Last week’s U.S. Offshore Wind Leadership Conference in Boston had the vibe of a technology sector ready to break out. Industry leaders, federal officials, and a panel of Massachusetts legislators extolled the economic opportunities, and U.S. Senator Edward Markey and Massachusetts Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Matthew Beaton delivered inspiring keynotes. Speakers were interspersed with high-energy videos of offshore wind installations in European waters, along with many side meetings among project developers and hopeful supply chain participants.
Offshore wind is garnering more than just hype in 2016. Key developments have this once fledgling energy source poised to finally gain momentum in the United States.
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Topics:
Wind,
Massachusetts,
Offshore Wind,
Wind Energy,
DONG Energy,
Deepwater Wind,
BOEM,
Siemens
Co-author Morgan M. Gerard
Despite the low price of oil throughout the year, 2015 may have been an inflection point for renewable energy as a competitive generation source in the U.S. Deutsche Bank has noted that renewable sources, like solar, have reached, or will soon reach, grid parity with fossil fuel sources in many states. As non-fossil energy has become more economically viable, the industry has responded by standardizing and streamlining project processes, and by accessing financing vehicles like yieldcos and public bonds. Despite growth, the past year has also been a tumultuous one full of unexpected developments and policy shifts including the COP 21 agreement and the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and the formation of intriguing grassroots coalitions, like the green tea party. All of these developments were, of course, set against the specter of a potential step-down of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and its surprising last-minute revival. The following is a breakdown of some of the major developments impacting renewables in 2015.
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Topics:
NY REV,
Energy Policy,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
YieldCo,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind,
COP21,
Renewable Energy 2015,
Distributed Energy Resources,
CPP,
Green Tea Party,
Net Metering,
Net Energy Metering,
NEM,
DG,
Energy Project Finance,
Renewable 2015,
Green Energy,
Green Energy 2015,
Solar Energy 2015,
DER,
Offshore Wind,
Clean Power,
clean power plan,
Georgia Solar,
2015,
energy,
Wind Energy,
Energy Project,
Green 2015,
California DRP
The Mid-Atlantic region (Maryland, Delaware, Virginia and the District of Columbia) is currently at the forefront of discussions regarding the next generation of distributed electricity markets. Notable developments pushing the region into the spotlight recently include M&A activity, creativity on the part of public service commissions, local innovations in PACE finance, and increasing flexibility on the part of local utilities.
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Topics:
Water Energy Nexus,
Utilities,
Water,
Carbon Emissions,
Energy Security,
Thermal Generation,
Energy Policy,
M&A,
Structured Transactions & Tax,
Energy Storage,
Energy Efficiency,
Power Generation,
Microgrid,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
Energy Management,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind,
Oil & Gas
In stark contrast to the Republican match up in September, energy and climate change related policy was freely discussed during the first Democratic presidential debate. For energy industry participants, the question becomes: how will climate policies affect the kinds of projects that get built and financed if a Democrat becomes President? The takeaway after surveying the positions of the candidates presented on Tuesday night is that Americans would be building a great deal of new energy infrastructure.
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Topics:
Carbon Emissions,
Energy Policy,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind,
Oil & Gas
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday gave the first go ahead to extending the Production Tax Credit (PTC) and other tax incentives to renewable energy developers, among other beneficiaries. The tax extension will apply to new wind, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas, hydroelectric and ocean energy projects, provided the projects commence construction by December 2016. The PTC that expired at the end of 2014 provided a rebate of $0.023/kWh for wind, geothermal, closed-loop biomass projects and $0.011/kWh for other eligible technologies that were under construction on the expiration date. The IRS has issued guidelines as to what constitutes commencement of construction for qualifying projects.
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Topics:
Energy Policy,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind
Renewable energy is back on the docket for the Senate Finance Committee, and Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is likely to release the draft of his bill as early as this week. The Committee is considering a two-year extender for tax incentives for new wind, geothermal, biomass, landfill gas and ocean energy projects during a markup. Also being considered is the extension of second generation biofuel producer tax incentives for production of biodiesel and renewable diesel. The extenders package covers 52 items concerning a wide range of industries in addition to renewable energy, including mortgage lenders, education, and retail and restaurant improvements. The 30% investment tax credit for solar and fuel cell projects is not expected to be on the table. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) urges the solar community to advocate the investment tax credit, which is set to step-down in 2016 without an extension.
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Topics:
Biofuels,
Biomass,
Energy Policy,
Structured Transactions & Tax,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind
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Topics:
Utilities,
Energy Policy,
Structured Transactions & Tax,
Energy Storage,
Energy Efficiency,
Microgrid,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
Energy Management,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Public/Private Partnership,
Wind