Author Archives Laura Arnold

The Indiana Renewable Energy Association will highlight two "green" Nappanee-based businesses for installing solar systems and taking additional energy conservation steps. An open house will be held this weekend for auto dealership McCormick Motors and fur buying and trading company UNL Furs.

June 9, 2009

Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA) will host a public open house Saturday, June 13 for two "green" Nappanee businesses, highlighting the installed solar systems and additional energy conservation steps taken by the businesses. State Representative Wes Culver will speak at 12:00 noon at McCormick Motors, followed by presentations on renewable energy, and lunch will be served. McCormick Motors, a Nappanee auto dealership, will be open from 11:30 am - 2:30 pm. UNL Furs, a fur buying and trading business also of Nappanee; will be open for tours from 10:00 am - 2:00 pm.

“We are pleased to have a prominent state legislator and businessman such as Wes Culver attending our open house,” said Laura Ann Arnold, president of InREA. “He’s an active advocate for renewable energy; he introduced a bill to provide a tax credit for those who invest in a residential renewable energy system, and he supports action to remove the cap that individuals can sell back to utilities on electricity produced by their systems.”

McCormick Motors auto dealership features a solar grid-tied system, connected to the local utility company, installed in February 2009 by Home and Mobile Energy of Middlebury. The installation was partially funded with a grant winning from the Indiana Office of Energy Development Alternative Power and Energy Program. McCormick's has taken many other energy conservation steps including adding insulation, high-efficiency lighting and programmable equipment that is turned on by demand only. McCormick Motors is located at 1255 W. Market Street in Nappanee.

UNL Furs’ renewable energy system, installed in September 2008 by Home and Mobile Energy, includes both solar and wind power applications. These off-grid solar and wind systems provide power for this fur buying and trading business. UNL Furs is owned by Ura Hochstetler and is located at 10558 North, 900 West, also in Nappanee.

The featured presentations on renewable energy will take place at McCormick Motors from 1:00 pm.-2:30 pm. Gordon Moore, owner of McCormick Motors, will discuss his research and implementation of renewable energy and conservation over the past decade. The auto dealership’s renewable energy project was designed in collaboration with an economics class at Goshen College, and serves as an ongoing educational sight for Goshen College.

Following Moore’s presentation, Arnold will talk about InREA’s mission and how to become involved in the promotion of renewable energy.

Leon Bontrager of Home and Mobile Energy and Eric Cotton of ECI Wind and Solar will give a presentation on net metering, explaining the billing arrangement between a utility company and a customer with a grid-tied renewable energy system. The presentation will include discussions on what a customer should look for in an agreement with the utility company, how Indiana compares with other states, how NEC codes affect installations and the difference in regulations between public utilities, co-ops and municipalities.

InREA was formed in 2008 by individuals and businesses supporting renewable energy development in the State of Indiana. The mission of InREA is to promote the use of renewable energy technologies, environmental sustainability and economic development in the State of Indiana. More information is available online at http://www.indianarenew.org/.

Source: Home and Mobile Energy

Senate panel's RES markup previews floor showdown
by Katherine Ling, E&E reporter, Greenwire.com

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee defeated efforts today to make significant changes to a proposed renewable electricity standard (RES) in a sweeping energy bill.

The panel expelled bids to remove caps on energy efficiency that would count toward the standard, exclude all nuclear power from the baseline and raise the standards.

Chairman Jeff Bingaman's RES provision would require utilities to use renewable generation for at least 15 percent of their electricity by 2021 and allow them to substitute energy-efficiency measures for slightly more than a quarter of the target.

The committee did approve several amendments, including two from Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and ranking member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) that would exclude electricity from new nuclear reactors and expansions of existing reactors capacity from the baseline of a utility's electricity sales.

Other approved amendments would exclude electricity from coal-fired power plants equipped with carbon capture and sequestration technology from the RES mandate and also make exemptions for qualified hydropower, biogas, waste to energy and the definition of biomass.

The panel also accepted a proposal by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) that would give triple credits for carbon-emission reductions that use algae and an amendment by Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) to create a low-interest loan program to finance renewable-energy projects.

But other efforts to alter the RES provision failed to crack a 12-vote coalition built by Bingaman.

Several efforts to include all nuclear to the baseline was rejected in 11-12 votes -- which included Brownback voting against and Democrats Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Evan Bayh of Indiana voting for.

Bingaman opposed all those amendments, calling them "the worst of all possible outcomes."

"Including nuclear power as a resource in the RES ... doesn't make it more likely that nuclear power will be built," the New Mexico Democrat said. "The issues of not getting nuclear built relate to financing, prohibitive costs, and to some extent proliferation."

An amendment in the nature of a substitute by Landrieu to lift the cap on the amount of energy efficiency that could count toward a renewable standard also failed in an 11-12 vote. Landrieu said she would also offer such a measure on the floor.

"Somewhere along the line, we started confusing the means to the ends with the ends themselves," Landrieu said. "I offer this amendment in the spirit of compromise. We may not win today in this committee, but this is an issue that will be front and center" on the floor.

Landrieu added she might consider a higher target "if we can get it right" and it would be less disruptive to "underappreciated" industries.

Bayh, meanwhile, offered an amendment that would create tax incentives for renewable energy, which would spread the costs of promoting renewables across all regions. He withdrew the amendment and said he would also offer it on the floor.

Amendments by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) to raise the standard to 20 percent by 2021, with a 5 percent efficiency offset, and Sen. Mark Udall's (D-Colo.) bid to boost the standard to 25 percent were passionately discussed but withdrawn. Both lawmakers vowed to resurrect their proposals on the floor.

Note: The purpose of this blog is to discuss renewable energy issues--or the lack thereof--affecting the State of Indiana. Three members of the Indiana Congressional delegation are listed as participating in this event today including: Rep. Mike Pence (IN-6), Rep. Dan Burton (IN-5) and Rep. Steve Buyer (IN-4). Also Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels is scheduled to speak. Watch for Twitter updates!

MEDIA ADVISORY
House Republican Conference
Mike Pence, Chairman

May 25, 2009
For Immediate Release Contact: Matt Lloyd or Mary Vought - 202-226-9000

Congressional Leaders to Host Energy Summit in Indianapolis to Discuss Solutions to America’s Energy Challenges

U.S. House Republican Leadership to Visit Indianapolis This Week as Part of National Energy Tour

Washington, DC- The American Energy Solutions Group (AESG) and its chairman, Congressman Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Conference, will hold an Energy Summit in Indianapolis, IN, this week with leading energy experts to discuss solutions to America’s energy challenges.

The AESG will be hosting several summits across the country this week in order to develop policy initiatives to lower energy prices for American families and small businesses, and create energy independence for the American people.

The Indianapolis Energy Summit will take place Wednesday, May 27th at 10:00 a.m. in Indianapolis, IN, at the Central Library of Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library. A press conference will follow the summit at approximately 12:00 pm.

Who:

House Republican Conference & AESG Chairman, Mike Pence (IN-6)
AESG Co-Chairman Rep. Fred Upton (MI-6)
Rep. Dan Burton (IN-5)
Rep. Steve Buyer (IN-4)
Rep. Bob Latta (OH-5)
And other AESG Members

Witnesses:

Governor Mitch Daniels
Mr. Marty Irwin – Center for Coal Technology Research
Mr. Steve Saum – Richmond Power & Light
Mr. Adam Wylie – Metal Technologies, Inc.

When:

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
10:00 am – 12:00 pm (Summit)
12:00 pm (Press Conference)

Where:

*Please note updated address*

Central Library of Indianapolis - Marion County Public Library
Clowes Auditorium
40 E. St. Clair St.
Indianapolis, IN 46204

If you support establishment of a federal Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), you may wish to convey your disappointment with Sen. Evan Bayh. One amendment was considered today that would have eliminated the RES title completely: it failed 9-13, with Sen. Bayh as the only Democrat voting in favor.

Please contact Sen. Bayh by calling (202) 224-5623 or senator@bayh.senate.gov.

Or you may wish to send your comments to Sen. Bayh's Energy/Environment Legislative Assistant, Chris Murray at chris_murray@Bayh.senate.gov.

May 21, 2009

Bayh opposes renewable-energy requirement

By MAUREEN GROPPE
Gannett Washington Bureau
http://www.jconline.com/article/20090521/NEWS09/90521017

WASHINGTON - Sen. Evan Bayh was the only Democrat to oppose a renewable-energy requirement approved by a Senate energy committee today as part of a broader energy bill.

Bayh said Indiana would be among the states that would bear a disproportionate share of the cost of meeting the requirement. He said a fairer system would be offering tax credits for producing power from renewable sources.

The energy bill the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is working on would require power companies to get 15 percent of their electricity from renewable energy sources or from energy efficiency improvements by 2021.

"A lot of states like Indiana and most of the states in the Southeast and others around the country are going to find the renewable sources are not cost-effective," said Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Alabama Republican who tried to strip the requirement from the bill.

Sen. Jeff Bingaman, the New Mexico Democrat who heads the committee, had softened the requirements from an earlier version in hopes of winning over moderate Democrats including Bayh, Sen. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Sen. Blanch Lincoln of Arkansas.

Lincoln voted for the requirement, and Landrieu did not vote.

But because two Republicans voted with Democrats, the requirement had enough votes to keep the bill alive. The committee plans to take up multiple amendments before completing action.

Twenty-eight states, not including Indiana, have a renewable-energy requirement.

"Twenty-eight states have done it and we can't do it?" said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D. "Of course we can."

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a Michigan Democrat who supported the national requirement, said Michigan's standard has resulted in new jobs as power companies strive to meet it.