Global energy consumption continues to increase each year and, with this increase, the demand for safe, clean, and unlimited energy is on the rise. The Federal and State governments promote clean energy through a variety of financially-beneficial incentives. With the understanding that renewable energy laws and regulations are constantly changing, The Chanler Group is committed to investing in its understanding and practice of this area of law. Our understanding allows us to guide homeowners, businesses, and/or developers on the various ways to structure these projects in order to take advantage of the many benefits. Read more about Renewable Energy
Ohio Governor John Kasich (R) signed a bill on Friday that moved the deadline for new renewable energy requirements, reported the Washington Post late last week. In 2008, former Democratic Governor Ted Strickland signed legislation requiring the state to acquire 12.5 percent of its energy portfolio from renewables and to reduce energy consumption by 22 percent by 2025. The new law puts a two-year hold on these renewable targets.
The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, energy utility First... full text
In late April the Environmental Protection Agency released the latest Green Power Partner Rankings, which list the top 100 renewable energy users within the EPA program. Organizations can meet EPA Partnership requirements by using any combination of on-site generation, renewable energy certificates, or utility green power products.
According to the list, Intel leads renewable energy consumption with more than 3 million megawatt hours of green energy a year, more than double that of... full text
Earlier this month the Department of Energy announced the selection of three offshore wind projects to receive up to $47 million each over the next four years. In December 2012, the DOE announced awards for seven offshore wind demonstration projects. Of the seven original projects, these three have been selected to receive additional funding, with the goal of deploying offshore wind installations in U.S. waters by 2017.
Fishermen’s Energy will install five 5-megawatt... full text
Denmark is leading Europe’s push toward renewable energy with its ambitious new energy goals, reported German broadcaster Deutsche Welles earlier this month. By 2020, Denmark plans to get 70 percent of its energy from renewable sources and to eliminate coal, oil, and gas entirely by 2050. The country currently uses renewable energy sources for about 25 percent of its total energy consumption.
Although Denmark has historically encountered local resistance to wind power plants,... full text
In a press release issued in early April, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) unveiled a draft loan guarantee solicitation that allots up to $4 billion in loan aid for renewable energy companies.
Currently, the solicitation will offer loan guarantees for innovative projects that limit or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, with an emphasis on advanced electric grid technology and storage, biofuels for conventional vehicles, energy from waste products, enhancing existing facilities, and... full text
The U.S. Navy developed a new technology that can turn seawater into fuel, announced International Business Times earlier this month. The breakthrough comes after decades of experiments and work by scientists.
Although in the past scientists have distilled carbon dioxide and hydrogen gas separately from seawater, this new technology extracts both gasses from the seawater simultaneously. The gasses are then turned into fuel through a gas-to-liquids process that uses catalytic... full text
Environmentalists are disappointed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s new energy plan, which was approved by his cabinet on April 11, reported Bloomberg. The plan identifies coal as an important long-term electricity source and fails to establish specific targets for cleaner energy production generated by wind, solar, and geothermal, thus undermining hopes among environmentalists that the prime minister would use the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident to transition the nation to renewables... full text
The California Public Utilities commissioners voted unanimously to approve a net metering policy so that consumers with existing rooftop solar arrays can continue selling electricity to the grid at current rates for 20 years, reported Clean Technica late last month. The CPU’s decision applies to all customers of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, San Diego Gas & Electric Company, and Southern California Edison Company.
Under current net metering policies, solar homeowners and... full text
The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities commissioners voted unanimously to reject a 25 megawatt offshore wind project, reported RE News in late March. The project, which has been pending before the agency for three years, would have been based about three miles off the coast of Atlantic City, and was proposed by wind energy developer Fisherman’s Energy.
The rejection jeopardizes New Jersey’s chances of meeting the targets set in its Energy Master Plan. The Master Plan... full text
The Bay Area successfully launched a food recycling program that turns leftover plant matter into renewable energy, reported the Marin Independent Journal earlier this week. The Marin program, led by the Marin Sanitary Service and Central Marin Sanitation Agency, was in development for six years before its launch this week.
Each day, restaurant workers place food waste in special carts that are picked up by Marin Sanitary Service drivers. The scraps are delivered to the Marin... full text
