Archive:October 2014

1
Emissions Reduction Fund passes Senate in Australia
2
California To Reduce Power Demand Through New Demand Response Program

Emissions Reduction Fund passes Senate in Australia

On 31 October 2014, the Australian Senate passed the Carbon Farming Initiative Amendment Bill 2014 (Bill) which puts in place the Emissions Reduction Fund (Fund).  The Fund is the cornerstone of the Australian Government’s Direct Action Plan climate change policy for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  It is comprised of $2.55 billion over four years to provide financial incentives for companies to voluntarily reduce emissions.  The Government says its Direct Action Plan climate change policy will mean that Australia will meet the 5 percent emissions reduction target by 2020.

As last minute amendments were made to the Bill before being passed, the Bill will now return to the House of Representatives for approval before it is presented to the Governor-General for assent. 

A White Paper on the Fund was released on 24 April 2014 with the intention of providing details and policy decisions regarding the Fund.  Please refer to our earlier Legal Insight dated 19 May 2014.

California To Reduce Power Demand Through New Demand Response Program

In late August 2014, the California Assembly and Senate unanimously voted in favor of Senate Bill 1414 (“SB 1414”), which was introduced by Senator Lois Wolk and co-authored by Assembly Members, Kevin Mullin and Das Williams[1].  On September 29, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1414 into law.  SB 1414 requires utilities to adjust their resource adequacy[2] plans and utilize cost-effective demand response (“DR”) programs to change their demand for electricity during key times.  In exchange for adjusting their electricity consumption, participating DR customers will receive incentives for providing a clean resource to the grid.  The reduced demand for electricity will require less generation, which in turn will reduce the need for new power plants and help integrate renewable sources of energy. Read More

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