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Sunny, but still cloudy
(by Julia Werner - February 03, 2010)
This year promises to be a greener one for Missouri.
Last month, St. Louis was awarded almost $50 million in Recovery Act Grants to advance the development of biofuels and provide green energy jobs. Meanwhile the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative, which passed as Proposition C in 2008, finally began to take shape in the form of solar installation rebates.
Though plans for the grant funds have been established, the clean energy initiative has yet to be fully implemented and its biggest effects are 10 years in the making.
The process began three years ago with PJ Wilson, executive director of Renew Missouri (now an affiliate of the Missouri Coalition for the Environment). At that time, Wilson was training volunteers, working on ballot language with an attorney and fundraising. In November 2008, Missouri became the 27th state to have a renewable electricity standard and only the third to pass it by ballot initiative behind Colorado and Washington.
“The idea that this renewable portfolio standard could be a ballot initiative that was successful was an idea that very few of us thought would be possible,” Wilson said.
Proposition C passed with 66 percent of the vote and as of Jan. 1, it has officially gone into effect with a new solar rebate program that lowers the cost of solar electric systems by 20 percent or more.
In addition, the Missouri Clean Energy Initiative requires Missouri’s investor-owned utilities Kansas City Power and Light, Empire Electric and AmerenUE to generate a percentage of their electricity from renewable energy resources starting at 2 percent in 2011 and increasing to 15 percent by 2021. It also ensures that electric rates will not rise more than 1 percent due to cost of compliance.
Wilson said that much of the Missouri ballot initiative was based on that of Colorado, which has a similar solar resource. He said he hopes that Missouri follows its lead by eventually raising its renewable energy percentage.
“It ended up being a pretty moderate standard that we created,” Wilson said. “Colorado’s was a mandate for 10 percent renewable energy which a few years later they doubled to 20 percent and right now at the federal level they’re pushing for a 25 percent renewable portfolio. We passed a 15 percent one in Missouri.”
Moving forward
Wilson said a recent cost study indicates that as a result of the initiative customers can expect to see roughly a half percent increase in their electricity bill over the next six to eight years before it drops by approximately 1.3 percent in the following 12 years.
As far as solar rebates go, Wilson said the typical size for a home solar electric system in Missouri is a 2.5-kilowatt system, or 15 solar panels, costing around $20,000 installed. The initiative requires utilities to give a $2,000 per kilowatt rebate or in this case $5,000. In addition, there is currently a 30 percent federal tax credit that would cover an additional $5,000.
Wilson acknowledged that even with the cost of solar panels virtually cut in half, it still might not be in the budget for most people.
Aside from the rebates, however, Proposition C may take some time to go into effect.
Renew Missouri is currently working with the Public Service Commission to create rules to guide how Proposition C will be implemented. Wilson said that there are two main issues that have yet to be decided.
The first deals with the 2 percent renewable energy requirement and whether the utilities can produce or purchase electricity or renewable energy credits out of state. The second issue is how the Public Service Commission will interpret the 1 percent cost cap, whether annually or at another given time.
Michael West, manager of communications and public relations for AmerenUE, said that the company is waiting for the rules to be finalized so it can move forward.
“You can’t circumvent that process. To make any moves or do other things would be premature at this point,” West said. “We’re just waiting for that process to be complete and then we will probably be able to talk more about the decisions that we need to make.”
West explained that AmerenUE’s position on the initiative hasn’t changed much since 2008; the company neither supports nor opposes it, and this is due in part to Missouri’s lack of natural resources.
“Other parts of the country who may have similar initiatives, I think it probably made better sense simply because the natural resource exists, and that doesn’t exist in a plentiful way here,” West said. “We’re not opposed to any renewable energy, we’re just trying to find out based on what resources we have in this state the best and most cost-efficient way to produce it.”
In addition to the solar rebate that Prop. C provides, AmerenUE is currently involved in several other green projects, including energy efficient business programs and working with retailers to offer rebates on compact fluorescent lamps. In September, AmerenUE announced an agreement with Fred Weber Inc. to install combustion turbines that generate electricity and burn methane gas at the solid waste landfill in Maryland Heights.
Wilson said the Public Service Commission will begin to accept formal comments on their drafted rules on Feb. 16 and has designated April 6 as the public comment day in Jefferson City. Though setbacks are always a possibility, Wilson anticipates the rules to be finalized by the end of the summer.
“[Prop. C] has already had an impact and it’s a terrific impact,” said Jean Ponzi, green resources manager for the Missouri Botanical Garden’s EarthWays Center. “We need to aggressively and resourcefully integrate renewables into the mix of where our energy needs are met, and Prop. C mandated that, and it came from the people. It did not come from the utility companies, it didn’t come from the legislature, it came from the people, so that to me is a terrific, strong statement that the people of Missouri want to make that shift in meeting our energy needs.”
• For additional information on renewable energy, see: www.westendword.com/NC/0/1428.html
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