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Untapped Wealth: Offshore Wind Can Deliver Cleaner, More Affordable Energy and More Jobs Than Offshore Oil
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 20 Oct '10

20 Oct '10

*The attached report, generally supportive of Google's proposed offshore wind farm, was prepared by oceana.org who describe themselves as follows: **Oceana, founded in 2001, is the largest international organization focused solely on ocean conservation. Our offices in North America, Central America, South America and Europe work together on a limited number of strategic, directed campaigns to achieve measurable outcomes<http://na.oceana.org/en/about-us/our-victories>that will help return our oceans to former levels of abundance. We believe in the importance of science in identifying problems and solutions. Our scientists work closely with our teams of economists, lawyers and advocates to achieve tangible results for the oceans.* * http://na.oceana.org/ FROM EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Offshore Wind Potential* 1. A small fraction of U.S. renewable energy resources1 is enough to power the country several times over. This could be done in a cost-effective way that minimizes carbon dioxide emissions which drive climate change and threaten our oceans. 2. A modest investment in offshore wind could supply almost half the current electricity generation on the East Coast. 3. Delaware, Massachusetts and North Carolina could generate enough electricity from offshore wind to equal current electricity generation, entirely eliminating the need for fossil fuel based electric generation. n New Jersey, Virginia and South Carolina could supply 92%, 83% and 64% of their current electricity generation with offshore wind, respectively. In all these states, wind could provide more energy than the states currently get from fossil fuels. 4. Offshore wind power offers more environmental benefits and fewer impacts than traditional fuels such as nuclear power, natural gas, coal and oil. *GENERAL FINDINGS* 1. Offshore wind power is located near population centers where electricity demand is highest. Coastal states account for more than three-quarters of U.S. electricity consumption. Other renewable energy is further from these high-demand areas. 2. Offshore wind power is less expensive than many alternatives. In some cases, offshore wind could actually lower electric bills. 3. Offshore wind creates more jobs than offshore drilling. Long-term jobs would be created to support offshore wind development for skilled workers and scientists, including electricians, meteorologists, welders, and turbine operators just to name a few. 4. Offshore wind technology can help build the U.S. economy. While the U.S. has not yet installed any offshore wind farms, Europe has been doing so for 20 years and has become the leading supplier of offshore wind turbines. Building our own domestic manufacturing base would strengthen our economy, allow U.S. expenditures to remain here at home, and allow the U.S. to become an offshore wind technology exporter. n Offshore wind projects should be designed to minimize environmental impacts by using new techniques and technology in the construction, operation and decommissioning process, and by protecting the environment in the siting process. 5. Choosing wind instead of oil and gas, rather than taking an “all-of-the-above” approach, will increase efficiency and lower costs for power production overall.

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Re: [EC] Fwd: How VA is Losing the Competition for Clean Energy Jobs : Virginia Chapter Sierra Club
by kevin fooce 19 Oct '10

19 Oct '10

PA has solar, MD has solar ands biomass OH has been working on this for years and has a Green Energy Ohio group. Kevin Fooce fooce(a)hotmail.com 304-751-1448 work 304-675-6687 home 304-593-2875 cell Date: Tue, 19 Oct 2010 11:49:01 -0700 From: jim_scon(a)yahoo.com Subject: Re: [EC] Fwd: How VA is Losing the Competition for Clean Energy Jobs : Virginia Chapter Sierra Club To: fmoose39(a)hotmail.com; jkotcon(a)wvu.edu; ec(a)osenergy.org; wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com and are there good sites in other adjoining states besides OH? PA wind turbine plant, . . . Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. From: kevin fooce <fmoose39(a)hotmail.com> To: Jim Sconyers <jim_scon(a)yahoo.com>; Jim Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu>; ec(a)osenergy.org; wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com Sent: Tue, October 19, 2010 1:24:52 PM Subject: RE: [EC] Fwd: How VA is Losing the Competition for Clean Energy Jobs : Virginia Chapter Sierra Club I can put a list of projects, organizations, and politicians that are pushing this agenda. Might need someone to for a good write-up though. Can ask my wife, she is a excellent writer. Would take sometime though. I believe this is a good idea that needs published on a wide format so everyone in our state can see the problems we have on clean energy and energy efficiency. The big question is how far do we want to go? Do we want the schools listed? Some of the schools such as OU have positive aspects along with the fact they are now creating a composting facility for the whole city, to Oberlin being one of the top schools in the country for sustainability. Or maybe even list the LEED platinum facility that Hocking tech now host along with being a leader worldwide on fuel cell technologies and other programs they offer. Or would we want to look just at the solar sector and the fact that Ohio now host a 12 megawatt farm with another solar farm to come which will be one of the largest in the nation. Ohio also plays host to First Solar located in Toledo now employing 1500 people and sales about 80% of it's products to China. Or maybe we want to look at the Burger plant that burns a mixture of biomass and coal and will soon be all biomass. Or maybe the fact that Ohio has programs for the farmers to turn the manure into electricity, fertilizer, and Jiffy peat pots. The list is large, what do we want to focus on? Kevin Fooce fooce(a)hotmail.com 304-751-1448 work 304-675-6687 home 304-593-2875 cell Date: Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:50:15 -0700 From: jim_scon(a)yahoo.com To: jkotcon(a)wvu.edu; ec(a)osenergy.org; wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com Subject: Re: [EC] Fwd: How VA is Losing the Competition for Clean Energy Jobs : Virginia Chapter Sierra Club I'd love to see us put together a message that highlights all the clean energy projects and jobs in, say Ohio, and asking why not us? Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. From: James Kotcon <jkotcon(a)wvu.edu> To: ec(a)osenergy.org; wvec-board(a)yahoogroups.com Sent: Mon, October 18, 2010 1:27:31 PM Subject: [EC] Fwd: How VA is Losing the Competition for Clean Energy Jobs : Virginia Chapter Sierra Club Here is a fascinating approach to attracting attention to Green Energy. Why not West Virginia too? JBK >>> Paula Carrell <Paula.Carrell(a)sierraclub.org> 10/18/2010 1:09 PM >>> You all might want to take a look at how the VA Chapter is garnering attention for their take on (unrealized) clean energy opportunities in Virginia. http://vasierraclub.org/2010/10/power-failure-how-virginia-is-losing-the-co… _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec _______________________________________________ EC mailing list EC(a)osenergy.org http://osenergy.org/mailman/listinfo/ec

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FW: [ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS] Sierra Club's Fracking Regulatory Action Center (FRAC) is now on line an
by James Kotcon 19 Oct '10

19 Oct '10

You might find this interesting. JBK _____ From: National Hydrofracking Team [mailto:ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG] On Behalf Of Bruce Hamilton Sent: Tuesday, October 19, 2010 2:58 PM To: ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Subject: [ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS] Sierra Club's Fracking Regulatory Action Center (FRAC) is now on line and available to help your work Colleagues, As part of the Sierra Club's efforts to enact strong standards for the natural gas drilling industry, we're pleased to introduce a new tool, the Fracking Regulatory Action Center (FRAC). This online resource http://sierraclub.org/naturalgas/rulemaking/ is a regularly-updated collection of natural gas rulemaking efforts across the country. FRAC will help connect activists with policy experts, allowing everyone to share what we know and to build on each other's research to secure strong rules for the gas industry. States, municipalities and the federal government are all working on regulatory efforts. FRAC's goal is to track all of these actions and to make it easy for activists to engage with them. The Action Center contains links to key technical documents, records, deadlines and hearing locations, and it points activists toward grassroots groups working on each rulemaking. Action Center users can also find technical comments and reports prepared for rules across the country. You can access the Action Center by visiting http://www.sierraclub.org/naturalgas and clicking on the "Fracking Regulatory Action Center" link. While you're there, check out the rest of the page to learn about the Club's efforts to clean up the natural gas industry. Special thanks to Lane Boldman, Adrian Cotter, Jessica Helm, Craig Segall, Joanne Spalding and Alison Vicks for their work on this. This database will grow and deepen as the activist community uses it. For questions or comments about FRAC, or to add regulatory information, please contact Alison.Vicks(a)sierraclub.org We welcome your feedback on how to improve this tool. Bruce Hamilton - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS list, send any message to: ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp Sign up to receive Sierra Club Insider, the flagship e-newsletter. Sent out twice a month, it features the Club's latest news and activities. Subscribe and view recent editions at http://www.sierraclub.org/insider/

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Fwd: ENEWS: WVU's Law School Lecture
by James Kotcon 19 Oct '10

19 Oct '10

>>> ENEWS ENEWS <ENEWS(a)mail.wvu.edu> 10/19/2010 2:38 PM >>> MOUNTAINEER E-NEWS Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2010 TOP OF THE NEWS LECTURES/PRESENTATIONS 1) Marcellus Shale development to be discussed at College of Law Daniel J. Soeder, a researcher and scientist at the U.S. Department of Energy's National Energy Technology Laboratory in Morgantown will discuss environmental implications from Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling and production at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 20 in room 157 at the WVU Law Center. The event includes a reception before the presentation at 4 p.m. in the WVU Law Center Lobby.

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Fwd: How VA is Losing the Competition for Clean Energy Jobs : Virginia Chapter Sierra Club
by James Kotcon 19 Oct '10

19 Oct '10

Here is a fascinating approach to attracting attention to Green Energy. Why not West Virginia too? JBK >>> Paula Carrell <Paula.Carrell(a)sierraclub.org> 10/18/2010 1:09 PM >>> You all might want to take a look at how the VA Chapter is garnering attention for their take on (unrealized) clean energy opportunities in Virginia. http://vasierraclub.org/2010/10/power-failure-how-virginia-is-losing-the-co…

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Fwd: FracTracker Training Invitation for Oct 25th Meeting in Morgantown, WV
by Jonathan Rosenbaum 18 Oct '10

18 Oct '10

-------- Original Message -------- Subject: FracTracker Training Invitation for Oct 25th Meeting in Morgantown, WV Date: Mon, 11 Oct 2010 17:24:01 -0400 From: Malone, Samantha Lynn <slm75(a)pitt.edu> To: Malone, Samantha Lynn <slm75(a)pitt.edu> Dear Colleagues, On behalf of Dr. Conrad Dan Volz at the Center for Healthy Environments and Communities (CHEC <http://www.chec.pitt.edu/>) of the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health and the Foundation for Pennsylvania Watersheds, I would like to invite you or another representative within your group to attend a training on Monday, October 25, 2010 of key personnel who are working to address Marcellus Shale gas extraction's (MSGE) impact on the environment and public health in West Virginia. During this training, CHEC will introduce participants to FracTracker, a combination of an interactive blog (http://fractracker.org) and data tool (http://data.fractracker.org), that is serving as a vital data-sharing tool in the Marcellus Shale play and beyond. The training is also an open forum for participants to discuss current and anticipated environmental and public health concerns such as emergency preparedness and response to blow outs or spills, degrading road infrastructure, and surface and drinking water contamination. Because the issues we are facing span across many fields, meeting invitees include representatives from diverse groups. This is one of many trainings we are hosting throughout PA, WV, and NY, OH, and MD. Click here to learn more about CHEC and this project: http://www.fractracker.org/p/about-us.html. *Meeting Details:* October 25, 2010 -- 1pm -- 4pm 317 Percival Hall, West Virginia Evansdale Campus, Morgantown, WV 26506 Contact phone # on day of event: 724-554-0989. Free to attend. Parking is free. Permits will be provided upon arrival. An agenda and additional meeting specifics will be sent to registered attendees prior to the training. Important -- In order to work with FracTracker's data tool (http://data.fractracker.org) during the training, you must be registered with the data tool. It is free to register, but please do this online as soon as possible. If you run into problems registering for the tool please contact: support(a)rhizalabs.com <mailto:support@rhizalabs.com>. In addition to registering for the data tool online, please also accept or decline this invitation in a return email to me at slm75(a)pitt.edu <mailto:slm75@pitt.edu> as soon as possible. In that email, please let me know whether CHEC can distribute your contact information to all attendees of the training for networking purposes. Once we receive your RSVP we will send you a confirmation email with more details about the training. Best, Samantha -Samantha Malone, MPH, CPH- Communications Specialist & Doctoral Student Center for Healthy Environments & Communities University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health Office: 412-624-9379 100 Technology Dr. Suite 553 BRIDG Pittsburgh, PA 15219-3130 slm75(a)pitt.edu <mailto:slm75@pitt.edu> | samanthamalone119(a)gmail.com <mailto:samanthamalone119@gmail.com> | www.chec.pitt.edu

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Fwd: News Data Highlights Role of Forests in Fight Against Climate Change
by James Kotcon 17 Oct '10

17 Oct '10

See attached report on carbon storage in National Forests. JBK

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80-PAGE EPA DECISION ON SPRUCE NO. 1 - PROPOSING TO BLOCK 2200+ ACRE MOUNTAIN TOP REMOVAL PROJECT IN LOGAN COUNTY
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 17 Oct '10

17 Oct '10

For any who have not yet had access to the lengthy EPA decision document, it is attached. It is certain to be the subject of important litigation in the US District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia.

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Fwd: [GW-ACT-LEADERS] National Solar Jobs Census 2010
by James Kotcon 14 Oct '10

14 Oct '10

WOW!!!! Can we get copies of this report to our legislators? JBK >>> Edward Mainland <emainland(a)COMCAST.NET> 10/14/2010 3:07 PM >>> National Solar Jobs Census 2010 This is the most thorough, up-to-date job survey on the US solar industry, with data for every state. Nationally, solar energy provides 93,000 jobs in 2010 and is expected to grow another 24,000 jobs by August 2011. By comparison, coal mining employed 86,859 workers in 2008, a nearly 10-fold job reduction since 1920, even though we use far more coal today than in 1920. Coal supplies nearly half the nation’s electricity while solar energy provides much less than 1% of electric power and hot water. Employment in the California solar industry is forecast to grow about 4500 new jobs over the next year, increasing from 17,352 to 21,804. By comparison, fossil-fuel power generation is expected to grow only 210 new jobs in California, from 13,854 to 14,055. Fossil fuel is used to generate 60% the state’s electric power, while solar energy provides less than 1% of electricity and hot water. Link to download report: http://www.greenlmi.com/resources/ Final+TSF+National+Solar+Jobs+Census+2010+Web+Version.pdf+2.zip - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp

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GOOGLE OFFSHORE WIND PROJECT COULD OBVIATE NEED FOR BOTH TRAIL AND PATH
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 12 Oct '10

12 Oct '10

[image: The New York Times] <http://www.nytimes.com/> ------------------------------ October 12, 2010 Offshore Wind Power Line Wins Praise, and Backing By MATTHEW L. WALD<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/matthew_l_wald…> WASHINGTON — Google<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/google_inc/index.html…>and a New York financial firm have each agreed to invest heavily in a proposed $5 billion transmission backbone for future offshore wind farms<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/w/wind_power/i…>along the Atlantic Seaboard that could ultimately transform the region’s electrical map. The 350-mile underwater spine, which could remove some critical obstacles to wind power development, has stirred excitement among investors, government officials and environmentalists who have been briefed on it. Google and Good Energies <http://www.goodenergies.com/>, an investment firm specializing in renewable energy, have each agreed to take 37.5 percent of the equity portion of the project. They are likely to bring in additional investors, which would reduce their stakes. If they hold on to their stakes, that would come to an initial investment of about $200 million apiece in the first phase of construction alone, said Robert L. Mitchell, the chief executive of Trans-Elect<http://www.trans-elect.com/contact.htm>, the Maryland-based transmission-line company that proposed the venture. Marubeni <http://www.marubeni.com/company/data.html>, a Japanese trading company, has taken a 10 percent stake. Trans-Elect said it hoped to begin construction in 2013. Several government officials praised the idea underlying the project as ingenious, while cautioning that they could not prejudge the specifics. “Conceptually it looks to me to be one of the most interesting transmission projects that I’ve ever seen walk through the door,” said Jon Wellinghoff, the chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission<http://www.ferc.gov/>, which oversees interstate electricity transmission. “It provides a gathering point for offshore wind for multiple projects up and down the coast.” Industry experts called the plan promising, but warned that as a first-of-a-kind effort, it was bound to face bureaucratic delays and could run into unforeseen challenges, from technology problems to cost overruns. While several undersea electrical cables exist off the Atlantic Coast already, none has ever picked up power from generators along the way. The system’s backbone cable, with a capacity of 6,000 megawatts, equal to the output of five large nuclear reactors, would run in shallow trenches on the seabed in federal waters 15 to 20 miles offshore, from northern New Jersey to Norfolk, Va. The notion would be to harvest energy from turbines in an area where the wind is strong but the hulking towers would barely be visible. Trans-Elect estimated that construction would cost $5 billion, plus financing and permit fees. The $1.8 billion first phase, a 150-mile stretch from northern New Jersey to Rehoboth Beach, Del., could go into service by early 2016, it said. The rest would not be completed until 2021 at the earliest. Richard L. Needham, the director of Google’s green business operations group, called the plan “innovative and audacious.” “It is an opportunity to kick-start this industry and, long term, provide a way for the mid-Atlantic states to meet their renewable energy goals,” he said. Yet even before any wind farms were built, the cable would channel existing supplies of electricity from southern Virginia, where it is cheap, to northern New Jersey, where it is costly, bypassing one of the most congested parts of the North American electric grid while lowering energy costs for northern customers. Generating electricity from offshore wind is far more expensive than relying on coal<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/c/coal/index.h…>, natural gas <http://www.nytimes.com/info/natural-gas/?inline=nyt-classifier>or even onshore wind. But energy experts anticipate a growing demand for the offshore turbines to meet state requirements for greater reliance on local renewable energy as a clean alternative to fossil fuels. Four connection points — in southern Virginia, Delaware, southern New Jersey and northern New Jersey — would simplify the job of bringing the energy onshore, involving fewer permit hurdles. In contrast to transmission lines on land, where a builder may have to deal with hundreds of property owners, this project would have to deal with a maximum of just four, and fewer than that in its first phase. Ultimately the system, known as the Atlantic Wind Connection, could make building a wind farm offshore far simpler and cheaper than it looks today, experts said. Environmentalists who have been briefed on the plan were enthusiastic. Melinda Pierce, the deputy director for national campaigns at the Sierra Club <http://www.sierraclub.org/>, said she had campaigned against proposed transmission lines that would carry coal-fired energy around the country, but would favor this one, with its promise of tapping the potential of offshore wind. “These kinds of audacious ideas might just be what we need to break through the wretched logjam,” she said. Projects like Cape Wind<http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/science/earth/29wind.html>, proposed for shallow waters just off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, met with fierce objections from residents who felt it would mar the ocean vista. But sponsors of the Trans-Elect project insist that the mid-Atlantic turbines would have less of a visual impact. The hurdles facing the project have more to do with administrative procedures than with engineering problems or its economic merit, several experts said. By the time the Interior Department<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/i/interio…>could issue permits for such a line, for example, the federal subsidy program for wind will have expired in 2012, said Willett M. Kempton<http://www.ceoe.udel.edu/people/profile.aspx?willett>, a professor at the School of Marine Science and Policy at the University of Delaware<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/u/univers…>and the author of several papers on offshore wind. Another is that PJM Interconnection <http://www.pjm.com/home.aspx>, the regional electricity group that would have to approve the project and assess its member utilities for the cost, has no integrated procedure for calculating the value of all three tasks the line would accomplish — hooking up new power generation, reducing congestion on the grid and improving reliability. And elected officials in Virginia have in the past opposed transmission proposals that would tend to average out pricing across the mid-Atlantic states, possibly raising their constituents’ costs. But the lure of Atlantic wind is very strong. The Atlantic Ocean is relatively shallow even tens of miles from shore, unlike the Pacific, where the sea floor drops away steeply. Construction is also difficult on the Great Lakes because their waters are deep and they freeze, raising the prospect of moving ice sheets that could damage a tower. Nearly all of the East Coast governors, Republican and Democratic, have spoken enthusiastically about coastal wind and have fought proposals for transmission lines from the other likely wind source, the Great Plains. “From Massachusetts down to Virginia, the governors have signed appeals to the Senate not to do anything that would lead to a high-voltage grid that would blanket the country and bring in wind from the Dakotas,” said James J. Hoecker <http://www.huschblackwell.com/james-hoecker/>, a former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/f/federal…>, who now is part of a nonprofit group that represents transmission owners. He described an Atlantic transmission backbone as “a necessary piece of what the Eastern governors have been talking about in terms of taking advantage of offshore wind.” So far only one offshore wind project, Bluewater Wind off Delaware, has sought permission to build in federal waters. The company is seeking federal loan guarantees to build 293 to 450 megawatts of capacity, but the timing of construction remains uncertain. Executives with that project said the Atlantic backbone was an interesting idea, in part because it would foster development of a supply chain for the specialized parts needed for offshore wind. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/s/ken_salazar/in…>, whose agency would have to sign off on the project, has spoken approvingly of wind energy and talked about the possibility of an offshore “backbone.” In a speech this month, he emphasized that the federal waters were “controlled by the secretary,” meaning him. Within three miles of the shore, control is wielded by the state. Nonetheless, if the offshore wind farms are built on a vast scale, the project’s sponsors say, a backbone with just four connection points could expedite the approval process. In fact, if successful, the transmission spine would reduce the regulatory burden on subsequent projects, said Mr. Mitchell, the Trans-Elect chief executive. Mr. Kempton of the University of Delaware and Mr. Wellinghoff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said the backbone would offer another plus: reducing one of wind power’s big problems, variability of output. “Along the U.S. Atlantic seaboard, we tend to have storm tracks that move along the coast and somewhat offshore,” Mr. Kempton said. If storm winds were blowing on Friday off Virginia, they might be off Delaware by Saturday and off New Jersey by Sunday, he noted. Yet the long spine would ensure that the amount of energy coming ashore held roughly constant. Wind energy becomes more valuable when it is more predictable; if predictable enough, it could replace some land-based generation altogether, Mr. Kempton said. But the economics remain uncertain, he warned, For now, he said, the biggest impediment may be that the market price of offshore wind energy is about 50 percent higher than that of energy generated on land. With a change in market conditions — an increase in the price of natural gas, for example, or the adoption of a tax on emissions of carbon dioxide from coal- or gas-generated electricity — that could change, he said.

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