Wetlands and climate change
I had a story in today's paper about the planting of wetlands as a tool to fight climate change. Maryland in 2009 will start a "cap and trade" system for reducing carbon dioxide pollution from power plants. And both the state and Maryland's biggest power company are interested in the idea of using pollution credits -- essentially fines to power companies for spewing too much carbon dioxide -- to pay for the planting of acres of wetlands, which absorb carbon dioxide.
Whether or not planting more marsh grass in the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge will do much to stop global warming is a matter of debate. Probably, it could play a small role -- when combined with large cuts in actual carbon dioxide emissions.
But pollution credit systems are a hot topic not only in Annapolis, but also in DC and around the world. For example, Barack Obama yesterday outlined his support of a national pollution credit trading system to limit carbon dioxide pollution. "No business will be allowed to emit any greenhouse gases for free,” Mr. Obama said while campaigning Portsmouth, N.H, according to The New York Times. “Businesses don’t own the sky, the public does, and if we want them to stop polluting it, we have to put a price on all pollution.”
Constellation Energy, the state's largest owner of power plants, is one of several power companies across the country that support a national cap-and-trade system for cutting down greenhouse gas pollution. In fact, a large coalition of both industrial corporations -- like General Motors and Duke Energy -- and environmental groups -- like the Natural Resources Defense Council -- support a national pollution credit system for attacking climate change.
But the key question is....what kind of pollution credit system? Europe, in trying to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions under the Kyoto Protocol, discovered that power companies can make huge profits off of these opaque "cap and trade" schemes by jacking up their rates, charging customers extra and not actually reducing their pollution.
Pollution credit systems can work. The prime example is the sulfur dioxide pollution credit trading system created in the U.S. by the 1990's, which cut down on acid rain.
But the crucial component is making the polluters pay, according to Josh Dorner, a spokesman for the Sierra Club. Power companies, for example, should be forced to pay for their carbon dioxide credits up front, so they are essentially fined for polluting, Dorner said. They should not be given the credits at their current level of emmissions, as happened in Europe and led to vast profits for the power companies and ripoffs for consumers.
"It's important not to give away the right to pollute," Dorner said.
Maryland is still debating exactly how its pollution credit system should function.
It will be interesting to see how this debate plays out in terms of electricity rates -- always a sensitive subject -- and holding power companies accountable, so they don't take advantage of the new system.
Meanwhile, grass roots activists are turning up the heat. This morning in Baltimore's Federal Hill park, the Maryland Chapter of the Sierra Club held a rally with college students and the Episcopal Diocese Of Maryland and others to urge "state wide leadership on global warming."
Here is the press release from the student global warming protest held today in Baltimore:
Maryland Students and Sierra Club Unite:
State Wide Action Needed On Global Warming
Baltimore, MD – Today, the newly formed Maryland Student Climate Coalition joined with the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland Committee on the Environment and the Maryland Sierra Club to call on Governor O'Malley to make Maryland a nation-wide leader on global warming. Though Maryland has taken strong steps to reduce pollution in recent years with the Clean Cars Bill and Healthy Air Act, it has not yet taken a comprehensive stand on global warming.
The Maryland Student Climate Coalition (MSCC) is a grassroots coalition of concerned students from across the 11 universities in the University System of Maryland. Towson University Sophomore and MSCC Co-founder Erica Stout said, "Our goal is to achieve carbon neutrality across the University System of Maryland, thereby reducing the impact of global warming at the state level and creating a blueprint for other universities to implement around the globe."
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has 117 parishes and missions and over 44,000 active members. The Peace and Justice Ministries include the Diocesan Committee on the Environment, which is made up of clergy and laypeople alike. Committee member Sue Chapelle agreed, "Along with students, the Episcopalian community in Maryland is deeply concerned that there be more coordinated state action on global warming. Many congregations have already taken steps to reduce our environmental impact but this will not be enough for Maryland."
Joining with the student coalition was the Maryland Sierra Club, the state's largest environmental organization with over 16,000 members. Lee Walker, Political Chair of the Howard County Sierra Club Group, has been working on the issue of global warming for years. "Maryland has the third most vulnerable coastline to sea level rise in the entire country, after Louisiana and southern Florida," Walker said. "We cannot wait for federal action. Maryland must reduce our global warming pollution at least 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050."
In his statement last week to US Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works, O'Malley indicated that he is aware that Maryland is and should continue to be a leader on environmental issues. In April of this year O'Malley established the Commission on Climate Change. The Commission has been charged with collectively developing an action plan to address the causes of climate change, prepare for the likely consequences and impacts of climate change to Maryland, and establish firm benchmarks and timetables for implementing the Commission's recommendations. Their preliminary recommendations are due to be released in November.
Andrew Nazdin, a University of Maryland sophomore and co-founder of the MSCC, commented, "We unite here today representing three groups in Maryland, all calling for state-wide action on global warming because we know it's imperative for Maryland to take comprehensive action to fight global warming. Each of our groups is making change as we can, but we can't stop global warming alone. We need leadership in Maryland, and we urge Governor O'Malley to take strong, immediate action on global warming."
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I report on the environment and Chesapeake Bay. A native of West Virginia, I have focused mainly on Maryland's environment since moving here in 1983. Along the way, I've crewed aboard a skipjack in the bay, canoed under city streets up the Jones Fall from the Inner Harbor, and gone deep underground in a western Maryland coal mine. Recently, I have been covering the growth and development transforming the landscape. I love seafood, rambles in the country and good stories. I hope to share some here.
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Does ethanol fuel policy increase oil use and oil profit
Some folks think so
Clean Air PerformanceProfessionals
Posted by: Charlie Peters | October 9, 2007 6:29 PM
Brighter than sunshine
By GRANT HUANG Staff Writer
Subscribe to the Maryland Gazette
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Jim Artuso is a man on a mission to spread the word about home solar power.
The Glen Burnie resident is one of more than 700 independent sales agents for a controversial Delaware-based energy startup called Citizenre.
The company is promising to bring solar power to the masses by allowing homeowners to rent the expensive equipment required at a fraction of the cost needed to buy it. Local experts say it's a claim that can't be fulfilled, a pipe dream likely to damage an infant industry's credibility.
But regardless of whether it can deliver, Citizenre's powerful message is spreading rapidly thanks to local sales agents around the country like Mr. Artuso. More than 20,700 homeowners nationwide - including 78 county residents - have signed up to reserve the company's solar power systems, which won't be ready for installation until sometime in 2008.
"The number (of homeowners reserving systems) is going up by hundreds each week. It's a wonderful number," said Erika Morgan, Citizenre's vice president of communications. "It proves our pilot proposition, which is that people will accept this deal and sign up for a long-term rental even knowing they won't get the system this year. It also proves our associates are interested in selling this deal even though they're not being paid a dime to do it right now."
That's right. Mr. Artuso won't get any money for his efforts, including the 50 signs he's erected along county roads this summer. He paid for those out of pocket, but that's no sweat for a self-described regular Joe who truly believes in the future of solar.
"I've heard about solar power since I was in elementary school. The technology has been there that long," said Mr. Artuso, who pays the bills by working as a production line mechanic for Phillips Foods Inc. in Baltimore. "It's just been out of reach for 30 years because it's too expensive. (Citizenre) is designed to bring solar to the average guy, like me. And if they don't work out, I don't lose anything but the time I spent getting the word out."
He gives only the noblest of reasons for getting the word out. Freedom from corporate titans like Constellation Energy. Reduced reliance on coal, which fuels the power plants providing the vast majority of household electricity. Oh, and a chance to save the world, one kilowatt-hour of pollutant-free, green energy at a time.
Money is the catch
Of course, solar power alone can't power a house year-round, even if the entire roof were covered with solar panels.
Electricity output drops on cloudy days, at nighttime and during the winter, when days are shorter. That means BGE and Constellation Energy will always supply some of the power.
But the biggest catch is money. It costs between $30,000 and $50,000 to buy and install a solar power system big enough to provide electricity for the average home.
That's why the whole point of Citizenre's residential rental model is affordability, Ms. Morgan said. To cut costs, Citizenre plans to produce its own solar panels en masse at a manufacturing facility that it will build and operate.
But the company won't say when or even where the facility will be built, only that it's "somewhere in the northeastern U.S." and that construction has yet to begin.
Critics see the secrecy as evidence of a possible scam.
"They claim they're going to build a factory that's going to revolutionize the price of their product. But it's the missing ingredient here, central to everything they're spinning," said Peter Lowenthal, executive director of the Maryland-D.C.-Virginia chapter of the Solar Energy Industries Association. "Maybe they'll raise a billion dollars and make this happen. But for now, selling promises is very upsetting to an industry that's just getting on its feet."
Ms. Morgan said the secrecy is necessary because Citizenre is in the midst of sensitive negotiations with two state governments, both of which are vying to host the manufacturing plant.
"We may look back on this and say we've been silent too long," she said. "But if we released partial information that people would poke holes in, we would regret that as well."
She said a formal announcement on the location and time frame for the facility will come within two months.
Not a scam?
Citizenre's secrecy and waiting period have stirred local skepticism.
Myrl Hartman was driving along Ritchie Highway in July when he noticed one of the signs Mr. Artuso had put up, advertising cheap solar power.
Though the 84-year-old Glen Burnie resident signed up with Mr. Artuso to reserve a system, he also asked the Maryland Gazette to look into Citizenre's business practices.
"I read the contract and I showed it to my daughter-in-law and she goes, 'oh it's got to be a scam,' " Mr. Hartman recalled. "It just sounded too good to be true."
Here's Citizenre's pitch.
Customers sign up for contracts lasting one, five or 25 years, paying a monthly rate per kilowatt-hour that's based on a 12-month average of utility rates in their state. This rate is only updated at the end of each year, which is why Citizenre's Maryland rate is only 8.8 cents per kilowatt-hour, far less than the 14 cents per kilowatt-hour BGE is charging after its rate hikes. Citizenre allows users to lock in the lower rate for the duration of their contract.
According to 2001 data from the U.S. Department of Energy, the average household consumes roughly 29 kilowatt-hours of electricity per day, which means Citizenre customers already signed up will pay a monthly rental fee of around $77. Using the same electricity consumption data, BGE customers would pay a monthly utility bill of approximately $122. These figures are based on many averages, such as a home size of 1,500 square feet.
On top of the monthly fees, Citizenre customers must pay a $500 security deposit that's returned at the end of the contract period. If the contract is broken, the company keeps the deposit and will rent the solar power system to another customer.
None of these fees will be charged until Citizenre actually installs the system, which means the company's early marketing scheme is legal.
"As long as there's full disclosure and they're not taking that security deposit until they come through (with the solar power systems), they're not scamming the consumer," said Racquel Gillory, a spokesman for the Maryland Attorney General's Office. "As I understand it, if they don't install the systems, the contract is null and void."
Citizenre's technical claims and business model also seem feasible, if impossible to prove.
"Everything they say is theoretically possible. I don't find any lies," said Paul Maycock, who created the Department of Energy's photovoltaics division in 1975 and now runs a consulting company called Photovoltaic Systems, Inc. "What I don't have is information on how and when they are going to get systems installed ... that result in their model being financially sound."
Ms. Morgan countered by saying outside observers are speculating without all the facts.
"If you try to reverse-engineer our business model, but don't have our proprietary information, of course you can't make it work," she said. "I think we've got the early mover black eye. I think we've responded to that by being very low-key. And time will tell whether that was wise."
A sunny solar future
Aside from waiting, there doesn't appear to be any sure way of knowing whether Citizenre can deliver. But one thing seems clear: residential solar power is poised to explode in Maryland, even if Citizenre winds up buried beneath a mountain of hype.
Chesapeake Wind and Solar, a Jessup company that sells and installs home solar power systems, has seen triple-digit sales growth over the last seven years.
"We're finding that our phone is absolutely ringing off the hook with people who are concerned about their future energy supply," said CEO Richard Deutschmann. "They're concerned about their bills, they're concerned about global warming ... and they want to talk about installing residential solar."
Chesapeake Wind and Solar now installs an average of five home solar power systems a month, with each system costing between $30,000 and $40,000.
State and federal incentives have played a major role in fueling the interest in solar.
For instance, Maryland is one of 38 states that have passed "net-metering" legislation, which allows homeowners to send any extra solar-generated electricity back into the utility grid. In return, they receive credit against their bill from companies like BGE, which must produce 2 percent of their power through renewable sources by 2020 under state law.
The Maryland Energy Administration issues grants of up to $3,000 for home solar power systems. Homeowners who install the systems are also eligible for a federal tax credit capped at $2,000.
Add it all up and it could take 40 or even 50 percent off the purchase price of a system.
The savings still aren't enough for Mr. Artuso to buy a whole system for himself, but he encouraged homeowners with enough money to take the leap without waiting for Citizenre. He plans to keep on spreading the word, and he's won at least one convert: Mr. Hartman, who's gone from skeptic to fellow Citizenre salesman.
"I believe in solar," Mr. Hartman said. "I believe in anything that will produce renewable energy for this country."
Asked what he would do if Citizenre proves to be a house of cards, Mr. Artuso smiled, only a little sadly.
"Hopefully someone else with bigger backers and more money will come along," he said. "I'll go back to trying to put solar on my roof, one panel at a time."
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Published 09/08/07, Copyright © 2007 Maryland Gazette,
Glen Burnie, Md.
Posted by: Jim Artuso | December 7, 2007 4:38 AM