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Wind News in the Region
Scientists: Tangier ripe for wind-energy project, The Virginian-Pilot (Oct.10th, 2008)
Caroline man generating his own electrical power, The Free Lance-Star (Sept 15th, 2008)
Wind is Given 2nd Look As Energy Needs Grow, Washington Post (Aug. 3rd, 2008)
Community Wind Energy 2008, Windustry (Feb. 28th, 2008)
USDA Outreach Conference at Virginia State University, USDA (Feb. 28th, 2008)
2008 Renewable Energy Workshops, North Carolina Wind Energy (Feb. 25th 2008)
Wind farm proposed near Elkins, Charleston Gazette (Feb. 13th, 2008)
An Island Of Energy, Daily News Record (Feb. 6th, 2008)
Environmental Resources Trust, Inc.
Alden Hathaway, ERT's Director of Green Power Programs, received the "Regional Wind Advocacy Award" for the Mid Atlantic region at the May 19 U.S. DOE Wind Powering America State Summit in Evergreen Colorado.
The award recognized Alden and ERT's "leadership, creativity, and commitment to wind energy development by the Wind Powering America Program."
Debra Jacobson, who has worked closely with the ERT team to demonstrate the clean air benefits of wind energy, was the other awardee from the Mid- Atlantic region. Alden, Debra and Colin High have spearheaded ERT's Clean Air with Clean Energy campaign. This campaign links wind energy's pollution reduction benefits with regulatory 'clean air credit' for wind energy purchases. The team's work led to a national precedent for Maryland: Maryland is the first state in the nation to include a municipal wind purchase (by Montgomery County) as a clean air measure in its mandated State Implementation Plan (SIP) air quality plan. This national precedent also marked the first ever EPA approval of emission reductions credit for renewable energy under a regional SIP air quality plan. The precedent has become a model and was cited in EPA's recent guidance for crediting energy efficiency and renewable energy in SIP plans.
Regulatory "SIP" credit for municipal wind purchases makes them more attractive and affordable for counties and cities considering clean energy supply and purchases. These large-scale municipal purchases serve as powerful catalysts for renewable energy in the U.S.
The ERT Team did much of its work with support from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, and developed model documentation to help other states replicate this success. This model documentation is available at http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy05osti/38075.pdf ("Model State Implementation Plan (SIP) Documentation for Wind Energy Purchase in States with Renewable Energy Set-Asides")
ERT is a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., which pioneers the use of market forces to protect and improve the global environment. Founded in 1996, with the help of Environmental Defense, they are focused exclusively on building markets that encourage private parties to serve their own best interests and the best interests of the environment. ERT has three principal programs:
- The GHG RegistrySM records validated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions profiles to help create a market that will enable efficient emissions reductions.
- The EcoPowerSM Program catalyzes the market for clean energy by substantiating and marketing blocks of power that include new renewable sources of energy and have significantly reduced environmental impacts.
- ERT's EcoLandsSM Program enables and encourages landowners to make environmentally beneficial land use decisions.
ERT is not an advocacy organization and has no political affiliation. They implement economic ideas that address today's environmental challenges, using the organization's non-profit status to take risks, produce results, and publicize successes.
Source: Environmental Resources Trust
