Friday, February 27, 2009
We are pleased to announce that ELPC Government Relations Specialist Mindi Grieve has been elected as the new chair of the North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy (NDARE). Ms. Grieve is a North Dakota native working in ELPC’s Jamestown, North Dakota office on renewable energy development policies, implementing the Farm Bill’s clean energy development programs and advocating state-based global warming solutions in the Great Plains.
Mindi will be able to expand on this work as chair of The North Dakota Alliance for Renewable Energy, an advocacy organization that develops networks of residents, industry, government, interest groups, and educators to promote the development and use of renewable energy, including biofuels, wind energy and energy efficiency and conservation.
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Thursday, February 26, 2009
In an article in South Dakota’s Argus Leader, ELPC President Howard Learner said that funding and tax incentives from the economic stimulus will help the wind industry continue to grow and create clean energy jobs. Like almost every industry, growth in wind power has slowed during the current economic crisis.
“Wind makes sense in rural areas, where stimulus is needed the most – South Dakota, North Dakota, Iowa,” said Learner. “This is about job creation – good, new clean jobs. And that’s why wind is going to continue to be robust. It just makes good sense, good policy sense.”
ELPC has worked for years to help South Dakota take advantage of its opportunities for wind energy. Our organization played a crucial role in the formation of the South Dakota Wind Energy Association.
Read the full article here.
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Thursday, January 22, 2009
The South Dakota Wind Energy Association (SDWEA) elected a Board of Directors, named an Executive Director and set goals for 2009 at its first official meeting on January 13. ELPC worked for months with a diverse group of stakeholders to help organize the SDWEA.
The group will work to support the development of wind energy as a sustainable economic and environmentally-friendly resource for South Dakota and its citizens. Board President Jeffrey L. Nelson commented on South Dakota’s wind energy opportunity, “South Dakota has the fourth best wind in the country and many people want to further maximize this potential.” Nelson said, “We look forward to SDWEA advancing the opportunities for South Dakotans as further wind energy is developed throughout our state.”
ELPC will continue to work with SDWEA to maximize the benefits of wind energy for the environment and the people of South Dakota.
Read SDWEA’s press release here
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Tuesday, January 13, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC – Experts from 25x’25, the National Wildlife Federation, the National Association of Wheat Growers and the Environmental Law and Policy Center today pushed Congress to support economic recovery investments in USDA renewable energy programs, as well as renewable energy bonds and tax credits to revive the economy and help America’s farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses.
Investing in agriculture-based clean energy development will diversify the nation’s energy supply, create jobs, and revitalize America’s rural economy, according to a proposal signed by more than 30 business, agriculture, energy and environmental groups. The groups are asking Congress to provide strong funding for the construction and development of advanced biofuel refineries, wind, solar, biomass and geothermal energy projects, energy efficiency, biomass research, and the development of next generation feedstocks. These programs could help create and maintain thousands of jobs in the clean energy technology fields.
The coalition’s proposals are listed in this letter
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
ELPC joined Michigan residents, Native American leaders and environmental groups on January 6 in their call to stop plans for a new coal-fired power plant in Rogers City, MI. Addressing Governor Jennifer Granholm and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, the advocates explained that pollution from the proposed plant would endanger the health of Michigan residents and would significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions. Investing in clean energy and energy efficiency is an alternative that could help Michigan meet its energy needs while creating new jobs, saving money and protecting the environment.
The Rogers City plant is one of 8 new coal plants planned for Michigan. This ‘coal rush’ poses a serious threat to the Michigan’s environmental quality and the health of its citizens. As ELPC Senior Attorney Faith Bugel said, the proposal “is not about one permit for one plant. … This is Michigan’s time to decide. Will this state move forward into the 21st century and say that it is demanding better, cleaner options for its citizens?” Read more coverage of the event here.
Public health experts from Michigan State University and the University of Michigan explain the dangerous health effects of coal plants in this editorial.
Monday, December 15, 2008
On Monday the Environmental Law and Policy Center and 25x’25 Alliance presented a package of recommendations to bolster the economy and create jobs to Congress and the incoming Obama Administration. Their proposal would accelerate the development of and markets for, wind and solar power, advanced biofuels production, biomass power and geothermal energy as a means to stimulate the economy. The Federal Farm Bill’s Energy Title would be a primary focus along with related tax credits.
The recommendations focus on investing in programs that are currently under funded such as the Rural Energy for America Program that will put people back to work while improving environmental quality. These programs are green job generators and long-term growth creators because they require skilled labor for manufacturing components, construction and operation.
John Moore, Senior Attorney at ELPC, urged Congress to make strong, farm-based clean energy development programs part of the economic recovery package. “Programs that support clean energy development are in high demand, they create high-paying jobs and they are good for the environment.”
A complete list of ELPC’s recommendations is available here
Read coverage of the clean energy proposal here
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Monday, December 8, 2008
In a recent OpEd in the Des Moines Register, ELPC President and Executive Director Howard Learner warns us not to back off support for necessary global warming action because of the current economic conditions. In fact, he points out that there are many industries that will benefit from taking these steps and many new jobs that will be created.
“Solving our global-warming problems is the moral, economic, policy, political and technological challenge of our times. Fortunately, there are smart, clean renewable-energy and energy-efficiency developments and clean-car innovation strategies that are good for the economy, create new green jobs and improve the environment…”
Read the full OpEd.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
ELPC Senior Attorney John Moore recently sat down with Ethanol Producer Magazine to discuss the Biomass Crop Assistance Program. This new program, which ELPC supported in the 2008 Farm Bill, will help farmers located near biomass facilities to grow and process sustainably-grown energy crops. ELPC is working to jump-start this new program as quickly as possible.
Read the full article here
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Monday, October 13, 2008
Let’s face it. America’s economy is bad shape. Some will seize upon the troubled times to argue that we should cut back on investing in clean energy and environmental protection. But that’s the wrong direction both for today and for the future.
For today, energy efficiency makes even more sense in tight financial times. Businesses can’t afford to waste energy and drain their bottom lines from high energy bills, while causing more pollution to our environment. Improving energy efficiency is an investment that can achieve a healthy return. Smart businesses view their energy efficiency investments as a profit-center.
ELPC’s colleagues at the Alliance to Save Energy explain this well. “Industry accounts for one-third of all energy use in the U.S. Energy-intensive industrial plants typically have enormous energy bills, sometimes running into the millions of dollars annually. Energy efficiency improvements offer the potential for a significant return on investment for the industrial energy consumer in the form of lower utility bills, as well as for the public in the form of reduced pollution and energy prices.”
The same is true for improving energy efficiency in our homes. “Investing in a home on your street could be more profitable than investing on Wall Street,” says the energy team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. These days — no kidding! Energy efficiency lightens the load on our energy bills and bank accounts. It’s a safe and sound investment.
The U.S. is beginning to invest more heavily in clean renewable energy technologies and cleaner, more fuel efficient cars of the future. Let’s invest in the clean wind power and solar technologies of the future and not cede the next generation’s global leadership to other countries. Let’s produce the innovative clean cars here that can get 50 miles per gallon or better and reduce America’s dependence on foreign oil. Let’s gain the green jobs of the future in a carbon-constrained economy, and not cling only to the declining jobs of old-technology cars and trucks with declining sales.
We should invest more in upgrading energy efficiency because it saves us money, creates jobs and avoids pollution today and over the next twenty years. America should invest in achieving technological breakthroughs with solar energy, greater utilization of wind energy, and gaining advances in new, more efficient battery technologies. America should invest in getting more domestically manufactured plug-in electric hybrids and other clean cars on the road as soon as possible. In today’s challenging economic times, these investments are even smarter, more sensible and more necessary going forward.
Monday, October 6, 2008
ELPC Executive Director Howard Learner argues at the Chicago Huffington Post that the recent economic downturn should be pushing us to invest in clean energy. Investing in energy efficiency cuts wasteful spending on high energy bills and prevents added pollution.
“For today, energy efficiency makes even more sense in tight financial times. Businesses can’t afford to waste energy and drain their bottom lines from high energy bills, while causing more pollution to our environment. Improving energy efficiency is an investment that can achieve a healthy return. Smart businesses view their energy efficiency investments as a profit-center.”
Read the full post.
