A Look At Renewable Portfolio Standards

From the Commodities Management Group at Constellation Energy —

Renewable Portfolio Standards or RPS are guidelines established by individual states to increase the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources. Renewable sources of electricity include wind, solar, geothermal, biomass and some types of hydro, but can also include landfill gas, municipal solid waste and tidal energy.

The U.S. has always relied heavily on fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and nuclear to generate the lion-share of its electricity. Those fuels are considered nonrenewable because they represent a finite resource that will ultimately become exhausted or will be too expensive or environmentally damaging to retrieve. The attraction to renewable energy is that it relies on “renewable” resources that are constantly being replenished.

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Illinois business leaders endorse key wind tax incentive

Bureau, Livingston County projects part of 369-member coalition calling on Congress to save USA wind jobs — A broad, nonpartisan coalition of 369 members, including Iberdrola Renewables, developer of the Streator Cayuga Ridge and Providence Heights wind power projects in Livingston and Bureau Counties issued a letter endorsing a four year extension to wind energy’s key federal tax incentive, the Production Tax Credit. Legislation recently introduced by Representatives Dave Reichert (R, WA-08) and Earl Blumenauer (D, OR-03) seeks to grant a four-year extension to the existing Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy (H.R. 3307, the “American Renewable Energy Production Tax Credit Extension Act”). Signatories to the letter represent a broad cross-section of American manufacturing, farm and business groups including the National Association of Manufacturers, the American Farm Bureau Federation and the Edison Electric Institute.

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Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) is now accepting applications for the 2012 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards.

The deadline for application submittal will be the close of business on May 25, 2012. Applications will only be accepted electronically. Details can be found on the website at http://www.istc.illinois.edu/info/govs_awards.cfm.

The award ceremony will be held this fall in the Chicago area.

If you have questions about the application process, please contact Deb Jacobson, Regional Operations Manager, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, Prairie Research Institute, University of Illinois, e-mail: djacobson@istc.illinois.edu, phone: 630-472-5019.

NAM: Contact Your Members of Congress and Ask Them to Support the “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012!”

Congress is considering legislation to finally provide long-term, well-funded surface transportation reauthorization to maintain national competitiveness. Urge your Representative to support the “American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act of 2012” (H.R. 7) when it is considered by the House of Representatives in the upcoming weeks.

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New report demonstrates that permanent physical barriers to stop Asian carp at Chicago are feasible

The IMA opposes the closure of the Chicago waterways due to the negative impact it will have on commerce in the region.

Strategies for restoring the natural divide between the Great Lakes and Mississippi River basins to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes — and, in the process, modernizing the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS) — are identified in a report released by the Great Lakes Commission and the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.

“Physically separating the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds is the best long-term solution for preventing the movement of Asian carp and other aquatic invasive species, and our report demonstrates that it can be done,” said Tim Eder, executive director of the Great Lakes Commission.

The threat of Asian carp looms large for communities in the Great Lakes region. The lakes provide over 35 million residents with drinking water, contain 20 percent of the Earth’s fresh surface water, and support a thriving tourism industry and world-class fishery, which generates an estimated $7 billion in economic activity annually.

Voracious feeders that can grow up to 90 pounds, Asian carp have overrun other ecosystems and could cause irreversible damage to the Great Lakes if allowed entry. Once established, invasive species are nearly impossible to eliminate.

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