Sustainability Law Blog

Here in Oregon, the Kulongoski administration is trying to decide whether the state-wide land use system provides sufficient authority to limit Jefferson County's siting of a destination resort development near the headwaters of the Metolius River. Across the Columbia River, the Washington State Supreme Court has upheld Governor Gregoire's authority to require Kittitas County to site a wind farm the county did not want (click here for more information).

This is an interesting dichotomy for two developments, one, just a couple hundred miles up Highway 97 from the other. One involves water, a resource that states are actively seeking to preserve against exploitation by private economic development; the other involves wind, a resource states are actively seeking to exploit in order to promote private economic development. It is interesting to note that in this instance Oregon, the state known for its pervasive statewide land use regulation regime, appears to be more poorly armed to preempt Jefferson County's wishes, while Washington was fully capable of overriding Kittitas County.

Wind energy is an increasingly important component of our nation’s energy supply, and it is the most advanced renewable technology available other than hydropower. While showing enormous growth over this past decade, wind power is still limited by the high variability of the wind. The on-again, off-again nature of wind turbines, often with little warning, challenges utilities to manage their load and makes them reluctant to use wind as more than 15% of their overall energy resource.

The key to increasing wind’s share further is development of technologies to store wind energy and more evenly distribute it to the grid. Oregon State University recently received a $358,000 grant from the federal Bonneville Power Administration to study these technologies. Several technologies are being considered, including batteries, compressed air systems, and hydrogen fuel cells.

While all these technologies present both promise and challenges, the compressed air system is the most intriguing. Rather than delivering electricity directly to the grid, a spinning wind turbine would use its power to force air into a compressed chamber. The air would be let out later when energy is needed, spinning a turbine that generates electricity delivered to the grid.

Whatever technologies ultimately make it to the market, storage of wind energy is a crucial hurdle to increased use of wind energy in our nation’s energy supply, and important work on this subject is taking place in Oregon. This continues to cement Oregon’s position as a leader in renewable energy industries.

Post authored by David Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Groups.

A report released recently by the Renewable Northwest Project reveals that in 2008, 148,563 residential and commercial electricity customers in the Pacific Northwest voluntarily purchased green power from renewable resources like wind, solar, landfill gas and low-impact hydropower. Over 24,000 new customers have signed up in the last year, and the number of green power customers is now 56 times greater than in 2000, when RNP released its first report on this subject. Northwest customers purchased over 1.3 billion kilowatt-hours of green power in 2008, which is roughly the output of a 450 megawatt wind farm, or enough energy to power more than 111,000 homes for an entire year.

As public awareness of the consequences of energy choices continues to rise, green power becomes more and more attractive to electricity users across the spectrum. Among other things, the continued growth of green power in a time of economic uncertainty demonstrates that renewables are an increasingly crucial component of the nation’s energy supply, and not just a fad for rich customers with income to spare. Utilities and energy customers in parts of the country where green power has not caught on to the same degree should take note that the popularity of green power in the Pacific Northwest is a sign of things to come for the rest of the nation.

Post authored by David Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Group.

In our last post, we discussed likely policy moves by the incoming administration to battle climate change. Today we discuss the new President’s anticipated approach to energy independence.

Like most Americans, President-Elect Obama recognizes the interplay between energy independence and national security. To achieve this, the new President has called for 25% of U.S. electricity to come from renewables by 2025, and for 30% of the federal government’s energy supply to come from renewables by 2020. As with climate change, the new administration will be able to look to the states and learn from their implementation of renewable portfolio standards before pursuing a national standard.

Recent concerns about the benefits and costs of biofuels has led the President-Elect to soften his position in support of biofuels. He now sees corn-based ethanol as a transitional technology and will likely focus federal efforts on research and development for the next generation of biofuels, including cellulosic and algae-based technologies.

At the same time, Obama recognizes that fossil fuels must continue as part of the nation’s energy supply. He has advocated, however, for oil exploration on lands already leased rather than opening new lands to potential drilling. He also advocates for increased spending to develop practical carbon sequestration solutions. He provides limited support for nuclear energy, provided that its waste stream issues can be addressed satisfactorily.

Post authored by David Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Groups.

Continue reading " President-Elect Obama’s Pursuit of Energy Independence " »

On election night, then-Senator Obama called ours a planet in peril. As he did during the campaign, he focused on promises to fight global warning and reduce dependence on foreign oil. Once inaugurated, how might he proceed to fulfill these promises, and what challenges does he face?

On climate change, expect to see renewed vigor in Congress and the administration for a national carbon cap and trade system. This is an enormously complicated and controversial undertaking, however, so the process may take a lot of time and proceed in fits and starts. One advantage the new administration will have is the luxury of watching and learning from the cap-and-trade programs being implemented now by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and the Western Climate Initiative.

In the more immediate term, we can anticipate that President Obama will direct the EPA to begin regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant under the Clean Air Act. EPA’s authority to do so was confirmed by the Supreme Court in Massachusetts v. EPA but the Bush administration has declined to do so. Obama also will likely advocate for Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (“CAFÉ”) for the transportation sector, and to reverse the Bush administration’s opposition to a Clean Air Act waiver for California’s plan to impose stricter vehicle emissions standards. Finally, we probably will see increased participation in international climate change negotiations, including the 2009 discussions in Copenhagen to renew and modify the Kyoto Protocols.

In our next post we will discuss President-Elect Obama’s likely approach to energy efficiency and independence.

Post authored by David Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Practice Groups.

As befitting a water law conference in Oregon, it rained on Day One of the two-day 17th Annual Oregon Water Law Conference. The gloomy weather outside (not to mention the environs of the dreary Red Lion Hotel--but I shouldn't complain, I mean, when was the last time you heard loud disco music in an elevator?) did little to dampen the energy and flow of information inside.

The program began with a presentation of Water Rights 101, which provided an introduction to the fundamentals of Oregon water rights that was useful to understanding the topics subsequently discussed. This was followed by a panel discussion of the Oregon Supreme Court's recent important water law decision, Fort Vannoy Irrigation District v. Oregon Water Resources Commission. Next, a three-member panel gave an update on the impact of new federal law on Oregon water, including a presentation of the Wallowa Dam rehabilitation project. During the lunch hour (but without food), the Governor's Natural Resources Policy Director, Mike Carrier, gave the keynote address about the Governor's recently unveiled comprehensive water strategy initiative, Headwaters to Ocean (H2O) (see my blog entry dated July 8, 2008 for a discussion about the initiative's funding strategy).

After a much-needed break for lunch, the program resumed with a timely update on the Klamath Basin settlement effort, which made big headlines a few days after the conference when a tentative settlement agreement was reached which includes the removal of four dams on the river. It was followed by a review of the new Department of State Lands rules affecting the use of state-owned submerged and submersible lands. The day ended with a presentation of ethical considerations that could potentially affect attorneys practicing in the field of water law.

In sum, I learned a ton, or was that an acre foot?, about water law, so I'll definitely be back next year!

Stay tuned for Day Two, which will be reviewed by Kimberlee Stafford.

Post authored by Jeanette Schuster, attorney practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate and Land Use Groups.

At the Portland Business Journal's Sustainable Oregon luncheon at The Nines Hotel last Friday, I was leafing through the University of Oregon School of Law Green Business Initiative literature. The law school explains that the Green Business Initiative will advance Oregon's economic and environmental goals, will build on Oregon's talent, resources, and culture, and will take advantage of Oregon's natural advantages in the area of green business. I was thinking about the Oregon brand and its importance to all of us doing business here as I read in The Oregonian about the U of O's interest in changing the acclaimed and esteemed "Made in Oregon" white stag/reindeer sign. The school would like to alter this icon that sits atop its new University of Oregon in Portland campus to read: "University of Oregon." Maybe that Made in Oregon wording is more sustainable than the U of O perceives, and should be maintained. It certainly seems to fit with the concept of the Green Business Institute.