A good old New Jersey environmental controversy

Oh what we would give for a good old-fashioned environmental controversy.

The kind that folks, pro and con, can really get worked up about.

One that generates dozens of op-eds, thousands of letters to the editor. One that drives industry lobbyists to fundraisers and causes enviros to descend on the Statehouse, with props and costumes, chasing legislators through the corridors and threatening to canvas in their home districts.

But what, really, is there to get worked up about these days?

Artificial turf is so 2008. So are the offshore LNG platforms.
The windmills vs. birds thing hasn't evolved enough to be interesting.
Ditto: the annually rumored rebirth of nuclear power.

Most of the wind has leaked out of the Highlands balloon and the Pinelands 'taking' issue is ancient history.

Drilling off the shore is still more Texas dream-figment than fact.

Sprawl was a bore even before the economy took out development.

The dearth of manufacturing is so severe that one can get teary-eyed with nostalgia for the days when editorials demanded tighter and tighter controls on emissions and hazardous byproducts.

What's an environmental news junkie to do?

Sure, there's the flap in New Jersey over licensed site professionals, and the electric transmission line proposal that's raising localized temperatures in Pennsylvania's Poconos and New Jersey's northwest. But neither issue has moved the needle much on the scale of public controversy.

We thought Pennsylvania and New York might rescue us with stories about the secret sauce that the well drillers were planning to ram through the subsurface to extract riches from the Marcellus Shale. But the economy has sidelined that one, too.

But despair not. Yesterday's (Newark) Star-Ledger reported on a new proposal that has some of earmarks of a real controversy. Maybe even a big one.

It's a $5 billion project called "PurGen," described by reporter Brian T. Murray as a "500 megawatt, coal-fueled facility using a 100-mile, underground pipeline to push as much as 10 million tons of CO2 annually -- emissions from the new plant and eventually neighboring industrial operations -- to a point 70 miles off the coast and about 2,200 yards beneath the Atlantic Ocean."

Now that, boys and girls, has a chance to raise some serious feathers!

First it's big--$5 billion. And it involves 'industry' and is 'coal burning' and includes 'gasification' and a 'pipeline' and 'CO2' and 'greenhouse gases,' not to mention the 'bay' and the 'ocean.'

Good grief, that's half the hot buttons in the Sierra Club's entire sewing box.

Perhaps best of all, the lawyer who will be trying to sell this thing is none other than former NJDEP Commissioner Brad Campbell who some environmental groups still blame for all kinds of things, even though he did kill off the bear hunt. Ingrates!

We hope the enviros take their time on this one. They need a good, long-running controversy as much as the rests of us.

With any luck, the issue will summer-over, get sucked into the governor's race and keep on trucking right into next fall when the Legislature will be back in session. Then the enviros can get Rutgers students to dress up like dead fish and hold a Halloween teach-in outside Pur-Gen's gates.

Pur-Gen. Pur-fect. I'm pumped. Are you?

Use the response box below--or click on the 'comments' line to tell us what you think.

Our most recent posts:
Where's NJ's Licensed Site Professional bill?
Sierra Club's Earth Day New Jersey Report Card

PSEG offers enviros a paid forum...they accept
An Earth Day Q&A with EPA's Lisa Jackson
Stimulus funds use for NJ Turnpike illegal?

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Where's NJ's Licensed Site Professional bill?

Over the strident objections of major environmental organizations, the New Jersey Legislature, back in mid March, overwhelmingly passed legislation allowing the DEP to attack the state's mountain of contaminated sites by licensing environmental engineers to oversee the cleanups.

Today, more than a month later, the bill's still sitting on Governor Jon Corzine's desk.

Wait a minute, you ask. Didn't the governor support the legislation from the get-go? Isn't he aware that the backlog of 20,000 sites is a major embarrassment for New Jersey? Doesn't he recognize that the chairmen of the environmental committees in the Senate and Assembly put their reputations on the line in sponsoring the spills and spent countless hours negotiating the details with a host of affected parties?

The answer is yes, yes and yes. Dumb guys don't get to run Goldman Sachs.

So, what's up, you ask.

What's up is that the governor is running for re-election. And his polling numbers are scary bad and the state's economy continues to slump and the enviros are labeling him as anti-environment.

So what, you ask. Corzine can't possibly think for a minute that they'd endorse Republican Chris Christie over him.

Don't be silly. Dick Cheney will join a gay rights march before the Sierra Club endorses a Republican for governor in New Jersey.

But remember this: former DEP Commissioner Chris Dagget also is running for governor as an independent. And the governor's campaign folks know that a vote for Dagget is more likely a vote subtracted from Corzine, not Christie.

So, what's likely to happen?

Well, the governor does have a few more days at least to sign the bill. He might just go ahead and do that. But he also could throw the enviros a bone.

What kind of bone?

He could conditionally veto the bill, demanding that the legislature amend it to make it more palatable to the Sierra Club, NJ Environmental Federation, NJ Environmental Lobby, et al.

Or?

Or he could sign it and simultaneously issue an executive order giving the enviros something they value highly.

Like what?

Well, let me turn the question around and ask it of you, dear reader.

What could the governor give up that might please the environmental community, or at least get them off his back until November? And should he do it?

Use the comment block below. If you don't see one, click on the tiny "comments" line.

In the meanwhile, we recommend that you check out our earlier posts on this topic (below). Pay special attention to the interesting comments from folks involved in the site remediation process, both in New Jersey and in Massachusetts where a licensed site professional program has been operating for years.

NJ Gov. gets Licensed Site Professional bill
Licensed Site Professional vote Monday in NJ
NJ Licensed Site Professional bills advance
NJ Licensed Site Professional bill's encore
Will New Jersey see Licensed Site Professionals?

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Sierra Club's Earth Day New Jersey Report Card

Yeah, we know. The last thing you need is another Earth Day story, especially two days late.

But this is different. It's the Sierra Club's annual Earth Day Report Card.

The club awards it annual cheers and jeers to New Jersey individuals and organizations that it has judged to have helped or hurt the environment in the past year.

Get ready to grin or groan. You'll find it here

Our most recent posts:
PSEG offers enviros a paid forum...they accept

An Earth Day Q&A with EPA's Lisa Jackson

Stimulus funds use for NJ Turnpike illegal?
Week's top environmental & political news
PSE&G files to block enviros opposing power line

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PSEG offers enviros a paid forum...they accept

PSEG, New Jersey's largest utility, has been buying op-ed space in the state's largest newspaper to burnish its brand and build public support for a number of its projects, including the 500-kv Susquehanna-Roseland electric transmission line.

That controversial venture, proposed to be built along a 46-mile corridor between the Delaware Water Gap in Warren County and the town of Roseland in Essex County, has drawn heavy fire from a number of local and state-wide environmental groups, including the Sierra Club.

The enviros have had to resort to media events, letters to the editor and email to advance their arguments against the project. PSEG has enjoyed the purchasing-power advantage of promoting the power line's virtues in its op-ed "Advertorials" in the (Newark) Star-Ledger.

[The Ledger, for you out-of-state folks, is read throughout most of New Jersey and by virtually everyone in the state's political establishment. Think of it as Trenton's Washington Post]

The latest and most interesting skirmish between the two sides occurred last week when PSEG filed to block the enviros (including the Sierra Club) from gaining standing as intervenors at the state Board of Public Utilities which can approve or veto the power line's construction. See: PSE&G files to block enviros opposing power line

That was a traditional, hard-ball Jersey move, the legal fist inside the velvet glove that PSEG prefers to show in public.

But, Quel suprise! Today we open the Star-Ledger only to find an advertorial by the Sierra Club's Jeff Tittel, paid for by PSEG!

This was PSEG's explanation for the olive-branch offering:

Beginning today, PSEG will occasionally offer our regular Thursday oped space to environmental groups. This piece, by Jeff Tittel, president of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, appears in honor of Earth Day.

How disorienting. No, not PSEG's offer. That's smart PR. We're talking about the Sierra Club's acceptance of the same.

What's up Jeff? Isn't big business the root of all evil? Aren't utilities polluters? Isn't PSEG attempting to import nasty coal-generated power into New Jersey via their new power line? Won't it ravage the countryside, despoil wetlands, and launch a new wave of sprawl?

Isn't it your job to oppose everything they do?

Then, why, pray tell, would you allow them to pay for your lunch at the state's highest-price media restaurant?

[What's your opinion on all this? Share your thoughts in the comment box below. If you don't see one, click on the tiny "comments" link.]

OUR MOST RECENT POSTS:
An Earth Day Q&A with EPA's Lisa Jackson
Stimulus funds use for NJ Turnpike illegal?

Week's top environmental & political news

Long Island's solar grants frying up; PA's coming

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An Earth Day Q&A with EPA's Lisa Jackson

To mark Earth Day, U. S. News and World Report today published an interview with EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson who believes that today, 39 years after the first celebration of the event, we are:

"at a watershed for a broader type of environmentalism, one that understands that climate and pollution regulation are important and can be accomplished by real investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency."

You can read the entire interview here.

Other Earth Day news:
Obama pushes renewable energy, climate change rules
Obama pushes ambitious climate agenda
One billion expected to celebrate Earth Day
Disney's 'Earth' opens on Earth Day, boasts world-class nature

Our most recent posts
Stimulus funds use for NJ Turnpike illegal?
Week's top environmental & political news: Apr 13-17
PSE&G files to block enviros opposing power line
Long Island's solar grants frying up; PA's coming
Lanard leaving Bluewater for rival wind developer
Old bike collecting dust? Recycle it!

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Stimulus funds use for NJ Turnpike illegal?

The Tri-State Transportation Campaign (TSTC) claims that using federal Build America Bonds — authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act — to pay for the expansion of the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway is a violation of federal law.

The Build America Bonds were authorized by the federal stimulus package, and offer government subsidies on interest rate costs.

In a letter sent to Governor Jon Corzine on Friday, the organization argued that such funding can only be used for projects that have received federal environmental approvals, something that neither New Jersey highway project has obtained.

On February 4, TSTC filed suit in state appellate court challenging the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s approvals of the NJ Turnpike Authority’s plans to widen the Garden State Parkway one lane in each direction from exits 30 to 80. The organization contends that there are other stimulus-fund-qualified “shovel-ready” projects that would provide more and better congestion relief while stimulating the economy.

“Funding highway expansion projects to stimulate the economy represents a lose-lose," says TSTC's Executive Director Kate Slevin. "Investing in mass transit and fixing our crumbling roads and bridges will produce more jobs, reduce traffic congestion, and have less impact on our natural resources.”

Slevin say that mass transit construction and maintaining roads and bridges generate 19% and 9% more jobs, respectively, than building new roads.

MOST RECENT POSTS:

Week's top environmental & political news in NJ, PA, NY and beyond: Apr 13-17 2009

PSE&G files to block enviros opposing power line

Long Island's solar grants frying up; PA's coming

Lanard leaving Bluewater for rival wind developer
Old bike collecting dust? Recycle it!

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Week's top environmental & political news in NJ, PA, NY and beyond: Apr 13-17 2009

Below are just a few of the environmental and political news stories for New Jersey, Pennsylvania and beyond that appeared in EnviroPolitics during the week of April 13-17, 2009.

New Jersey Politics

Another New Jersey polititian convicted Former State Sen. Joseph Coniglio was found guilty Friday on six counts of mail fraud and extortion on charges he funneled millions of dollars in state funding to Hackensack University Medical Center in exchange for a lucrative consulting job
Star-Ledger Bergen Record

Corzine's income down $2.75 million Like many New Jerseyans, Gov. Corzine has been battered by investment losses. That's according to income tax estimates that his office released showing an income of minus $2.7 million Star-Ledger

Report: Police exceed rules on immigration questions State, local and county police have abused a two-year-old directive that empowers them to question suspects in serious crimes about their immigration status, according to a study by Seton Hall Law School due out today Inquirer

Corzine's capital budget a record $3.6 billion A stretch of Admiral Wilson Boulevard that often spends rainy days underwater is due to receive a $13.9 million fix under a record $3.6 billion transportation capital plan unveiled by Gov. Corzine yesterday Inquirer Star-Ledger

Unions at center of race for N.J. governor Gov. Corzine has asked state workers to take a dozen furlough days and forgo a 3.5 percent raise to avoid 7,000 layoffs Inquirer
> Some see a brighter side to job furloughs Courier-Post

New Jersey Environment

High level of tritium found at nuke plant site Workers found an elevated level of radioactive tritium in water on the site of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant in Lacey on Wednesday, according to plant officials AP Press AC Press

$100M to clean toxic sites New Jersey will receive more than $100M in new federal funding for the cleanup of Superfund sites, including one in South Plainfield that an environmental activist called "one of the worst of the worst" in the country Star-Ledger
> Imperial Oil site to get $25M in cleanup funds AP Press

Coast Guard's response time questioned at NJ hearing The owner of a scallop trawler that sank 75 miles off the Jersey Shore last month - claiming the lives of his two sons, his brother, and three other crew members - questions the response time of the Coast Guard during the opening yesterday of the agency’s inquiry into the accident and rescue efforts Inquirer Star-Ledger

Residents near N-plants will continue to get iodide pills Just as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the relicensing of the nation's oldest continuously operating nuclear plant, the same agency announced plans to continue to provide pills to residents to protect them against radiation in the event of a nuclear accident AC Press Bridgeton News

Feds may give up on beach projects Like saltwater taffy and snack-pilfering seagulls, replenishing eroding beaches has been a long tradition at the Jersey Shore. This year, the beach-fill program, long criticized by environmentalists, might be in the fight of its life Inquirer

Pennsylvania Environment

Alliance Landfill taking case to streets Since Tuesday, several hundred residents in Taylor and Ransom Twp. have received door hangers from Alliance Sanitary Landfill outlining benefits the landfill provides under host-municipality pacts Times Tribune

Haz-mat team keeps chemical out of creek A hazardous materials team spent several hours Wednesday cleaning up from the ground what was initially considered a mysterious substance around the Little Lehigh Creek in Allentown, a fire official said Morning Call

Towns’ lawsuit over Chesapeake Bay cleanup plan clears hurdle A state court refuses to throw out a lawsuit brought by dozens of municipalities and local sewer authorities claiming the state's Chesapeake Bay watershed cleanup plan is illegal AP

State solar-rebate funding approved Pennsylvania's long-stalled solar-rebate program for homeowners and small businesses will soon have funding - an infusion of cash that could result in the creation of scores of "green" jobs Inquirer

Carbon joins opposition to DEP’s gas-oil decision County last week formally expressed opposition to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s move to eliminate conservation districts from the permitting process for natural gas and oil drilling Hazleton Standard Speaker

Pennsylvania Politics

Governor's race heats up A lawsuit the state has filed against a New Jersey pharmaceutical company is causing things to heat up in the Republican contest for governor in 2010 Post-Gazette

PAC with ties to Rendell is fined $15,750 A political committee with ties to Gov. Rendell has agreed to pay $15,750 in fines to the Philadelphia Board of Ethics to settle a nearly month-old lawsuit Inquirer

Toomey announces GOP senate bid Conservative Pat Toomey, a former Lehigh Valley congressman, this morning announced he is running for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in the 2010 election in a videotaped message on his new campaign website, saying the nation is at a "crossroads" between a greatly expanding federal government and more economic freedom Inquirer

Rendell: $200 in property tax help for Pa. homeowners Pennsylvania homeowners outside of Philadelphia will for the second year receive at least $200 in property-tax reductions from slot-machine gambling revenue Inquirer

Despite recession, plans for legislators' convention proceed PA is moving ahead with plans to host a national convention for legislators this summer in Philadelphia despite a recession that has states pinching pennies, especially travel expenses Inquirer

Elsewhere

$1.8B in stimulus funding already spent in NY Almost all of it has been used for Medicaid costs Times Union

Murphy gains as judge narrows challenges Times Union


Pension ‘piggy bank’ net expands Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday exposed more ugly strands in an alleged corruption web involving misuse of hundreds of millions of dollars in state retirement fund dollars to enrich friends, associates and relatives of former comptroller Alan Hevesi Times Union

Timothy Dolan takes helm as NY's Catholic leader Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan urged Americans to swap fear for faith during a prayer service that began his formal installation as New York's Roman Catholic leader AP

Will melting ice mean more drilling?






Andrew Trites photo

Melting ice in the Arctic may not be good for species like the walrus which are being forced onto small pieces of remnant ice, but it does mean those icy waters are much more accessible and cost-effective places to drill for oil and gas National Public Radio

Feds oppose gas terminal in Long Island Sound Federal officials yesterday may have sunk the Broadwater, upholding New York state's objections to the controversial proposal to pump liquid natural gas from a massive terminal floating in Long Island Sound NY Journal News

Long Islanders rush to switch to solar power Hefty new federal tax credits and ambitions for cheaper, cleaner energy have lured record numbers of Long Islanders to install solar energy systems this year, raising concerns about LIPA's ability to keep up with the demand Newsday


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PSE&G files to block enviros opposing power line

PSE&G yesterday tried a blocking move in its ongoing political and legal chess game with environmentalists and others opposed to the utility's plans for a new high-power line.

In papers filed with the state Board of Public Utilities, which is considering approvals for the $750 million project, the utility said it would not oppose the efforts by 11 municipalities, school boards, corporations and a day camp to actively intervene in the process.

But it contends that the 300-member Stop the Lines, Fredon PALS and four environmental groups -- Environment New Jersey, the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club and the New Jersey Environmental Federation-- should not be granted intervener status.

Interveners in BPU cases are allowed to request discovery documents, cross-examine witnesses and present their own expert testimony.

The utility also is asking the BPU to reject a request that it pay up to $200,000 for the cost of expert witnesses hired by opponent groups.

The utility is proposing to the erect the 500-kv Susquehanna-Roseland electric transmission line along a 46-mile corridor between the Delaware Water Gap in Warren County and the town of Roseland in Essex County.

While we're on the topic of transmission lines, check out this interesting story from today's Washington Post, Renewable Energy's Environmental Paradox.

MORE:
PSE&G seeks limits to transmission-line opposition
NJ's Great Power Line Debate: Round 2
Proposed NJ electric power line prompts PR clash

Have an opinion on the issue that you'd like to share? Use the opinion box below. If the box isn't visible, click on the tiny 'comments' line it should spring to life.

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Long Island's solar grants frying up; PA's coming

Less than a third of the way into 2009, Long Island residents have already snapped up more than 50 percent of Long Island Power Authority's generous $12.5 million in rebates for customers installing solar energy systems. A similar program in Pennsylvania, launched today, will start taking applications in two weeks.

Newsweek attributes the LIPA program's popularity this year to "hefty new federal tax credits and ambitions for cheaper, cleaner energy."

Whatever is fueling the rush to solar, it's raising concerns that the LIPA will reduce or suspend the program if the budget runs out. But the utility said last week that it is seeking additional funding sources and will adjust the program to keep it flush, if needed.

None of this will come as a surprise to solar advocates in New Jersey who saw their state rocket up the charts to Number Two nationally in solar installations (only behind California but ahead of traditional sun states like Arizona and Florida) after the state Board of Public Utilities (BPU) in 2001 rolled out an enticing program of grants to homeowners, businesses and institutions.

Those who got in early saw rebates that cut their installation costs from 30 to 60 percent.

The program proved so successful that it ran out of money about the same time that the state budget started to tank (a dismal process continuing today).

Seeking a replacement program, the BPU subsequently developed a system based on trading renewable energy credits but experts say it's still too early to tell how successful it will be.

The state's largest utility, PSEG also has chipped in with a solar loan program available to its customers.

In Pennsylvania, just today, the Commonwealth Financing Authority voted to borrow $30 million to get its Sunshine Program under way. Subsequent financing should bring that program's total to $100 million, reports to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Enacted in July, as part of Gov. Rendell's $650 million Alternative Energy Funding Act, the program will provide rebates to homeowners and small businesses to partially cover the cost of installing a solar-power system. Pennsylvania' DEP, which will be running this program, said applications should be available within two weeks

With the Obama administration promoting solar and wind and other 'renewables' as the way to to reduce both greenhouse gases and dependence on foreign oil suppliers, public interest is only likely to grow, and programs like LIPA's, PSEG's, New Jersey's and Pennsylvania's may be oversubscribed in record time.

The takeaway?

Remember George W. Bush's lesson on global warming and alternative energy: He who hesitates lost.

MORE:
NJBPU seeks comment on solar credits
Whistling past the...solar farm?
Renewable energy looking for a jolt in New Jersey
New Jersey Utility Plans Major Solar Project
Alternative energy flickers in NJ & PA - Part I

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Lanard leaving Bluewater for rival wind developer

One of the most recognizable faces among regional wind energy company executives, Jim Lanard, is leaving Bluewater Wind next week to join rival Deepwater Wind.

Today's Wilmington News Journal reports that the move will be a promotion for Lanard "as he will serve as one of three managing partners who report only to the company's board of directors."

Like Bluewater Wind, Deepwater Wind is located in Hoboken, NJ.

Deepwater is participating with New Jersey's largest energy company, PSEG, in developing a 350mw wind farm off the New Jersey coast. That joint venture, Garden State Offshore Energy, is one of three wind-energy developers selected by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to receive state grants to explore such offshore projects.

Lanard, who was Bluewater Wind's head of strategic planning, functioned as the company's media spokesperson during its protracted but ultimately successful effort to gain Delaware's approval for a wind farm off the coast of Rehoboth Beach.

During the process, Lanard helped develop enough grassroots political support for the project among environmental groups, municipal leaders and the media to eventually convince an extremely reluctant Delmarva Power to enter into an agreement to purchase energy from the at-sea facility.

Lanard developed his political skills in the late 1980s as the lobbyist for PIRG (Public Interest Research Group), then a Ralph Nader-influenced and Rutgers University-based environmental activist organization. Among his most notable accomplishments was enactment of the state' s Community Right to Know Act, legislation which was bitterly opposed by the business community.

Lanard went on to work for a New Jersey congressman, served as director of government relations and environmental programs for the Disney's America project, and was executive director of the
New Jersey Environmental Lobby and the Clean Air Council in Philadelphia. He has extensive political relationships in New Jersey and Washington and has close ties to former Governor Jim Florio.

Interested in commenting? Use the block below. If it doesn't appear, click on the tiny comments" link below. You may sign your comments or respond anonymously.

MORE ON WIND ENERGY:
Deepwater poaches exec from rival firm -Providence Business News
NJ offshore wind energy's new gust of intrigue
Deepwater to tackle N.J. wind project - Providence Business News
NorthJersey.com: Partnership OK'd for offshore wind farm
BPU Selects Developer of NJ Offshore Wind Project
Huge Offshore Wind Farm Wins Approval - City Room - Metro - New York Times Blog
Wind-Power Politics - NYTimes.com

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Old bike collecting dust? Recycle it!

A great organization called Pedals for Progress tell us that:

"Every year, affluent Americans buy 22 million new bicycles and discard millions of old ones, abandoning many more unused in basements, sheds, and garages. Most of these end up in our already overburdened landfills. Meanwhile, poor people overseas need cheap, non-polluting transportation to get to jobs, markets, customers, and schools. Pedals for Progress has received, processed and donated over 115,000 bicycles, 1,000 used sewing machines and $10.8 million in new spare parts to partner charities in 32 developing world countries"

The organization will take your artifact off your hands and ship it overseas. It costs them about $35 per bike to do so they insist on at least $10 from each donor. Don't be a cheapskate. Give them more.

Here's a Spring/Summer schedule of community collection days in various towns in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York....and a film clip about the organization.

RGGI focus of NJ Regional Energy Summit

New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine will be the keynote speaker when government and energy industry leaders gather at Rutgers University on April 15 for the New Jersey Regional Energy Summit.

They'll be focusing on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and the use of energy-efficiency measures to help meet RGGI’s emissions targets.

This (by-invitation-only) event is the second in a series of four Regional Energy Summits leading to the Council's National Energy Summit in Washington on September 23-24, 2009.

Additional participants will include Ralph Izzo, President and CEO of PSEG; Richard L. McCormick, President of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey; Dominic Pileggi, President and CEO of Thomas & Betts Corporation; Shirley Ann Jackson, Vice Chair of the Council on Competitiveness and President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Deborah L. Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness.
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Will we follow Germany on renewable energy?

"Germany's Reichstag in Berlin is set to become the first parliamentary building in the world to be powered 100 percent by renewable energy. Soon the entire country will follow suit. Germany is accelerating its efforts to become the world's first industrial power to use 100 percent renewable energy -- and given current momentum, it could reach that green goal by 2050."

That's the lead to an interesting piece from the April 3 issue of Renewable Energy World (Germany: The World's First Major Renewable Energy Economy) in which correspondent Jane Burgermeister reports that:

"In 2008, the percentage of renewables in Germany's primary energy consumption was 7.3, but that figure is predicted to increase to 33 percent by 2020 as the country thunders on ahead of other European countries in renewable energy development."

President Obama is laboring to push America down a similar road. Will he succeed?

It depends, or course, on numerous factors, not the least of which is whether he can get buy-in from the electorate, the Congress, and powerful special interests.

Some of the nation's largest electric utility companies in recent months (including New Jersey's PSEG) have been calling for a national carbon tax.

The levy would not only serve to discourage fossil fuel use and reduce greenhouse emissions, but also could underwrite some of the enormous costs of developing a renewable energy infrastructure (wind, solar, wave, hydro and geothermal power facilities) and the smart grid to deliver that energy far and wide.

A major national player that's apparently decided no to participate (at least not for the foreseeable future) is Big Oil.

In a terrific story today, (Oil giants loath to follow Obama’s green lead), the New York Times reports that:

" Even as Washington goes into a frenzy over energy, many of the oil companies are staying on the sidelines, balking at investing in new technologies favored by the president, or even straying from commitments they had already made."

Is Germany on the right track? Are the oil companies wrong not to commit their shareholders' resources?

Let us know what you think in the comment block below. If you don't see one, click on the tiny "comments" line and it will appear.

Atlantic City DOE meeting on off-shore energy

Among dozens of other important environmental and political news stories, today's edition of EnviroPolitics, will carry extensive coverage of yesterday's public hearing in Atlantic City on the nation's future offshore energy options.

The meeting, conducted by Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, drew a large crowd, including governors, congressmen, oil industry representatives and alternative-energy proponents.

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Earlier related posts:
NJ offshore wind energy's new gust of intrigue

Interior Secretary to discuss NJ's offshore energy

Stimulus plan energy funding for NJ, NY, PA, DE

The author of the guest article below is Lawrence Cohen, a director at Gibbons P.C., a 220-lawyer business and litigation firm with offices in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Mr. Cohen's varied national practice includes advising companies in the alternative energy/sustainable development sector that focus on R&D, manufacturing, installation, or investment.
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Recovery Act Energy Funding - Information Sources and Selected State Developments

Announcements regarding the allocation of federal money and loans for “clean technology” under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the “Recovery Act”) have been released at a feverish pace since the Recovery Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama. In addition, state governments are issuing further pronouncements and guidance on potential alternative energy/sustainable development programs, whether derived from the Recovery Act or stemming from preexisting state budgetary allocations.

The range of potential recipients of such government energy-program assistance who need to explore where and how to secure funding, is very broad. These parties include not only “end users” (producers and installers of alternative energy technology, contractors and designers of residential and commercial building energy efficiency technology and weatherization upgrades, recycling companies, etc.), but researchers in basic alternative energy science.[1]

Thanks to the Internet, the dissemination of a large volume of government press releases, policy guidelines, and other data sources has been rapid and widespread. However, tracking these developments can also be overwhelming to parties that seek to learn how to benefit from our national effort to encourage business expansion and job creation through clean technology.

The effort involved in navigating the on-line information relating to government grants, applications and funding programs can be daunting and require a significant commitment or time and expertise.

This article points out certain general sources of information and updates some of the most recent state programs administering the Recovery Act funds in the energy sector. Because Gibbons P.C.’s offices are located in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware, we have focused on these four, contiguous states.

Click here to read entire article
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Wild turkey in Jersey City... the REAL one

Joe Shine/Jersey Journal

Most days in Jersey City, NJ, the only Wild Turkey you’ll see is the one pictured on bottles in many of the city’s numerous watering holes.

Yesterday, the real deal appeared and created quite a stir.

Read about it here

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NJ offshore wind energy's new gust of intrigue

There's an intriguing new development likely to intrude into the discussion today when Department of Interior Secretary Ken Salazar opens an all-day session in Atlantic City on the nation's offshore energy prospects (Interior Secretary to discuss NJ's offshore energy)

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Saturday that an unexpected turf battle has sprung up in the coastal waters off New Jersey where three wind energy companies thought they had sewed up development rights.

Reporter Sandy Bauers explains:

"Last fall, the BPU selected three wind developers - Bluewater Wind, Garden State offshore Energy (a joint venture of Deepwater Wind and PSEG), and Fishermen's Energy, a cooperative of commercial fishermen looking at new ways to harvest from the sea.

"About the same time, the governor upped the ante for the technology, setting a goal in his energy master plan of 1,000 megawatts of wind - about the amount the three proposals would generate - by 2012 and triple that by 2020. The only place to meet that, all agree, is offshore.

"The main obstacle at that point was that the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS), which has the authority to regulate offshore wind, did not have a system in place to issue permits. It was being worked on.

"So the developers waited.

"Meanwhile, Burton Hamner of Seattle, president of Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co.,  zigged where others had zagged.

"He filed seven proposals for offshore wave farms with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which under different legislation was given authority over "hydrokinetic" projects. As in tides, currents - and waves.

"In New Jersey, what got everyone's attention and provoked the strong reaction was that the area Hamner picked engulfed the area proposed for two of the wind farms and was near to that proposed for the third.

"Odder still, most scientists have dismissed the viability of Jersey wave energy, which typically uses buoys and turbines to extract energy from the up and down motion of the waves."

So what's Hamner up to? 

Is he really interested in developing his own alternative energy projects off the Jersey shore?

Or is he just a smart businessman who recognized an opportunity to stake a claim to valuable territory hoping the wind developers, under pressure to get projects up and working, would be willing to cut him into their deals or buy him out?

Or is something even more Machiavellian at work?  

Could Grays Harbor Ocean Energy Co be in cahoots with Big Oil, seeking to stall wind energy development while petroleum lobbyists press Congress and the Obama Administration for approval to drill in national waters off the east coast?  

There's nothing in Hamner's resume to suggest the latter. If his company's website bio can be believed, he's more inclined to stroll down the leafy green side of the energy street.  

A former environmental planner for the Washington Department of Ecology, Hamner produces the website, Cleaner Production, which provides information on developing green and sustainable business internationally.  He serves as chair of the Renewable Energy Committee of the Marine Technology Society and was appointed in early 2008 as an international advisor to the New Zealand Marine Energy Deployment Fund.

It appears that we'll just have to wait and watch as this story plays out.  Starting today in Atlantic City.

It should be interesting.

 

MORE:

Wind turbines could more than meet U.S. electricity needs
US Interior Dept to release offshore energy data
Offshore Wind: Plenty of Potential, Even More Hurdles
Atlantic City ground zero on Monday for offshore energy, wind debate

U.S. declare truces on offshore energy

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Interior Secretary to discuss NJ's offshore energy

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar is coming to Atlantic City Monday to discuss the future of offshore energy. He says he wants to know what you think, too.

It will be the Obama Administration official's first stop on a tour of public meetings to be followed by sessions in New Orleans, Anchorage and San Francisco.

Salazar will present information from a U.S. Geological Survey-Minerals Management Service Report and will solicit public comment.

At a recent meeting, Salazar said the report on Outer Continental Shelf energy resources found huge information gaps about the location and extent of offshore oil and gas resources.

“Along the Atlantic Coast, for example, the seismic data we have is twenty-five years old,” he said. “How should we gather the information we currently lack about our offshore oil and gas resources? How do we manage the costs of gathering seismic data? Are there areas on the OCS that should be of priority for information collection?”

Can you guess from those questions how the Obama Administration hopes to frame the "discussion" that proceeds from the meeting in Atlantic City and other cities?

I'm not sure but, if I were an executive at ExxonMobil, I think I'd be a bit concerned.

No doubt some will argue on Monday that we should be moving quickly to exploit offshore concentrations of oil and natural gas to lessen dependence on foreign suppliers.

Others will contend that the nation needs to shift its investment focus to the development of offshore wind farms for a sustainable supply of electric power to serve coastal areas which contain the largest population centers.

The latter is the preference of most (but not all) environmental organizations --and, of course, the wind-power industry.

New Jersey's major environmental lobbies--Environment New Jersey, the Sierra Club, and New Jersey Environmental Federation---joined today with two of the firms hoping to develop wind power projects off the Jersey coast --Blue Water Wind and Fishermen's Energy--in a media release urging the public to attend the day-long hearing (9 a.m to 8 p.m.) at Atlantic City Convention Center.

“President Obama’s offshore energy decisions will be with us for decades to come,” said Matt Elliott of Environment New Jersey. “We urge New Jersey residents to attend this hearing to speak out against dirty, dangerous offshore oil drilling, and in favor of clean, renewable energy such as offshore wind, wave, and tidal power.”

No doubt where they're coming from.

We haven't seen a press release yet from the New Jersey Petroleum Council (API) but I don't think the folks there will have much time to play the casino slots on Monday.

Too much at stake here for both sides. Should be interesting.

What's your take? Use the comment block below. If it doesn't appear, click on the tiny 'comments' link.

MORE:
If you plan to attend and speak, click here for guidance
Prefer to submit written testimony? Look here
You also can view the hearing via webcast
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New Jersey DEP to release e-waste recycling rules

[This post has been updated to correct the first date in the timeline at the bottom. Thank you, Jason Springer of BlueJersey, for bringing it to our attention it. ]


A significant milestone in New Jersey's drive to require the recycling of worn out televisions, computers and computer monitors is expected to be reached in May when the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) rolls out proposed regulations for the program.

New Jersey is one of more than a dozen states that now requires manufacturers of televisions and computers to provide for the recycling of these products when they are no longer useful and might otherwise end up in landfills or waste incinerators (electronic waste).

The state's Electronic Waste Recycling Act (Chapter 130, 2008) requires every manufacturer of covered electronic products to submit plans to the DEP detailing how they plan to recycle their share of the devices.

The law gives manufacturers latitude in how they will reach their targets. Each manufacturer can establish its own collection centers and processing facilities (something no one company is likely to do because of cost) or join with other manufacturers in a combined recycling program.

Panasonic, Toshiba and Sharp is pursuing the latter option in several other states under an LLC named MRM (Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company) which has picked up 21 additional manufacturers since it launched in October of 2008.

Manufacturers also could rely on established municipal and county recycling programs to collect the material, utilize existing commercial recycling companies in the state, or partner with nonprofits like Goodwill, which has established e-recycling operations in Texas and New Jersey.

DEP's Assistant Commissioner Nancy Wittenberg and Recycling Bureau Chief Guy Watson invited manufacturers, commercial recyclers and county recycling officials to an informal meeting on Monday at DEP headquarters in Trenton. During the session, they provided a few broad hints as to what the regulations will contain, reviewed compliance deadlines for the program's first year and took the pulse of the regulated community.

Representatives of several county recycling programs expressed concerns that the manufacturers might shut down their programs once they have recycled tonnages equivalent to their market shares. At that point, they say, public programs would end up shouldering the burden and the cost of electronic recycling.

When pressed for a response as to how they might utilize existing public recycling programs in New Jersey, the manufacturer reps played their cards close to the vest. A representative from Sharp said that his company has partnered with Goodwill and other community and retailer groups in other states that require e-recycling.

MRM President David Thompson said "It depends on what services the collectors are offering and whether we can establish a business relationship with them." He added: "There are very few companies that can properly handle CRTs" (cathode ray tubes).

Watson noted that the DEP would require manufacturer plans to explain how the material would be handled at every stage of the recycling chain to assure that material does not flow to undeveloped countries where lead and other dangerous materials in the products could cause environmental and health problems without adequate safety and processing requirements.

He also warned that no manufacturer would be permitted to sell their TVs or computers in New Jersey after Oct 1, 2010 if the plans they submit are not "administratively complete." He said that every plan would be required to offer at least one convenient collection point per county.

The Department provided the following:

Timeline for the e-recycling program's first year

January 1, 2010
- TV manufacturers must register with DEP and pay an annual $5,000 fee

January 1, 2010
- Manufacturers and retailers may no longer sell covered electronic devices (TVs, computers and computer monitors) unless the device is labeled with the manufacturer's brand and the label is permanently affixed and readily visible.

February 1, 2010
- Computer and computer monitor manufacturers must register with the DEP and pay a $5,000 annual fee.

April 2, 2010
- DEP provides return share data, in weight, to manufacturers.

June 1, 2010
- Registered TV manufacturers must submit plans based on market share
- Registered computer and computer-monitor manufacturers must submit plans based on
return share

January 1, 2011
- Collection and recycling programs begin.
- Disposal ban takes effect on all covered electronic devices
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