11/12/2008 10:13 AM

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: November 12, 2008

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• DOE to Offer $25 Billion in Loans for Advanced Vehicles
• Missouri Voters Approve a Renewable Energy Requirement
• California Voters Approve Funding for High-Speed Rail System
• Boulder Voters Follow Berkeley with Clean Energy Financing
• California Approves $1 Billion for Low-Income Energy Efficiency
• Slumping Carbon Allowance Prices May Stymie Market Growth

DOE to Offer $25 Billion in Loans for Advanced Vehicles

DOE issued an Interim Final Rule last week for the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program, which will distribute up to $25 billion in direct loans to automakers and component manufacturers. The loans will help those manufacturers establish new U.S. manufacturing facilities or re-equip or expand existing ones within the U.S. for the production of advanced technology vehicles and the components for such vehicles.

To expedite the loans, the rule will become effective as soon as it is published in the Federal Register, but DOE will also accept comments on the rule for 30 days after its publication. The loan program was authorized by section 136 of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which President Bush signed into law in December 2007. To qualify for the loan, the vehicles being manufactured must meet tough emissions standards while achieving a 25% greater fuel economy than similar vehicles sold in Model Year 2005.

Congress appropriated $7.5 billion in late September to cover the subsidy cost of the loans, and the actual amount of loans available will depend on the financial circumstances of the borrowers and the specifics of their proposed projects. Each manufacturer must be financially viable to receive a loan. And although DOE intends to expedite the loans, the agency must comply with all statutory requirements, including the National Environmental Policy Act. DOE expects to issue the loans in several rounds, with a new round every three months. Applications for the first round of funding are due on December 31. See the DOE press release and fact sheet on the loan program, the loan program Web site, and the full text of DOE's interim final rule (PDF 1.5 MB).

Missouri Voters Approve a Renewable Energy Requirement

Missouri voters have approved a measure that will require the state's investor-owned utilities to draw on renewable energy for 15% of their electricity supply by 2021. The Missouri Clean Energy Initiative, or Proposition C, passed easily, garnering approval from 66% of the state's voters and passing in every county but one.

The statutory ballot measure defines renewable energy as wind, solar, small hydropower, a variety of biomass energy sources, and fuel cells powered by hydrogen from renewable energy sources, but it also allows the Missouri Department of Natural Resources to designate new renewable energy sources. The measure requires at least 2% of the requirement to be met with solar energy, and it requires the utilities to offer their retail customers rebates of $2 per watt for customer-owned solar power systems, up to a limit of $50,000.

The ballot measure also allows utilities to buy their renewable power from out-of-state and to meet up to 100% of the requirement through the purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs), which can be bought from renewable energy facilities throughout the country. However, utilities cannot meet the requirements through the voluntary purchase of renewable energy by their customers, an approach known as "green pricing." Utilities that fall short of the requirement have to pay twice the going rate of the RECs needed for compliance, and the state will use that money to buy RECs and to support renewable energy and energy efficiency requirements.

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