PA Forests 'Significantly Threatened' by Gas Drilling

PA Forests 'Significantly Threatened' by Gas Drilling
By Iris Marie Bloom | 24.MAR.10

Vote on Rep. Vitali’s 5-year Moratorium Expected this Week

The Pennsylvania legislature may vote this week to allow Governor Rendell to force the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) to lease yet another huge chunk of Pennsylvania state forests. At a Temple University teach-in attended by over 200 people last Thursday, DCNR Secretary John Quigley stated that Pennsylvania’s forests are "significantly threatened by this uncontrolled gold rush to extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale."

The forest land already leased is one third of all Pennsylvania’s state forest land. All the state forest land left is sensitive and deserves special protection, according to the Pennsylvania Forest Coalition, PennFuture, Trout Unlimited, and other members of a wide-ranging coalition springing up to defend Pennsylvania’s forests and rivers.

Pennsylvania Representative Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) has introduced a resolution, HB 2235, which would require a five-year moratorium on any further leasing of forest lands. Supporters have become more vocal and active this week, expecting the vote any day. In a March 22nd editorial, "Stop, Look, Assess Drilling’s Full Effects," the Pocono Record advocated for HB 2235: "Pennsylvania should not risk the integrity of the beautiful forests that gave the state its name… Pennsylvania has already leased…a whopping 700,000 acres. Let’s see how that goes before opening the remainder of this valuable public land to energy companies." Over 145 people attended a Poconos forum on Marcellus Shale drilling last month, sponsored by the League of Women Voters out of growing concern about forest fragmentation, water quality and other impacts.

Vitali’s bill would also authorize DCNR, rather than the governor, to decide whether to authorize further drilling after the five-year moratorium.

Legislators not particularly known for environmental advocacy may favor the moratorium for economic reasons: tourism is Pennsylvania’s second most lucrative industry, and that’s not all about people standing in line to see the Liberty Bell. According to the Appalachian Mountain Club, Pennsylvania has more maintained hiking trails than any other state.

The Pocono Record commented, "Responsible legislators also must weigh [shale gas drilling’s] substantial risks, which include chemical spills, water pollution, the incursion of new roads in pristine remote land and heavier traffic in rural areas. Our legislators have a sworn duty to protect Pennsylvania’s natural resources." The Record concluded, "Don’t let our historic forests become a cash cow for drillers."

In related news, environmentalists found a temporary solution to protect West Virginia forests also vulnerable to shale gas drilling. Conservation groups succeeded last Friday in stopping the federal Bureau of Land Management from auctioning publicly owned oil and gas reserves under the Monongahela National Forest in West Virginia. The Center for Biological Diversity, Wilderness Society and Friends of Blackwater were among the groups warning that oil and gas development would threaten endangered bats, a native brook trout fishery, clean water and scenic resources inside the forest.

In Philadelphia, packed auditoriums marked two watershed events last week: the Schuylkill Watershed Congress, sponsored by Delaware Riverkeeper Network on March 13th, and the March 18th teach-in on the environmental impacts of Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania, sponsored by Temple University. The Temple teach-in included highly technical and scientific information as well as lively debate and confrontations between environmentalists, regulators, and industry lobbyists. "The timing was good… listening to the speakers, I renewed my commitment to work hard to keep shale gas drillers out of our watershed," commented Francine Cohen, a graduate student at Temple.

The Delaware River Basin Commission public comment period remains open until April 12th regarding the first shale gas drilling permit, and the first water withdrawal permit, in the Delaware River watershed. Both permits could be decided as early as May 5th.

Breaking News: No Bonus Depreciation 3-18-2010

The jobs bill was signed into law today by President Obama.

Known as the "HIRE Act' (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act), the new law does not include Bonus Depreciation.

This may be a non-event for many small businesses acquiring equipment this year if they would not have elected to take bonus depreciation anyway due to their reduced income during these difficult economic times.

Under 5-year MACRS, the annual depreciation deductions are 20%, 32%, 19.20%, 11.52%, 11.52%, and 5.76% in the first 6 years in that order. The biggest annual deduction in year 2 could match up nicely as a deduction against higher income next year for a company that installs solar this year.

The takeaway is this: It does not make sense for a company to put off installing solar to next year. Install now and get the big depreciation deduction next year when it has the most value...reducing higher income that would be subject to higher tax rates...especially after the Bush tax cuts expire this year and real rates rise along with the company's income!

Dump may have bright future as solar energy site

THOMAS BARLAS, Staff Writer | Posted: Thursday, March 4, 2010

A Burlington County company wants to buy Hamilton Township's old landfill and turn it into a major New Jersey solar energy site.

Officials with Land Resource Solutions, hired by the township a few years ago to help environmentally secure and redevelop the landfill, say state and federal programs that promote clean and renewable energy could make it financially feasible for them to proceed with the $50 million project.

"That's our goal," said Trevan Houser, a principal in Land Resource Solutions. "We think it's a good site. We think it's a good fit."

Along with gaining revenue from the sale of the land, Houser said the township could buy discounted energy from the site.

Houser and township officials say the proposal also means the municipality wouldn't have to pay millions of dollars to environmentally secure the landfill. That process traditionally means capping a landfill with clay to prevent water from seeping through the site and carrying pollutants into the ground, installing monitoring systems and performing 30 years worth of state-required environmental monitoring.

"No out-of-pocket expenses to the township," Houser said.

The landfill is located near the township's industrial park in Mays Landing. The site is also near many Atlantic County government buildings, such as the jail, criminal court complex and schools.

Mayor Roger Silva said the township, Land Resource and Atlantic County might consider a partnership that would also provide reduced-cost energy to those county facilities. Another possibility would be to use reduced energy costs as another way to attract more businesses to the industrial park, he said.

"The problem that I have is that you can't get it done fast enough," Silva said.

Houser estimated it could take about three years before the solar energy field is operational.

As for the county, Atlantic County Administrator Gerald DelRosso said it's already considering proposals for two solar panel arrays - one for the jail, and another to be built over the criminal court complex parking lot.

However, DelRosso said the county would be willing to at least discuss some kind of arrangement with the township.

The 16-acre landfill has been closed for about 20 years.

For years, township officials discussed what to do with the site. One major obstacle involved finding the millions of dollars necessary to environmental secure and then redevelop the land.

Land Resource is using $379,000 in state grant money to study what is buried beneath the landfill and whether it's causing any underground water and soil pollution.

Township and Land Resource officials estimate the site could hold enough solar panels to generate about 6 megawatts of power. That's enough to power about 5,000 homes for a year, Houser said.

Houser contends that one way to reduce closing costs is to convince the state Department of Environmental Protection and state Pinelands Commission that a different kind of cover for the landfill than clay could be safely used.

Houser said his company is studying alternative cap materials that would allow water to filter through the township landfill site. Water has filtered through the landfill for the past 20 years, he said, and tests indicate no potentially dangerous problems with soil and ground water.

"It has stabilized," he said.

Kyocera plans solar-panel assembly in San Diego

Kyocera plans solar-panel assembly in Kearny Mesa

By Onell R. Soto, UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 11:22 p.m.

/ Kyocera

Steve Hill, who heads Kyocera’s North American solar subsidiary, held one of the company’s solar modules. Kyocera has announced that it will begin manufacturing panels in San Diego.

Partly to take advantage of made-in-America provisions in the federal stimulus law, Kyocera announced plans Wednesday to open a solar-panel-assembly line at its U.S. headquarters in Kearny Mesa.

When it starts up in June, the assembly line will employ 65 to 75 people, company officials said. Some will be new hires; others will be existing Kyocera workers who had worked on a gold-plating line that the company recently moved to Mexico.

The announcement comes amid criticism that the stimulus bill — particularly in the renewable-energy arena — has sent money to overseas manufacturers. Washington lawmakers have become increasingly sensitive to those concerns amid persistently high unemployment.

Sen. Charles Schumer of New York and three other Democratic senators Wednesday introduced a bill that would require clean-energy projects receiving federal funds to use only domestic materials.

“It is a no-brainer that stimulus funds should only go to projects that create jobs in the United States rather than overseas,” Schumer said in a statement.

Existing law already requires some projects — those in certain public-works facilities — to use U.S.-made solar panels.

Kyocera’s decision to locate in San Diego was based only in part on stimulus considerations, said Rodney Lanthorne, president of the company’s U.S. subsidiary. The line will also take advantage of existing suppliers and infrastructure, as well as its proximity to a much larger solar-panel-assembly line in Tijuana.

“It just made sense to put it in San Diego,” Lanthorne said.

While workers are paid more in the United States than in Mexico, other costs are similar, and there will be savings because some components won’t have to cross the border, he said.

Whether employment here grows depends on how business fares, Lanthorne said, adding, “We don’t have a crystal ball.”

Kyocera’s solar operations have worldwide reach.

Silicon from the United States is sent to Japan, where it is forged into chips that are sent to plants in Japan, China, Mexico and the Czech Republic for assembly into solar panels, said Steve Hill, who heads the company’s North American solar subsidiary.

Hill said the company will manufacture 400 megawatts of solar panels worldwide in the fiscal year ending this month. By 2013, it plans to more than double that output to 1,000 megawatts.

“We’re expanding in Mexico as well,” he said.

The company’s five-year-old Tijuana plant, which will make 250 megawatts of solar panels this fiscal year, supplies customers in North and South America.

Hill said Kyocera’s business is split among rooftop arrays on homes, larger arrays on warehouses and stores, and much larger desert solar farms for utilities.

As production has increased, prices have come down, he said.

And California is a leading market. The state has subsidized solar installations for businesses and homeowners through surcharges on electric bills.

The state is two years ahead of expectations in its plan to outfit a million roofs with solar panels and generate 3 gigawatts of power from the sun, said Irene Stillings, head of the California Center for Sustainable Energy.

Her group oversees solar rebate programs in San Diego County and hosted Wednesday’s Kyocera announcement.

“Demand is increasing exponentially,” Stillings said.

State lawmakers recently approved a plan through which the owners of solar panels would be reimbursed for excess electricity they produce. The California Public Utilities Commission is deciding how much they should be paid.

Wednesday’s announcement earned praise from San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, both of whom touted the benefits of adding “green collar” jobs to the region.

In 1971, Kyocera became the first Japanese company to begin manufacturing in California. The diversified industrial company now employs about 1,100 people in San Diego and about 800 in Tijuana.

“We’ve been here a long time,” Hill said.

NYSES,stimulus awards

To the 565 Friends of NYSES:

You must track these stimulus awards locally (see below). Some of these funds are going to entities that may or may not do a great job. The ARRA housing insulation funds have been exceedingly slow to be spent.
Note below the remarks by NY Congresspeople who have already earmarked these new ARRA funds for specific projects.
Imagine if we had $40,000,000 for Solar Day NY/USA. We could easily reach every New Yorker with an educational package and a host a call in center with lists of local installers.

ALBANY, NY (03/01/2010)(readMedia)-- Governor David A. Paterson today announced that $40 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding has been awarded to New York municipalities, public schools, universities and colleges, hospitals and not-for-profit agencies to support 118 energy conservation projects. The energy efficiency, renewable energy and clean fleet projects will reduce energy and operating costs by $13.5 million annually and fully return the initial investment in just under 7 years.
"At a time when many are working with less, we must make wise investments that both create savings and plan for our future. These funds will provide public and non-profit entities with critical resources needed to make long-term investments that will reduce their energy costs and save taxpayers money," Governor Paterson said. "These projects will invigorate the State's economy, heighten the demand for clean renewable technologies, and help put New Yorkers to work in the clean energy economy. I applaud President Obama and our Congressional Delegation for their work to secure these critical funds that promote economic recovery, energy independence and strong environmental stewardship."
The projects, which were competitively selected through the State Energy Program, represent the program's second round of funding that will total $74 million. Additional awards are expected to be made before the end of the year. Measures funded include installation of lighting and lighting controls, heating, cooling and controls, building envelope, photovoltaic systems, high efficiency biomass boilers, solar thermal, small wind generators and alternative-fuel refueling stations and vehicles.
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) President and CEO Francis J. Murray said: "The federal stimulus program is providing critical funding to help local governments, hospitals, colleges and universities, and non-profit agencies reduce their energy costs while helping New York reduce its overall energy consumption and our impact on the environment. The energy conservation measures this funding supports will help create jobs and make meaningful progress towards meeting Governor David Paterson's ambitious energy reduction goals. NYSERDA looks forward to working with the award recipients to help them achieve the greatest savings possible."
The following tables show the distribution of funds by region and by sector:

Region	Funds Awarded
1 – New York City	$16,356,848
2 - Long Island	$7,826,389
3 – Hudson Valley & Capital District	$6,741,262
4 – Adirondacks	$1,250,572
5 – Central New York	$3,684,384
6 – Rochester/Genesee	$2,082,595
7 – Buffalo/Western New York	$2,197,822

Sector	Number of Awards	Funds Awarded
Hospitals & Not-for Profits	23	$6,783,984
Public K-12 Schools	31	$16,803,928
Municipalities	42	$11,378,121
Public Colleges & Universities	22	$5,173,838

NYSERDA received more than 300 proposals and evaluated on a competitive basis. Primary selection criteria included technical viability, cost-effectiveness, demonstration of compliance with program requirements, and cost sharing. Each awardee must still successfully enter into contract and meet all ARRA requirements prior to funding being released.
Through these awards, New York continues to invest in a clean energy economy and achieve Governor Paterson's goal of meeting 45 percent of the State's energy needs through energy efficiency and renewable energy by 2015. Governor Paterson's '45 by 15' program is one of the nation's most aggressive energy efficiency and renewable energy initiatives. It is conservatively estimated that this program will create 50,000 new jobs throughout the State.
The next round of funding for the remaining $8.8 million has been announced with proposals due to NYSERDA on April 7, 2010. Visit http://www.nyserda.org/funding/1613rfp.asp for more information about RFP 1613.
A detailed table of the energy conservation projects awarded can be found at: http://www.nyserda.org/economicrecovery/awarded.asp.