CleanTechnica is the #1 cleantech-focused
website in the world. Subscribe today!


Green Economy One--two_mirrors_per_home

Published on August 8th, 2010 | by Susan Kraemer

8

11 Gigawatts of California Renewable Energy Must Start in 2010 or Lose Recovery Act Funds

Share on Google+Share on RedditShare on StumbleUponTweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on FacebookPin on PinterestDigg thisShare on TumblrBuffer this pageEmail this to someone

August 8th, 2010 by  

Of the 16 Gigawatts of renewable energy that the US will have installed once the Recovery Act (ARRA) stimulus funds are all spent, 11 Gigawatts are in California, according to a document released by the CEC enumerating 11,180 MW worth of proposed projects listing an application for Recovery Act funding. Of these 53 projects, 8,906 MW are in 20 projects totaling over 200 MW each. The projects would drive 10,000 construction jobs, 2,200 operational jobs and up to $30 billion in investment.

[social_buttons]

The Recovery Act funding for them is either in the form of a loan guarantee for private investment, or the 30% tax credit,  if an investor has had no profits to take a tax credit against (on tax years since the 2008 econo-apocalypse, that lingers still) then in the form of cash grants in lieu of 30% tax credits on investments in renewable energy.

The 30% tax credit is timed out at the end of 2012 for wind, and 2013 for biomass, but has till 2016 for solar. However, the Recovery Act 30% cash funding has till the end of this year only.

This puts real pressure on these renewable projects, as they must have final approval by December 2010 to be eligible. The hoops that renewable projects must jump through have taken three years or more. Most are mired in local level environmental reviews for years.

Partly this is because of the sheer number and size of the California projects, especially a dozen huge solar farms unlike anything regulators have reviewed in 20 years, that is time-stressing agencies (who are among the few state departments not furloughed, because of this enormous workload). No other state has so many huge solar projects in the pipeline. Billions of dollars in stimulus funds ride on whether the permitting process can get this huge job done in time.

One project that looks like it just might make it in time is the Brightsource 392 MW Ivanpah project. The application was begun in 2007. The smaller version of the project was just approved by the CEC after solving tortoise issues with fencing and by shrinking 12%, and if it makes it in time, will receive  $1.37 billion in ARRA loan guarantees. The last of a number of review periods could be done by the end of August.

Every year, this one project will eliminate 400,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions, that endanger habitats for not just tortoises but humans too. Each renewable energy project sited on BLM lands will not just help us save our habitat, though.

According to new rules published last month by the Interior Department, each will also pay ongoing annual rents per acre, and fees per megawatt hour to local governments as well. For just one example, the 1,000 MW Solar Millennium parabolic-trough solar thermal project in Blythe, near Los Angeles, would pay $9.5 million every year between per-MW fees and annual per acre rents.

Image: Steve Jurvetson “About 1.4 mirrors powers one home”

Susan Kraemer@Twitter

Keep up to date with all the hottest cleantech news by subscribing to our (free) cleantech newsletter, or keep an eye on sector-specific news by getting our (also free) solar energy newsletter, electric vehicle newsletter, or wind energy newsletter.



Share on Google+Share on RedditShare on StumbleUponTweet about this on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on FacebookPin on PinterestDigg thisShare on TumblrBuffer this pageEmail this to someone

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , ,


About the Author

writes at CleanTechnica, CSP-Today, PV-Insider , SmartGridUpdate, and GreenProphet. She has also been published at Ecoseed, NRDC OnEarth, MatterNetwork, Celsius, EnergyNow, and Scientific American. As a former serial entrepreneur in product design, Susan brings an innovator's perspective on inventing a carbon-constrained civilization: If necessity is the mother of invention, solving climate change is the mother of all necessities! As a lover of history and sci-fi, she enjoys chronicling the strange future we are creating in these interesting times.    Follow Susan on Twitter @dotcommodity.


Related Posts



  • Andrew Litton

    It is supposed to be 11 MW not 11 GW. The title has a huge mistake.

    • http://cleantechnica.com/author/susan Susan Kraemer

      @Andrew: No, it is correct. 11 Megawatts would be a relatively small power station. This 11 Gigawatts, or 11,000 Megawatts is the sum of a whole bunch of proposed solar power projects of all different sizes, some of which are 300 MW or up to 1,000 MW in themselves. It IS a gigantic amount, we have never seen anything like this. It would be a huge jump if they make it.

  • Bill Woods

    Wind is popular in Plains states, and ethanol is popular in the corn belt. And there are lots of Republicans who support nuclear power. The Production Tax Credit for wind has been extended several times, including years when Republicans held a majority of seats in the Senate so there must have been more than 3 voting in favor.

    E.g.,

    “AWEA gives special thanks to Senators Harry Reid (D-NV), Charles Grassley (R-IA), Max Baucus (D-MT), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) for recognizing the PTC as an important national priority and ensuring its inclusion in the tax bill passed before Congress adjourned for the year. On the House side, the leadership of Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA), Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Jim McCrery (R-LA) was critical in gaining an extension of the PTC.”

    http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/Congress_extends_PTC_121106.html

    “The language containing the extensions was authored by Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and John Ensign (R-NV) and is called the Clean Energy Stimulus Act of 2008. The language, which was attached to the housing bill as an amendment, has bipartisan support to extend the commercial Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar and fuel cell projects for eight years and removes the utility exemption.

    …

    The bill also extends the residential solar credit for one year and removes the US $2,000 cap. The bill now has 30 co-sponsors, including members of the GOP who have opposed previous attempts to pass a tax credit extension such as Sen. John Sununu (R-NH).”

    http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2008/04/senate-passes-housing-bill-with-ptc-itc-extensions-included-52144

    And there are lots of Republicans who support nuclear power.

  • http://www.calsolareng.com California Solar Engineering

    This is great- we are excited to see so many MW produced from renewables for our grid and cant wait to see the long term benefits as a state.

  • Bill Woods

    “However, the Recovery Act 30% cash funding has till the end of this year only.”

    I’m taking it pretty much for granted that the deadline will be extended. Or if it isn’t, next year there’ll be some sort of replacement. There’s bipartisan support for various sorts of clean-energy subsidies, if not for putting a serious price on fossil-carbon emissions.

    • http://cleantechnica.com/author/susan Susan Kraemer

      Wish I had seen “bipartisan support for renewable subsidies”. There have not been more than 3 Republicans who have ever voted to support renewable energy with subsidies, taxes on fossils, or any other method whatsoever of incenting a move away from fossil energy, all the way back to 1993, per the 50 roll call votes in the Senate for clean energy till 2008.

      http://www.matternetwork.com/2008/9/mccains-50-votes-against-clean.cfm

      Republican voters strangely tend to take out their Senators if they support clean energy: Chafee(NH), Smith (OR), Coleman(MN), Specter(PA) (after first trying to switch to a Democrat), were eliminated by voters. Graham is now under intense pressure. I think the only reason the Maine girls Collins and Snowe manage to hold on is that Maine is 55% renewable. It counteracts the fossil industry maybe…

  • http://www.greenhomegreenbusinessplanet.com/globalwarming.html Gladys

    I don’t understand why does it takes so long-I thought anyone going green had an easy time with no stipulations-I hope they all make it in time because we need all we can get ASAP-Thanks for the great post

Back to Top ↑

© 2014   Sustainable Enterprises Media, Inc.



Back to Top ↑