The US Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 - aka the $700 billion bailout/rescue plan passed on Friday includes provisions for energy conservation, efficiency and renewable energy credits.
Now I'm still seething mad at the irresponsibility of the lenders and grandiose homebuyers that led to this problem in the first place -- my 401k looks more like a 201k these days. But the energy provisions provides some consolation.
Included in the act - smart grid assets can be depreciated over 10 years, instead of the customary 20. This provision was originally slated, and then pulled, from 2007 EISA. This bailout bill unexpectedly provided an opportunity to get it back in.
I know that lots of eyes glaze over when they hear the term depreciation. Shortened depreciation means that utilities can write off the value of the meter assets sooner, paying lower taxes and improve cash flow. This sweetens utility's business case for smart metering infrastructure. Smart meters enable dynamic (time of use) rates. Time of use rates provide financial incentives for consumers to use cleaner baseload energy rather than dirtier and more expensive peaking energy. That saves polar bears.
The act also included a slew of renewals for renewable energy tax credits, and energy efficient appliance credits. That's great for the solar, wind, biomass, energy efficient appliance manufacturers, consumers, and polar bears.
See also Demand Response and Advance Metering (DRAM) Coalition website.
Sunday, October 05, 2008
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3 comments:
You wrote:
"...cleaner baseload energy rather than dirtier and more expensive peaking energy"
Correct me if I'm wrong (as I often am), but I thought that baseload was the "dirty" capacity. Mostly coal, and nuclear (which may be "clean" at any given moment, could could become very "dirty" very fast). Peaking power is hydro, pumped storage, gas turbines, solar/wind/geothermal, and other technologies that can be dispatched at the drop of a hat.
Good question. The degree to which peaking power is dirtier than baseload varies by region. And in regions where baseload is primarily coal, and peaking is primarily gas, then peaking would technically be cleaner. In California, for instance, baseload is nuclear, wind, and hydro where peaking tends to be gas and oil. (I do generally put nuclear in the "clean" category, which can be debated). Geothermal is generally thought of as baseload - wind of course as intermittent, so not a reliable source of peaking power.
One could debate how "clean" pumped storage is since its mechanically inefficient, using more power than it generates to fill the peak, although the pumping power usually comes from clean sources, including nuke.
Nice to know someone's reading - thanks J!
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