Go Greener Tips

Like everything in life, there are a number of laws that govern the use of both renewable and non-renewable resources. All law is the same really – laws are what are known as the primary authorities such as case law, statutes, rules and regulations. In terms of renewable energy law you may hear about policies or politics of energy, these too will be discussed in detail here.

In the U.S. energy is regulated through the United States Department of Energy. The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill that was passed on July 25 2005 and it stated that the country needed to do something about the growing energy problems and the US Energy Policy changed from this point forward. Tax incentives were provided as were loan guarantees for anyone taking part in finding alternative energy sources. The Energy Policy Act is the key piece of renewable energy law.

As part of renewable energy law, a production tax credit (PTC) was included in the 2005 cornerstone policy as an incentive for domestic wind power technologies. Investors can claim for 10 years a 1.9-cent-per-kilowatt-our deduction. This is actually one of the things that drove the growth of the wind industry here in the United States. Currently, our wind industry is growing faster than any other developed country. The government included this in the bill because they could see it being effective, but not only has it been effective it has been very low cost as well. A renewable energy law such as this is required in order to boost the renewable energy economy. It is important that the government continues with an incentive such as this so that the industry will continue to grow.

Not only did the Energy Policy Act of 2005 allow wind energy to develop, but it also put geothermal power on the map too. As well as having a production tax credit, (PTC) Geothermal power received increased funding and support from a number of federal agencies.

In 2007 renewable energy law was discussed in a number of pieces of legislation but nothing was made into a law. At least noise was made, and congress is now aware that legislation will be questioned again. However, further energy bills have been passed since then and they have stated that the Department of Energy will spend no less than $95m annually in research and development into geothermal energy.

The renewable energy law also takes marine energy into consideration. Marine energy involves using the power of the waves and the tides to generate electricity. As part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Department of Energy was required to consider ocean energy in its group of alternative energy sources. After this act was passed, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) looked into developing projects involving wave and tidal technology. A number of projects have been started up in the United States the biggest ones being in New York, San Francisco Bay, Rhode Island and Washington State.

The great thing about renewable energy law is that it forces congress to do something about alternatives to energy sources. In five years since this bill was passed, there has been so much research and development down into these alternative sources that the general population is considering these options over more traditional fossil fuelled power sources.

About the Author

Paul Goldman, is a “transplanted” Australian living in Florida who got tired of sky-high electricity prices, gas prices and things that were damaging the environment (and his wallet) so he investigated ALL the options. The ones that WORKED and the others! Went “Green” and wallet went “Greener”

http://www.blogger.com/profile/16413845487555374119

Author: Paul Goldman
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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