The Hill reports that Democratic lawmakers in the U.S. House and Senate are pushing the leaders of both chambers to extend the U.S. Treasury's Section 1603 renewable energy cash-grant program, set to expire at the end of this year, and the production tax credit, set to expire at the end of 2012. According to the report, "[t]he next few weeks will provide a test of Capitol Hill’s appetite for continued federal green energy support following the high-profile collapse of the solar panel manufacturing company Solyndra." 

The (Toledo) Blade reports that two international energy companies intend to install a large solar energy field on former landfill sites in northern Toledo. OCI Solar Power and CME Energy plan to invest nearly $20 million on the project. According to Toledo Mayor Mike Bell, "It's a very positive use of the land and from the standpoint of renewable energy and creating great green initiatives." The solar field is projected to be finished by 2013 and is expected to generate enough electricity to power 7,000 homes.  

Toledo solar firms First Solar Inc., Xunlight Corp., and Willard & Kelsey LLC are still confident their operations will survive despite predictions from the chief executive of China’s Trina Solar Ltd. that two-thirds of solar-related companies will face mergers, acquisitions or bankruptcy by 2015, according to an article in The (Toledo) Blade.  The article highlights First Solar Inc., Xunlight Corp., Willard & Kelsey Group LLC and Isofoton North America, which is planning to open a solar plan in Napoleon next year.  According to the article, each of the companies "contends it makes a particular type of panel that is in demand and is competitively priced, so it will survive any industry consolidation."

A press release on U.S. Senator Tom Udall’s (D-N.M.) website indicates that a recent amendment to the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act closes loopholes that gave foreign solar manufacturers at an advantage over American companies. Now, in addition to being required to buy American-made goods, the Department of Defense will have to purchase power from companies that use American compliant panels. According to the Senator’s site, “The Buy American Solar Amendment will close this loophole and create a level playing field for U.S. solar manufacturers.” The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). For the full release, read here.

At a recent Marietta City School Board Meeting, members heard a presentation from Carbon Vision, a renewable energy analysis and project development firm, regarding a proposal to build a solar power system for the district. According to The Marietta Times, the company “would install solar arrays at schools at no cost to the district, in an arrangement that could save the district an estimated $20,000 savings in the first year.” In return, the company is asking the Board for a quick decision in order to take advantage of tax incentives. Read the full article here.

Environmental and low-income groups testified last week at a joint Ohio House and Senate committee hearing in support of the energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements enacted in 2008 as part of Ohio Senate Bill 221. The joint oversight hearing was the most recent held by the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee and Ohio Senate Energy and Public Utilities Committee regarding state electricity regulation. The Ohio Environmental Council, Natural Resources Defense Council and Ohio Partners for Affordable Energy argued that the energy efficiency and renewable energy requirements have cut consumers' bills, reduced pollution and increased jobs.

Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp. announced that its FirstEnergy Solutions subsidiary signed a long-term agreement to purchase the output from a 20-megawatt solar farm planned for Hagerstown, Md. When the Maryland Solar Farm is completed, the project will be the largest solar facility in Maryland and among the largest on the East Coast. Under the terms of the agreement, FirstEnergy Solutions will purchase the facility's output for 20 years.

Two Ohio companies, Cooper Farms and Haviland Plastic Products, have invested millions in on-site wind energy projects that are the largest of their kind in the state, according to developer One Energy LLC. Cooper Farms in Van Wert, Ohio is wrapping up a 3-megawatt (MW) project that will be online by the end of the year. When completed next year, the newly announced 4.5-MW project for Haviland Plastic Products in Haviland, Ohio will replace Cooper Farms as the largest net metered wind project in Ohio, according to One Energy.

Three more Ohio counties have declared themselves “Alternative Energy Zones” under a state law enacted last year that reshaped the tax regime for renewable and advanced energy projects. Henry, Seneca and Summit counties have joined Clinton, Hardin, Noble, Paulding, Putnam and Van Wert counties as the state's first Alternative Energy Zones. 

The AEZ designation, made possible through last session's Senate Bill 232, speeds the approval process for developers, reducing the uncertainty and cost of seeking county-by-county approval, and locks in revenue at a set rate for the counties where energy projects are located. Earlier this year, Governor John Kasich signed into law with the rest of the state budget a two-year extension of SB 232, which also significantly reduced the tax burden on qualified energy projects. Without the extension, SB 232 was scheduled to sunset at the end of the year.

Copies of the AEZ resolutions adopted by the counties are available at the following links: Clinton, Hardin, Henry, Noble, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, Summit and Van Wert.