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

Cities were judged on their environmental plans and programs, transportation and housing, sustainable initiatives, and health and recreation. The other nine cities are Victoria, Canada; Copenhagen, Denmark; Oslo, Norway; Helsinki, Finland; Edinburgh, Scotland; Doha, Qatar; Reykjavik, Iceland; Wellington, New Zealand, and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The cities were not ranked within the top ten.

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

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

The Oregon Wine Board estimates that about 26% of Oregon's 17,400 acres of planted vineyards are certified biodynamic by the Demeter Association , organic by Oregon Tilth, or sustainable by Low Input Viticulture & Enology, Inc. (LIVE) . That's an impressive number and it continues to grow as more consumers seek out wines that are made using sustainable practices.

I learned about what sounds like a great tool. The Oregon Wine Board, recognizing that sustainability is part of the Oregon wine identity, is developing an "Oregon Certified Sustainable" or "OSC" label to be rolled out late this year or early 2009. According to the Wine Board's website, it has been working in partnership with Oregon Tilth, LIVE, the Demeter Association and Salmon Safe to create "a unifying platform and certification logo to help consumers easily identify sustainable wines." The idea is that if a vineyard has already met the rigorous requirements of one or more of these agencies, they would be allowed to use the OSC logo on their wine bottles. Given that earning any of these certifications is no easy task, consumers would be assured that wine with this new logo is not guilty of greenwashing.

Post authored by Kimberlee A. Stafford, attorney practicing in the Real Estate and Land Use and Sustainability Groups at Tonkon Torp.

Specifically, HR 6899 would extend the wind energy production tax credit under Internal Revenue Code (IRC) Section 45 for an additional year, to January 1, 2010. It also would extend the production tax credit for other renewable energy facilities such as biomass, geothermal, solar and small hydropower for three years, to January 1, 2012. HR 6899 also adds marine renewables (i.e. wave and tidal energy) to the list of energy sources eligible for the credit.

HR 6899 also would extend the investment tax credit for certain renewables under IRC Section 48 for an additional eight years, to January 1, 2017. This tax credit is primarily used to finance commercial solar energy projects.

Finally, HR 6899 would implement a federal renewable portfolio standard (RPS), similar to RPS's in effect in more than half of the states. The federal RPS would require retail electric suppliers with an annual load of not less than 1 million megawatt-hours to generate a certain percentage of their base load from renewable resources. The minimum percentage would start at 2.75% in 2010 and increase incrementally to 15% by 2020. Rural electric cooperatives, government agencies (i.e. BPA) and electric suppliers in Hawaii would be exempt from the RPS requirement.

The production and investment tax credit extensions are crucial to the continued growth of the renewable energy sector in the U.S., especially for wind and solar. The federal RPS also would help boost the industry nationwide, although for most states that already have RPS's in place (like Oregon and Washington), the federal standard would be less rigorous than state standards already in place. The Senate should act quickly and decisively to put this bill on the President's desk as soon as possible.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

Today, windpower generates about 1.5% of the nation's electricity. However, the U.S. Department of Energy believes the nation has the capacity to provide 20% of the nation's electricity needs with wind energy by 2030. That would support 500,000 new jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the equivalent of 140 million cars. Recently, both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions were powered by wind energy.

The benefits and potential of wind energy strongly justify renewal of the production energy tax credit before it expires at the end of 2008. Hopefully Congress will, in its last session before the election, finally achieve this important milestone.

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

Baucus, who was joined at the Portland event by his Senate Finance Committee colleague, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), confidently assured that the extension would be passed before the current Congress adjourns. He was optimistic that an agreement on the extension could be reached and passed perhaps even before Election Day.

This year Congress is weighing extensions of tax credits totaling more than $50 billion over the next decade. The renewable energy production tax credit would cost $7 billion and two solar investment credits would cost $2.7 billion over 10 years. Despite the certainty Baucus expressed on the likelihood of an extension of the production and investment tax credits, Baucus cautioned that the total cost of the extension, and thereby the full availability of credits, might be reduced from current proposed levels in order to reach consensus.

Posted by Jack Isselmann, partner practicing in the Government Relations and Public Policy and Sustainability Practice Groups.

The new rule, effective June 9, 2008, encourages mitigation banking as the preferred option over in-lieu fees programs and permittee-responsible mitigation. EPA and the Corps explained in the comments to the new rule that mitigation banking is preferred because "mitigation banks must have an approved mitigation plan and other assurances in place before credits can be provided to permittees…Because of the requirements imposed on mitigation banks, they generally involve less risk and uncertainty than in-lieu fee programs and permittee-responsible mitigation.”

Until now, mitigation banks accounted for 33% of mitigation, while permittee-responsible mitigation accounted for 60%. In-lieu fee mitigation already was the minority at 7%. Under the new rule these percentages are certain to shift, and will likely cause a boost in the mitigation banking industry. It remains to be seen whether or not this new rule will result in filled wetlands being replaced by more ecologically viable wetlands. Dr. Joy Zedler, Chair of the 2001 National Resources Council Wetlands Mitigation Study Committee, put it best: "It could be the best of all worlds…or it could be the same old same old…It's all in the implementation."

Posted by Jeanette C. Schuster, attorney practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

In July 2008, MMS announced that leasing would proceed on twelve of the sixteen sites off the coasts of New Jersey, Delaware, Georgia, Florida and California. The four other sites received competing bids, but due to budgetary and time constraints at MMS, further action on those leases will be delayed. Now, MMS will proceed with environmental review under NEPA and consultation with federal agencies for issuance of the leases.

In related news, the MMS formed a new Office of Offshore Alternative Energy Programs to handle alternative energy issues within MMS's jurisdiction.

These actions by MMS are hopeful signals, as MMS has previously been viewed as an extraction-oriented agency with little appetite or enthusiasm for renewable project development of areas under its jurisdiction. Further, confusion and tension has long reigned as to the demarcation of authority for offshore energy development between MMS and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which has been viewed as much more receptive to alternative energy development offshore. Perhaps the logjam is clearing and these important agencies are moving toward an era of cooperation and mutual advancement of offshore renewable energy development.

For more information on MMS's interim policy click here. For more information on MMS's announcement, see its press release here.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

It is critical for the health of renewable energy development in the U.S. that Congress pass long-term extensions of both the PTC for wind energy projects and the related investment tax credit for solar projects this year. Much of the debate in Congress holding up renewal of the PTC is how to pay for the lost revenue. Congress perhaps could avoid this thorny issue by realizing that the tax credits more than pay for themselves.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

The EPA's action triggered immediate responses from other executive branch agencies. Most notably, the Office of Management and Budget criticized the EPA's proposal, arguing that the Clean Air Act is "fundamentally ill-suited" for greenhouse gas regulation. Other federal agencies issued similar responses, including the Departments of Agriculture, Transportation and Commerce, and the Small Business Administration. Critics decried OMB's actions as an attempt to delay greenhouse gas regulation without directly forbidding it, which would contradict the Supreme Court ruling.

Effectively, the EPA's action has pushed any action on greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act onto the next administration. With only 100 days left until the 2008 elections, the comment period will expire weeks before the new administration takes office. Perhaps that administration will be better at taking a comprehensive approach to global warming issues that is consistent with the Supreme Court's ruling.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

On July 23, the WCI unveiled new recommendations for the scope of a carbon cap-and-trade program that each member state or province can use to develop its own program. By following the WCI recommendations, the individual programs can be linked to form a regional program. Under the recommendations, facilities emitting 25,000 or more metric tons of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases would be required to participate in the cap-and-trade programs.

California will likely be the first state to use the WCI recommendations to form a cap-and-trade program, which is required under Assembly Bill 32 passed by the state legislature in 2006. Other initiative members will likely follow suit after observing the initial performance of California's program.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

RGGI is a bit further along. On July 24, it issued a formal notice giving potential bidders for emissions trading allowances 60 days to prepare for the first allowances auction. Six eastern states – Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont – will auction 12.5 million carbon dioxide allowances in September. Each allowance, which will permit the emission of one ton of carbon dioxide, is initially priced at $1.86, but RGGI expects the winning bid prices to be much higher. Bidders must pre-qualify through an online process. Read more about the auction process here.

Check back tomorrow for a report on what's happening at the WCI.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.

This week, the Canadian province of Ontario became the 11th partner in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), a group of U.S. western states and Canadian provinces committed to developing regional strategies to address climate change. (The WCI also includes 13 "observer" members from the U.S., Canada and Mexico.)

The WCI is laying the foundations for a regional cap-and-trade program to achieve its greenhouse gas reduction targets. Last year, the group announced its goal to achieve an aggregate reduction of 15% below 2005 levels by 2020. Last Wednesday, the WCI released the draft design for its cap-and-trade program, which is slated to be in place by 2012. Partners have considerable flexibility to decide how they will implement the program, reflecting the WCI's laudable effort to fight climate change without stifling economic growth or sending consumer prices sky-high.

Not everyone supports cap-and-trade, including the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta, who rejected cap-and-trade in mid-July, calling it a "cash grab" by Canada's resource-poor provinces. Others insist that the WCI proposal should be more aggressive about including emissions from transportation fuels, which account for a large percentage of greenhouse gas emissions.

In spite of some contention, however, regional cap-and-trade initiatives appear poised to make a dent in greenhouse gas emissions in the near future.

Post authored by Andrea Schmidt, summer associate at Tonkon Torp LLP.

The OPUC agreed with its staff, finding net metering legal and ruling that solar developers were not electricity service suppliers. This timely decision is crucial to 32 proposed solar projects slated for installation in Oregon in 2008, all of which had been put on hold by PacifiCorp's petition. Yesterday's decision leaves enough time before expiration of the federal investment tax credit at the end of the year for these projects to be built and qualify for the tax credit, which is crucial to the financial feasibility of these projects. The 32 projects under development would add 13 megawatts to Oregon's grid, which is more than twice the capacity of existing, online solar facilities.

Tonkon Torp LLP represented the Renewable Northwest Project, one of the parties to the case that responded to PacifiCorp's petition. In response to the ruling, Suzanne Leta Liou of RNP stated that "this decision will allow [Oregon's] growing solar market to blossom." The decision is a victory for solar power in particular and the overall strategy of the state of Oregon to become a leader in renewable energy.

Posted by David J. Petersen, partner practicing in the Sustainability and Real Estate & Land Use Practice Groups.