Energy & Clean Tech Connections July 2011
7/22/2011
In the July edition of Energy & Clean Tech Connections, we’ve gathered recent information from a wide variety of sources in an effort to keep you abreast of what’s new in the world of clean energy. We draw your attention to the latest industry developments, news from local governments to Capitol Hill, grant opportunities, and upcoming events.
This month, the Energy & Clean Technology Practice Group would like to congratulate Mintz Levin’s client, HydroPoint Data Systems, for its feature in Scientific American. The article highlights a Silicon Valley school district’s use of HydroPoint’s sophisticated weather-based irrigation system. Every night, HydroPoint’s climate modeling center broadcasts local weather-related data to the control boxes of a client’s irrigation system, which runs software to compute precisely how much and when to water its zones and is customizable to different plants, soil types, and ground slope. In 2009, the district slashed water use by 39% and cut its utility bills by $108,000, recouping the cost of installing the irrigation system by twofold.
On Capitol Hill, debt and deficit measures continue to occupy Congress as the August 2 deadline for raising the debt limit rapidly approaches. Several hearings and markups, however, perpetuate partisan stances on renewable energy spending; the future of natural gas, the Yellowstone spill, and the USDA’s REAP program will all be discussed or examined from the floor before the end of July. In other news, Senator Feinstein (D-CA) says a formal bill marking a Senate compromise on ethanol subsidies could become part of a larger debt deal, and the Senate Energy Committee approved two clean energy bills that would broadly address energy efficiency and create a $10 billion Clean Energy Deployment Administration.
August is a relatively quiet month for events, but does include the National Clean Energy Summit scheduled for August 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and hosted by the Center for American Progress and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), among others. September will be a busy month with Mintz Levin attorney Mark Riedy speaking at the emerging markets panel at the Third Annual Renewable Energy Technology Conference & Exhibition in Washington, D.C., September 20–22. We are also excited to be returning as a sponsor for EnergySMART 2011, which will take place September 27–29 and feature as keynote speakers Paul Sagan, CEO of Akamai; Janet Schijns, vice president of Business Solutions Group for Verizon Wireless; and Stephen Whitley, president and CEO of the New York Independent System Operator.
We hope that you enjoy this month’s edition of the newsletter. For the most up-to-date information on federal legislation and programs, read the most recent ML Strategies Energy & Environment Update and check back for weekly updates.
