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1. The Daily Sprout
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2. Biofuel Lobbying: Split Between First-Gen and Next-Gen
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3. Western America Proposed Cap-And-Trade
The Daily Sprout
Craig Rubens - Misc
Gas, Oil, Wind and Wave All Want Offshore Space: Wind companies have been trying for years to secure offshore locations but now with a new push to open up American shores for drilling, the federal government is trying to streamline the process - MarketWatch.
Arctic Oil Is There But Still Expensive: A report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey estimates that about 20 percent of the world’s recoverable oil is up in the Arctic. With ice melting it’s getting easier to get at but still nowhere as easy as pumping it from dry land - WSJ’s Environmental Capital.
Tri-Partisan Open Fuel Standard Introduced in Congress: Republicans, Democrats and an Independent have introduced a bill that would require half of new cars be flex-fuel vehicles by 2012, increasing to 80 percent of new cars by 2015 - Green Car Congress.
“GM and the New Plug-In Infrastructure”: While the media has been in a tizzy over GM’s partnership with 30 utilities to push plug-in cars, there are some serious issues about electrifying America’s auto fleet that need to be addressed - Joel Makower’s Blog.
Where America’s Green Energy Is in Maps: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory has mapped out various renewable energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal, etc. - and as a good publicly-funded institution put them online for you - Christian Science Monitor.
Biofuel Lobbying: Split Between First-Gen and Next-Gen
Katie Fehrenbacher - Energy
U.S. biofuel policy will determine the fate of a very diverse group of companies in that space, from the first generation, which produces fuel from corn and soy beans, to the next generation, which is working on fuel made from feedstocks like waste and algae. Both generations know that the right policy could mean the difference between success and failure, and so are spending millions on lobbying, albeit for very different — almost opposing — purposes.
Those funds are largely being spent in an effort to hold on to the biofuel subsidies that are already in place, but are facing increased skepticism and fading political good will. The Farm Bill will cut the subsidies for corn-based ethanol and double the subsidies for biofuels from alternative next-gen sources. Critics of corn ethanol have also called for an elimination of corn ethanol incentives in the Energy Bill.
On the other hand, companies that are building the next-generation biofuel industry, with feedstocks as diverse as municipal waste, algae, and non-food energy crops, are spending money to try to differentiate themselves from the corn-ethanol crew. But they don’t seem have the necessary funds quite yet. The next-gen biofuel industry spent $3.08 million on lobbying since the beginning of 2007, says the Center for Responsive Politics.
That’s less than half of what the traditional biofuel industry spent on lobbying. The next-gen industry is just too new and too diverse to be able to match the funds of the first-generation folks. Fuel producers of next-gen ethanol spent $2.4 million, while fuel producers for next-gen biodiesel spent $680,000. Though, as the next-gen companies raise more funds from investors and start to get some of their plants built, those lobbying figures will likely only go up.
To put all of this in perspective: The incumbent oil and gas industries spent almost $110 million on lobbying for the same period, according to the Center for Responsive Politics — roughly 10 times the amount that the combined biofuel industry.
Graph courtesy of the Center for Responsive Politics.
Western America Proposed Cap-And-Trade
Craig Rubens - Policy
The Western Climate Initiative, a consortium of seven states and four Canadian provinces, yesterday issued a draft of their proposed plan to institute a regional cap-and-trade system on carbon emissions. The group’s proposal would have states start monitoring emissions in 2010 and reporting them starting in 2011 in preparation for a cap on carbon emissions starting in 2012. This is part of the region’s goal to cut emissions 15 percent below 2005 levels by 2020.
In a cap-and-trade system, credits are exchanged on an open market, allowing for a certain amount of CO2 to be emitted. The WCI draft recommends including emissions from a broad swath of the economy, from electricity generation to forestry to transportation. Each year the market’s governing body would reduce the number of available credits, thus lowering CO2 emissions overall.
The proposal, however, is extremely vague, with the phrase “precise point to be determined” cropping up multiple times. Nor does it include some significant sources of emissions, like air travel. But there’s good news for biofuel startups: Biofuel and biomass emissions are exempt. The proposal, however, makes great allowances for changes in thresholds and the expansion of regulated emitters.
One of the most hotly contested issues when it comes to a cap-and-trade system, permit allocation, was not addressed in the WCI proposal. Among the questions that still need to be answered are: Will emission permits be issued for free to emitters based on historical emissions, potentially providing windfall profits and a free pass for the first year of regulations? Or will permits be auctioned off on the open market, a strategy that presidential candidate Obama has put forward as part of his cap-and-trade proposal?
This draft is being viewed as a possible template for a national cap-and-trade system in the U.S. and 14 non-initiative U.S., Mexican and Canandian states and provinces are officially tracking the initiative’s progress. There is concern that industry will try to obstruct its enforcement, possibly in the same way the auto industry has blocked California’s attempt to regulate car emissions. Final recommendations will be made in mid-September, when the group will also outline its 2009 road map.
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