Cleantech Blog

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Cap-and-Trade Gold in the Golden State

By John Addison (7/2/08). Obama and McCain have both stated that climate change requires decisive action. Both support cap-and-trade, putting a limit (cap) on greenhouse gases and enabling the market to work by allowing the trading of permits.

How would this work in the United States? We will all learn from California’s progress with its enacted law – AB32 Climate Solutions Act. The implementation is detailed in the 93-page Climate Change Draft Scoping Plan.

By requiring in law a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020, California has set the stage for its transition to a clean energy future.

Since the law was enacted in 2006, the lead implementing agency, the California Air Resources Board (ARB), has been getting an earful from everyone from concerned citizens to industry lobbyists. It moves forward publishing data from the California Climate Action Registry, facilitating 12 major action teams, conducting public workgroups, and drafting plans which get more feedback in public meetings. The ARB Board will next meet to review the proposed Scoping Plan on Novembers 20 and 21.

Climate change is already impacting everything in California from draughts that cause agricultural loses to water shortages that impact industry. But instead of seeing the glass as half empty, the California Plan states, “This challenge also presents a magnificent opportunity to transform California’s economy into one that runs on clean and sustainable technologies, so that all Californians are able to enjoy their rights to clean air, clean water, and a healthy and safe environment.” Cleantech will be a major winner.

The plan is ambitious because California’s population in 2020 is forecasted to be double the 1990 level. The Climate Solutions Act will require that per capita CO2e emissions be reduced from today’s 14 tons per year to 10 tons per day by 2020. The total state cap for 2020 is 427 MMTCO2e. Keys to success will include:

Green buildings with improved construction, insullation, energy efficient lighting, HVAC, equipment, and appliances.
Electric utilities that use at least 33 percent renewable energy.
Development of a California cap-and-trade program that links with other western states and Canadians provinces to create a regional market system.
Implementation of existing State laws and policies, including California’s clean vehicle standards, goods movement measures, and the Low Carbon Fuel Standard.

The Plan shows that California has learned from the Kyoto implementation. California’s scope is much broader, covering 85 percent of the State’s greenhouse gas emissions from six greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). AB32 calls for incremental improvements all the way to 2050.

The transportation sector – largely the cars and trucks – is the largest contributor with 38 percent of the state’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Electricity generation is 23 percent. Industry 20 percent. Commercial and residential buildings are 9 percent.

Look for economic growth in a number of areas. New buildings will increasingly be LEED certified, often at the Silver level. Building efficiency retrofits will be an active area employing contracts large and small.

Distributed power generation will grow. Combined heat and power will be actively deployed. Process efficiency will continue.

Renewable energy will experience strong growth including wind, solar, geothermal, and bioenergy. Ocean power pilot projects will continue. Controversial new power from nuclear and petroleum coke gasification with CSS will be considered. In-state coal power generation is history in California. Using out-of-state coal power will continue to decline as GHG emissions are priced into the equation.

Wind continues to grow in California and the nation. A fascinating read is the Department of Energy (DOE) report, entitled 20 Percent Wind Energy by 2030, which identifies the real feasibility of the United States reaching meeting 20 percent of its energy requirements from wind by 2030. A path to over 300 GW of wind power by 2030 is detailed.

California and much of the nation is blessed with an abundance of sunlight. The Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study, produced by Clean Edge and Co-op America, provides a comprehensive roadmap for utilities, solar companies, and regulators to reach 10% solar in the U.S. by 2025 with both PV and CSP.

C02 costs are not likely to significantly increase the cost of fuel, but rocketing oil costs have changed the game. Use of corporate flexible work programs, commuting, and use of public transportation are now at record levels in the state and will grow in popularity.

California High-Speed Rail (HSR) is likely to be on the California ballot this November, with a price tag that will be a fraction of the cost of expanding highways and adding an airport. HSR would link major transit systems throughout the state, and save billions in fuel costs and emissions.

AB32 is also likely to reach its goals because cars will increasingly outsell SUVs and trucks in California. By 2020, electric cars and plug-in hybrids may experience and explosion of popularity. New low-carbon fuels are likely to be widely used.

California is working closely with six other states and three Canadian provinces in the Western Climate Initiative (WCI) to design a regional greenhouse gas emission reduction program that includes a cap-and-trade approach. ARB will develop a cap-and-trade program for California that will link with the programs in the other partner states and provinces to create this western regional market. California’s participation in WCI creates an opportunity to provide substantially greater reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from throughout the region than could be achieved by California alone. AB32 may give the United States a head-start in its own cap-and-trade program.

John Addison publishes the Clean Fleet Report.

Labels: Barack Obama, cap-and-trade, carbon credits, cleantech, climate change, gasoline prices, green building, John McCain

Monday, June 11, 2007

Carbon Taxes...Sorry, I Meant, "Fees"

by Richard T. Stuebi

For a long time, I have been assuming that U.S. regulations to reduce carbon emissions, when they come, will be in the form of a cap-and-trade program, similar to what is in place in the U.S. for limiting sulfur dioxide emissions.

Even though a cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions is probably workable, it is still (in my opinion) a less direct mechanism for reducing carbon emisisons than the more obvious: a carbon tax, priced on a $/ton emitted basis.

Carbon taxes have not found much favor because...well, they're a tax, and no politician wants to implement a tax, as it's deadly to one's career ambitions. (Remember "Read my lips"?) More substantively, some have argued that a carbon tax would be harder to administer, though I would think that a cap-and-trade system would be much more cumbersome (all those allowances to track!).

For certain, a tax is a better structure dealing with emissions from all sources, large and small, whereas a cap-and-trade system is only manageable for large point source emitters -- such as utility powerplants. Not surprisingly, therefore, oil and auto interests generally favor cap-and-trade as the carbon mitigation approach of choice. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, those utilities that have gone on record in support of climate legislation are OK with a cap-and-trade approach, probably because of accumulate utility experience with cap-and-trade for sulfur dioxide.

However, FPL Group (NYSE: FPL) has cast their lot in arguing for a carbon "fee" -- a tax by any other name, but a much more acceptable term. (Policy statement here) This is the first big company that I'm aware of that has gone this far out on the carbon tax limb.

True, FPL is not among the leading carbon emitters: with a large emphasis on gas, nuclear and wind for their electricity generation, they can better afford to adopt a bolder climate stance than other utilities.

But I wonder if other utilities -- Exelon (NYSE: EXC) comes to mind, maybe Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK) -- can be far behind? And, if so, will the pendulum swing away from cap-and-trade to carbon taxes...er, fees?

Richard T. Stuebi is the BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at The Cleveland Foundation, and is also the Founder and President of NextWave Energy, Inc.

Labels: alternative energy, cap-and-trade, carbon tax, cleantech, Cleantech Blog, climate change, energy, green tech, greentech