Sustainability-Counsel.com

Ambient Carbon Dioxide Equivalent Concentrations Continue to Rise, But The Likelihood of Dramatic New Climate Change Action Remains Low

sustainabilitypepper — Wed, 15 May 2013 09:00:35 +0000

On May 9, 2013, the daily concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeded 400 parts per million (ppm) at the Mauna Loa monitoring station for the first time ever at least at one monitoring location according to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. A separate monitoring location on Mauna Loa measured 399.9 ppm. This concentration is […]

EPA’s RE-Powering America’s Land Initiatives Receives Award

sustainabilitypepper — Fri, 03 May 2013 20:29:02 +0000

EPA’s RE-Powering America’s Land Initiative, a program that has been the subject of previous posts on this blog and a Pepper Hamilton webinar, was selected May 1, 2013, for recognition as one of the Top 25 Innovations in American Government by Harvard University’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. A copy of the press release […]

IRS Updates Definition of Binding Contract for Beginning Construction PTC Test

sustainabilitypepper — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 03:34:18 +0000

As discussed previously on the blog, the IRS released Notice 2013-29 on April 15 which provided guidance on determining when construction has begun on a qualified renewable energy facility for purposes of the production tax credit. The Notice provided that when determining whether construction has begun, work performed for the taxpayer by other persons under […]

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reaffirms the Dunham Rule – Natural Gas is Presumptively Not a Mineral for Purposes of Private Deeds

sustainabilitypepper — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:48:55 +0000

When the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued its opinion in Butler v. Charles Powers Estate in 2011, it seemed to cast doubt on the ongoing applicability of either the longstanding Dunham Rule or the rule announced in United States Steel Corporation v. Hoge. On April 24, 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a decision in Butler […]

Volunteers Needed for Greenbuild 2013 Committees

sustainabilitypepper — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:06:45 +0000

As Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley Green Building Council (the “DVGBC”) gear up to host Greenbuild 2013 in November, the Greenbuild 2013 Host Committee is seeking volunteers for several Greenbuild committees. The committees are supervised by DVGBC staff and managed by a committee chair (who has already been appointed). The Greenbuild committees include Community Engagement […]

The Trend Is Toward Lower Greenhouse Gas Emissions In the U.S.

sustainabilitypepper — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 03:27:16 +0000

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) latest report on United States (U.S.) annual emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) (available at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html) confirms the trend seen over the latest few years — the U.S. emitted 1.6 percent fewer tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2011 than in 2010. In fact, 2011 emissions were 6.9 percent lower than the […]

European Union Parliament Rejects Cap-and-Trade Program Fix

sustainabilitypepper — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 20:39:20 +0000

On Tuesday, April 16, the European Union Parliament rejected an emergency fix to its cap-and-trade program that would temporarily remove some of the oversupply of carbon permits. Immediately following the vote, carbon prices dropped steeply, nearly 40%, hitting a record low of 2.63 euros/metric ton. The Commission’s proposal, known as “backloading”, is meant to bolster […]

IRS Release Guidance on Beginning Construction Rules for PTC

sustainabilitypepper — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:28:35 +0000

The IRS released Notice 2013-29 (Notice) on April 15th providing much anticipated guidance on methods for establishing “Beginning Construction” for purposes of qualifying renewable facilities for the renewable electricity production tax credit (PTC) under Section 45 or the energy investment tax credit (ITC) under Section 48. The PTC is based on the amount of electricity […]

Significant IRS Private Letter Ruling Allows Native American Indian Tribe to Allocate ITC Credits in Renewable Project

sustainabilitypepper — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 01:46:36 +0000

As discussed previously in the blog, Section 48 generally allows for an investment tax credit for qualified energy property, which includes equipment that uses solar energy to generate electricity. Section 50(b)(3) provides that no investment credit, which includeS the Section 48 investment tax credit, “shall be determined . . . with respect to any property used […]

DOE Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative: Rust Turns Green?

sustainabilitypepper — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 03:41:59 +0000

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that it has launched a “Clean Energy Manufacturing Initiative.” This is a combined effort of the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy and DOE Advanced Manufacturing Office. The initiative has the two pronged objective of increasing U.S. manufacturing competitiveness (1) in the production of clean energy products, […]