Kansas Energy Council policy recommendations, public comment deadline, and hearings
September 15, 2008
The Kansas Energy Council (KEC) has posted its proposed policy recommendations for the 2009 legislative session. The summary is below, and the full text is found here (.pdf).
The comment period runs from September 11 through October 10. Comments can be mailed to
Director Liz Brosius, Kansas Energy Council, 1500 SW Arrowhead Road, Topeka KS 66604-4027 or emailed to l.brosius@kcc.ks.gov.
Two public hearings will be held, one in Hays and one in Wichita. If you plan to attend and make comments, then prior to the hearing you must submit a written copy of your remarks to Director Liz Brosius.
- Friday, September 19, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to noon, Fort Hays State University, Robbins Center, One Tiger Place, Hays
- Tuesday, September 30, 2008, 9:00 a.m. to noon, Wichita State University, Marcus Welcome Center, 21st Street and Mike Oatman Drive, Wichita
The Council will finalize its recommendations at its last two meetings – 12 November 2008, and 10 December 2008.
PROPOSED RECOMMENDATIONS
At its meeting on August 13, 2008, the Kansas Energy Council (KEC) approved 15 preliminary policy recommendations for release to the public for review and comment. From September 11 through October 10, KEC staff will receive written public comment on the preliminary recommendations. The Council will meet again on November 12, 2008, and December 10, 2008, to discuss and approve their final recommendations the 2008 Kansas Energy Report.
1. Encourage federal funding of research and development of generation technologies that can provide base-load power while achieving reduced CO2 emissions.
2. Encourage the Kansas Bioscience Authority to allocate some of their funds to research and development related to biomass-fueled electric generation, including the analysis of carbon footprint.
3. Endorse collaborative development of advanced generation technologies in Kansas that can provide base-load power while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Such collaboration could be between Kansas utilities, between Kansas utilities and regional utilities, or between Kansas utilities and other investors.
4. Endorse policies that promote declines in greenhouse gas emissions, not policies that merely shift emissions within or between regions.
5. In addition to demand-side management, the Kansas Legislature and KCC should encourage utility investments in base-load generation plants’ energy conservation and efficiency and carbon capture experiments and technologies.
6. If a cap-and-trade policy or carbon tax is passed, it should be done at the federal level.
7. Reduce maximum speed limit from 70 mph to 65 mph on Kansas highways.
8. Increase fines for speeding by 50%.
9. Reduce “exemption” for speeding violations to 5 mph over limit.
10. Undertake statewide initiative (public-private sector) to encourage more energy efficient driving.
11. Establish minimum energy efficiency standard for all majority State-funded new construction (standards under consideration include LEED Platinum, 20% above IECC 2006).
12. Encourage State agencies and managers to develop guidelines for telecommuting for appropriate state employees, giving broad discretion to managers on how such an option would be applied.
13. Urge Congressional delegation to include agricultural sequestration as an offset in any federal cap-and-trade policy.
14. Increase state agency and private sector efforts to educate farmers (and agricultural landowners) about the benefits–reduced CO2 emissions, energy and dollar savings—associated with no-till agriculture and existing state and federal conservation programs.
15. The State of Kansas should adopt a goal of increasing energy efficiency such that the rate of growth in electricity peak demand and total energy is 50% less than it would have been absent the energy efficiency initiative.
— Maril Hazlett, www.climateandenergy.org
More overheard from the State Fair
September 15, 2008
As of 7:00 p.m. Sunday night, the Kansas State Fair closed down again for the year. Thousands of people came by the booth, and hundreds stayed to talk. About wind power, yes, but also just about energy and life and Kansas in general.
And I learned something. Technically, the buildings and booths open at 9:00 a.m. However, how many farmers sleep that late…? Yeah. NONE.
So from 6:30 a.m. on, there are many quiet men happily wandering through the buildings and booths. If you were there, too, then it was possible to just sit and talk and have good conversations with people who probably wouldn’t open their mouth that much in the crowds that swarm the buildings later on.
Running the wind booth would NOT have been possible without the wonderful volunteers. They came from far and near, and they were all amazing.
It was still too busy to live blog (as I learned the hard way on Sunday). But I kept a list of the quotables and overheards (see below).
Some of you reading the following are going to wonder how I answered a few of these questions. Hint: several of my responses started out with “Er! Well! Hmm!” Tried to keep it as positive as possible, even when some questioners were determined not to let me. Anyway, did the best I could.
Here it goes:
- “When I’m outside and see the wind blowing, I think – money.”
- “I’m an oil and gas producer. I have protection under Kansas law for that. There’s minimum standards for my contracts. Why the hell don’t I have that for wind leases? Who at the KCC do I need to talk to?”
- The live feed from the Spearville wind farm was incredibly popular. I would look over at that side of the booth and barely be able to see Phil through the crowd of 20-40 people who always seemed to surround him. If he has a voice left today I’ll be shocked.
Afterwards, one guy came over to me and said: “I want that to be up on the web for every power source in Kansas! Nuclear! Coal! All of it! With real-time pricing! I just want to be able to SEE!!!!!” Safest answer: Just to agree that theoretically, that WOULD be really cool. About as likely as snowballs down below, but admittedly still cool.
- “I already DID talk to my representative about selling my power back to the grid. He told me that it’s a subsidy because only rich people buy wind turbines and solar panels. I said hang on, —–, you’ve known me for forty years. You know I ain’t rich. What in the heck are you talking about?”
Gov. Sebelius, Lt. Gov. Parkinson urge KS delegation to support Production Tax Credit
September 15, 2008
Reprinted in full from the Governor’s news release:
Governor, Lt. Governor ask Congressional leadership and the Kansas delegation
to support Kansas wind energy
Securing policies that encourage clean energy investments will protect and strengthen our economy, as well as reduce our dependence on foreign sources of fuel. However, states cannot take advantage of existing resources without consistent federal and state policies to incentivize expansion.
At the state level, the Sebelius Administration has led the way to harness Kansas’ full wind energy potential through the establishment of a voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). As a result there has been a near tripling of wind farms in Kansas. We started 2008 with 364 MW generated from wind farms and will end the year with 1015 MW. Kansas will be only the seventh state to reach 1,000 MW of wind power.
Unfortunately, this past year, our friends in Congress failed to pass the production tax credit (PTC) that would incentivize wind energy investments into the future.
Governor Kathleen Sebelius and Lt. Governor Mark Parkinson strongly believe that to continue the progress in Kansas, the federal delegation must join state efforts to ensure cost-effective policies are implemented. They sent a letter this week to Congressional leadership and the Kansas delegation urging them to support the extension of the federal production tax credit for wind energy.
Less than four months from today the PTC is set to expire which, in turn, will result in a significant lapse in industry investments. The pending PTC extension has not only created overwhelming uncertainty for manufacturers and developers, it has also increased the level of industry risk making it more difficult for lenders to fund new projects.
“Kansas is in a position to greatly benefit from our wind resources. Extending the PTC will increase stability in the market which will allow more wind projects to go online in a timely manner,” Robert Freeman, CEO, TradeWind Energy.
Renewable tax credits have made it more economically feasible for projects to be funded. In 1999, 2001 and 2003, Congress failed to renew the PTC resulting in a significant drop in new wind installations for the subsequent years. Congress has extended the PTC since 2004 to allow for developers to plan for long-term.
Last year, the United States realized more economic growth in the wind industry than ever before. But unless the PTC is renewed, the stable growth of the wind industry will be threatened, and efforts impeded.
“If the wind industry is disadvantaged in the market place, economic development, job creation, and environmental and energy security benefits stimulated by wind energy development could decline in states across the country, including Kansas,” said Antonio Martins da Costa, CEO of Horizon Wind Energy.
A multi-year extension of the PTC will allow states to continue building momentum and get us closer to achieving energy independence.
The text of the letter follows:
September 12, 2008
Dear << Congressional leadership, member of the Kansas Congressional Delegation >>,
Renewable energy plays an important role in our nation’s energy security. By diversifying our domestic energy supply we can fight the inconsistency of fuel prices and prepare for a safer, more efficient future for our country. We strongly encourage our Republican and Democratic friends in the Senate to join forces with a bi-partisan majority of governors nationwide and to work to reach a Senate compromise to the current energy and tax extension impasse that has cast a cloud over support for federal tax incentives necessary to stimulate expansion of renewable technologies.
At the state level our Administration has been leading the way to harness Kansas’ full wind energy potential through the establishment of a voluntary Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS). By partnering with Kansas utilities, we were able to negotiate a voluntary goal that has since put Kansas on the map for wind production. As a result there has been a near tripling of wind farms in Kansas. By the end of 2008 Kansas will be only the seventh state to reach 1,000 MW of wind power. However, immediate action by Congress to extend tax incentives for renewable energy is needed to ensure continued success and progress.
Extending the production tax credit (PTC) will allow states to incentivize investments in clean and affordable energy, as well as help to create new jobs. Securing a clean energy future must be a priority, and a multi-year PTC extension is a step in the right direction. Extending the PTC for at least three years will allow manufacturers and developers time to plan which will benefit our statewide growth in wind. In years past, very little investments were made in renewables without the PTC. We have the opportunity to guarantee results; now we must unite in our efforts so we can capitalize on our existing assets.
By coming together at the federal and state level to advance economically and environmentally sound policies, we will balance our energy portfolio as well as permit reliable alternatives to bridge the gap for more efficient technologies in the future. That, in turn, will help us to avoid outages and keep electricity rates down. Better policies will help to make us a leader in this national quest for diversification.
Please join us in promoting the policies that are necessary to spur the growth of a cleaner future for generations to come.
Sincerely,
/s/
Kathleen Sebelius, Governor
Mark Parkinson, Lt. Governor
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