Renewable energy advocates, dissatisfied with how the state’s 2008 clean power law was implemented, want voters to help strengthen the measure.
P.J. Wilson, director of Columbia-based Renew Missouri, plans to file papers with the secretary of state’s office today as the first official step toward getting a revised a new renewable energy standard on the ballot next fall, he said.
The proposed rewrite of the state’s existing clean energy standard would require investor-owned utilities to get 25 percent of their electric generation from the wind, sun and other renewable resources by 2025. The current law requires 15 percent by 2021.
Just as importantly, it would clarify certain parts of the existing law that have been a source of sharp disagreements between Missouri’s small-but-growing renewable energy industry and the state’s biggest utilities.
In an emailed statement, Warren Wood, Ameren Missouri’s vice president of regulatory and legislative affairs, said the utility was still reviewing a copy of the ballot initiative it received late Wednesday. “It is premature for us to offer an opinion on the impact of this ballot initiative on our customers’ rates,” he said.
Renew Missouri and other supporters must collect almost 100,000 valid signatures from across the state by early May to get the measure on the ballot next fall. First, language for the petition must be approved by Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.
Two-thirds of Missouri voters approved the renewable energy measure three years ago. Polling conducted by Renew Missouri this summer suggested similarly strong voter interest in a law to aid renewable energy development. But not for the same reason, Wilson said.
“I wouldn’t be filing this if I didn’t think it had strong public support,” he said. “But I think the reason for voter support has shifted.”
The selling point then was energy security, he said. Today, it’s jobs.
The 2008 ballot measure drew no organized opposition. But months of contentious debate followed during the administrative rulemaking process at the Public Service Commission. In the end, a little-known legislative committee stripped a controversial provision from rules advanced by the commission.
The change allowed utilities to meet the green power mandate by purchasing so-called renewable energy certificates instead of building wind or solar farms in Missouri or contracting to buy renewable energy from neighboring states my credit score. Utilities can purchase the certificates from out-of-state renewable energy producers and count each of them as 100 kilowatt hours toward their mandated goals.
Renewable energy backers, including solar and wind companies that would have benefited from the rules as originally written by the PSC, balked at the change. Their dissatisfaction jump-started effort to rewrite the law and implement a stronger renewable energy standard.
The renewable standard being proposed by Renew Missouri would require utilities to develop renewable energy in or purchase it from Missouri or at least within the regional power grid.
It would also clarify ambiguity concerning the impact on electric rates. The existing law caps the impact on electric rates at 1 percent. The proposed ballot initiative would prohibit utilities from spending more for green power than they would spend to purchase or generate fossil fuel-based energy.
The rewrite of the law would also eliminate the legislative review of PSC administrative rules and prohibit Ameren Missouri from counting its century-old Keokuk, Iowa, hydroelectric plant toward the green power mandate.
Nationwide, 32 states and the District of Columbia have renewable energy mandates, according to the Department of Energy. Missouri is one of few states with a voter-approved law.
The current law requires utilities to gradually increase renewable energy sales until they reach the 15 percent target in 2021. The proposed goal of 25 percent by 2025 equals the renewable energy target in Illinois.
“It’s pretty middle of the pack,” Wilson, said.
Renew Missouri is recruiting and training volunteers to help collect petition signatures and soliciting donations to support the effort. The has conducted held training sessions around the state in recent weeks, including one at the St. Louis County Public Library in Frontenac on Thursday night.
More homeowners are ‘underwater’
A tropical depression packing walloping rains for the Gulf Coast was spreading its rain bands Friday over southern Louisiana ahead of what forecasters warned could be a drenched Labor Day weekend across the region, with up to 20 inches in places.
Louisiana’s governor declared a state of emergency Thursday because of the threat of flash flooding from what the National Weather Service said could be “efficient and torrential topical rains” for the next several days.
Tropical storm warnings were issued from Mississippi to Texas, including New Orleans, and flash flood warnings extended along the Alabama coast into the Florida Panhandle. The National Hurricane Center said the system will dump 10 to 15 inches of rain over southern areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama through Sunday and as much as 20 inches in some spots.
The water-logged system is tantalizingly close to Texas but still too far away to alleviate the state’s worst drought since the 1950s. If the center moves mostly into Louisiana, as expected, winds on its west side will blow from land to open water and reduce the chance of rain in Texas, NWS meteorologist Dennis Cavanaugh in Fort Worth said. The hot, dry winds could spur fire danger across the state.
In Alabama, Gov. Robert Bentley didn’t declare an emergency but ordered state agencies to be ready to respond if needed.
Morning skies were overcast with spotty rain on the Alabama coast Friday morning, but workers were still putting boats in the water for the Labor Day weekend at Sportsman Marina in Orange Beach, Ala.
“A lot of people go into a panic, but it’s mainly just going to be a rainmaker,” marina manager Ricky Garrett said. “We’re really not taking any precautions. They’re talking 5 to 15 inches of rain over a five-day period depending on who you listen to.”
The depression could become Tropical Storm Lee, the 12th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season.
Around midday Friday, the center of the depression was nearly stationary off the Louisiana coast with top sustained winds of 39 mph. Its center was expected to make landfall in Louisiana over the weekend.
“Wow. This could be a very heavy, prolific rainmaker,” National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Revitte said.
As hurricane season is hitting its peak in the Atlantic, storm watchers were monitoring three disturbances. Besides the Gulf depression, Katia (KAH’-tee-yah) was spinning in open waters. It regained hurricane strength Friday after weakening the day before and forecasters said it would continue to grow stronger.
Katia was about 705 miles east of the Leeward Islands and moving west-northwest at 14 mph with maximum sustained winds Friday of 75 mph, making it a Category 1 hurricane.
The hurricane center said it was too early to tell if Katia will hit the U.S. but that it is expected to pass north of the Caribbean.
There was also a slow-moving low pressure system about 450 miles south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, that had a 60 percent chance Friday of becoming a tropical cyclone in the next two days.
They all come on the heels of Hurricane Irene, which brought destruction from North Carolina to New England late last month.
In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal said he was concerned about the serious threat of flash flooding in his state, leading to his emergency action. After devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005, nothing is taken for granted.
Craig Taffaro, president of coastal St guaranteed pay day loans. Bernard Parish, said some flood gates were being closed along bayous and residents were being warned to brace for heavy rain. Still, in a parish that was nearly wiped out six years ago by Katrina, Taffaro wasn’t expecting a major event.
“We’d like the public to use this as a drill. Hopefully that’s all it will be,” he said early Thursday afternoon.
The Army Corps of Engineers, which operates major flood control structures at New Orleans, was monitoring developments but didn’t plan on closing any flood control structures yet, spokesman Ricky Boyett said in an email.
Emergency officials along Mississippi’s Gulf Coast expected to get plans in place Friday to deal with the effects from the tropical depression. Jackson County spokesman Ken Flanagan said conference calls were scheduled Friday with Mississippi Emergency Management Agency, along with weather officials.
Already, the storm has forced two major petroleum producers to remove crews from a handful of production platforms. Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil said they would also cut off a small amount of production. Both moves affect only a fraction of production.
Louisiana needs rain _ just not that much, that fast. Both Texas and Louisiana have been suffering through drought. New Orleans, which was least affected by the drought, already was being pelted by sporadic rain. More of a problem is stubborn marsh fire that has blanketed the city with smoke, though the rain will help extinguish it.
“Sometimes you get what you ask for,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “Unfortunately it looks like we’re going to get more than we needed.”
Louisiana’s emergency action allows Jindal to activate the National Guard if necessary and generally makes it easier for parishes and the state to prepare. It also lets parishes ask the state to repay money spent to prepare and fight floods, and lets the state track such expenses, Jindal spokesman Kyle Plotkin said.
“Now is the time for Louisianians to make sure they have a game plan for themselves and their families should this storm strengthen,” Jindal said in a statement.
On Grand Isle, the state’s only inhabited barrier island, people were keeping an eye on the storm that has already brought rain there.
“We’re watching it _ we’re watching it closely,” said June Brignac, owner of the Wateredge Beach Resort.
It’s not as frightening as having a Category 2 or 3 hurricane bearing down, she said.
“But we’re still concerned with all the rain that’s coming in, causing possible flooding of the highway going out. If we don’t leave, we may be trapped here until it’s completely past,” she said.
Katrina was the only storm to flood the suites in her motel, which is raised several feet from the ground, in the 20 years she has owned it.
Despite the weather, officials on Alabama’s Pleasure Island were looking ahead to a busy Labor Day weekend. They expected the holiday weekend to wrap up one of the busiest summers on record as the Alabama Gulf Coast’s economy recovers from last year’s BP oil spill.
Small craft warnings were issued from northwest Florida to Texas as seas of at least 1 to 2 feet above normal were in the forecasts. Winds are likely to push tides up to three feet above normal.
Delta Air Lines on Thursday confirmed its plan to buy 100 Boeing 737 jets as part of a fleet upgrade, with delivery set for 2013 to 2018.
The order announced Thursday is valued at $8.5 billion at list prices, although airlines commonly get discounts. The newer planes offer perks for travelers including a roomier cabin, less engine noise and more room in overhead bins. But they also have huge benefits for airlines because they are more efficient, require less maintenance and burn less fuel.
The 737-900 extended-range aircraft from Boeing Co. have a single aisle and up to 180 seats when set up with economy and first class. They have the range to fly on any of Delta’s current domestic routes. The 737-900 is the newest of Boeing’s popular 737 model.
Delta Air Lines Inc., which is based in Atlanta, said in January it was considering an order for as many as 200 jets _ possibly with options for 200 more _ to replace the aging fleet it uses for domestic flying. It said the timing of its delivery plan announced Thursday will allow it to keep its capital spending plan on target for this year. Keeping its costs under control is critical to its goal of reducing its debt over the next two years.
The new planes will replace Delta workhorses such as the DC-9-50s and Airbus A320s that it got when it bought Northwest Airlines in 2008, as well as Boeing 757-200s, which both airlines have operated paydayloans. The average age of Delta’s planes is 16 years. It has some Boeing planes that are less than two years old. But its DC-9s date back to the 1970s. They are the oldest commercial passenger planes flown today by a U.S. airline. Delta is the world’s second-largest airline, behind United Continental Holdings Inc. It has a total fleet of more than 700 planes.
Delta estimates that it will save between 15 and 20 percent in fuel and maintenance costs when it takes on the new planes. It is now more than halfway through a three-year, $2 billion plan to upgrade its fleet, facilities and technology.
The purchase is good news for Chicago-based Boeing, which lost its exclusive hold on American Airlines’ fleet last month. The airline, which is owned by AMR Corp., announced plans to split a massive order between Boeing and rival Airbus. It was the biggest plane order in history: 460 aircraft (260 planes from Airbus and 200 from Boeing) with options to buy 465 more.
In morning trading, Delta shares fell 39 cents, or 5.4 percent, to $6.86. Boeing shares shed 64 cents to $61.05.
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Samantha Bomkamp can be reached at http://twitter.com/SamWillTravel
CREVE COEUR
Declining first-time buyer demand and stronger immigration has seen apartment vacancy rates in the Toronto market drop sharply.
Vacancy rates were at 1.6 per cent in April compared with 2.7 per cent a year earlier, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation in a report released Thursday.
A 1.6 per cent vacancy rate means that only 16 of every 1000 apartments remain vacant.
Bank stocks favored by investors are few and far between these days.
Despite improved earnings and more stringent safety requirements, the stocks of financial institutions have lagged behind the broader market in 2011. Weighing down their prospects are a slowly recovering economy and limited loan growth.
Many corporations that turned frugal during recession don’t need loans because they are flush with cash, while a high unemployment rate means fewer consumers are in a position to qualify for loans.
Disturbing news about banking practices over the past three years also sapped the confidence that conservative investors once had in bank stocks.
“Banks are safer now than they’ve been in the past 75 years, with loan-to-deposit ratios in the best shape in 35 years,” observed Richard Bove, banking analyst for Rochdale Securities LLC of Stamford, Conn. “At the same time, the probability of interest rates’ moving up would drive the value of bank assets lower no checking account payday advance.”
In the wake of a huge first-quarter jump in earnings that was based on improved balance sheets, bank earnings should be extraordinarily strong for the next 12 to 18 months, he said. None of that improvement is reflected in share prices.
“For investors in large-cap bank stocks, the biggest frustration has been the banks’ inability to return meaningful capital to shareholders,” acknowledged David Honold, financial services analyst with Turner Investments in Berwyn, Pa. “Very important components of total return in the banking industry throughout the years had been dividends and share repurchases.”
That’s why Honold favors the stock of U.S. banks with unique niches or connections to overseas markets that are stronger than our own domestic market.
East West Bancorp Inc. (EWBC)
There are plenty of accolades you can heap on Berkshire Hathaway chief Warren Buffett, but "skilled energy speculator" may not seem like one of them.
Buffett fessed up not long ago to making a "major mistake" investing his holding company’s assets in oil. In 2008, when prices were heading to above $100 a barrel, Buffett quadrupled Berkshire’s stake in ConocoPhillips, just in time to witness crude’s slide to $40.
Buffett then turned around and sold off about two-thirds of that stake over the next two years, just as oil prices started to recover.
There’s a lesson here: It’s diabolically hard to time swings in the jumpy energy markets, even if you happen to be the smartest investor in the world. (Buffett hunting for another megadeal)
But look closely at the Berkshire (BRKA, Fortune 500) portfolio, and you’ll find signs that Buffett has thought hard about the impact of rising fuel costs. And he’s found some less direct — and probably less volatile — ways to make high prices work in his favor.
Last year, Buffett bought out railroad giant Burlington Northern. In his shareholder letter, Buffett points out that Burlington’s freight trains are three times as fuel efficient as trucks.
"An enormous part of our economy is getting stuff from here to there," says Meyer Shields, an analyst who covers Berkshire for Stifel Nicolaus.
And Buffett, adds Shields, is wagering that firms that help transport goods in a more fuel-efficient or cost-effective way will have a big competitive advantage no faxing 1 hour payday loans.
This thinking can be seen in other Buffett deals going back to his 1998 purchase of NetJets, which offers partial ownership of private jets — an option that’s more appealing than owning outright when transportation costs rise.
There’s the stake he recently took in BYD, a Chinese developer of plug-in electric-car technology.
And Berkshire’s MidAmerican Energy is a leader in wind power among regulated utilities.
Even Buffett’s recent deal to buy chemical manufacturer Lubrizol can be seen as an energy play. Part of Lubrizol’s business is making additives and lubricants for commercial engines. To the extent that its technology helps engines run more efficiently, its goods will be in more demand when energy prices spike, says analyst Michael Sison of Key-Banc Capital Markets.
Thinking like Warren
Individuals can’t mimic these bets on private companies or acquisitions — though you can, of course, buy Berkshire stock. (With the boss presumably nearing retirement, the shares carry less of a "Buffett premium.")
Or just learn from Buffett’s broad view: As you research stocks, one question to ask is how the company will fare if people are forced to economize on fuel.
You could find potential winners in sectors from tech (think telecommuting software) to retail (look at companies that manage their supply chains efficiently). You don’t have to load up on oil.
Market research firm Gartner Inc. has reduced its PC shipment forecast for this year and next, predicting the growing popularity of tablet computers such as Apple Inc.’s iPad will cut into the demand for consumer laptops.
Gartner said Thursday that it expects global PC shipments of 387.8 million in 2011, up 10.5 percent from 2010. Previously, Gartner predicted 15.9 percent growth.
In 2012, Gartner now thinks 440.6 million PCs will be shipped, up 13.6 percent from 2011 Online payday loans. Its earlier estimate called for 14.8 percent growth.
Gartner said that while consumer laptop shipments have climbed an average of 40 percent annually in the past five years, the availability of Internet access on various mobile devices means that consumers are not as tied to laptops for getting on the Web.
Most of the 26,000 white-collar workers at General Motors Co. will get performance bonuses of 4 to 16 percent of their base salaries this year, but payments to a small number could be 50 percent or more, the company confirmed late Thursday.
Chrysler Group LLC also will give bonuses to its white-collar staff, with payments expected on Friday. Both companies needed government bailouts in 2008 and 2009 to stay in business and make it through bankruptcy protection.
GM said in a statement that the bonuses would be based on each employee’s performance as well as the company’s. The statement did not say how much on average each worker would get. Messages were left by The Associated Press for a company spokeswoman late Thursday.
Chrysler spokesman Gualberto Ranieri would not comment on the matter. Bloomberg News reported Thursday that the bonuses would average $10,000 for the company’s 10,755 salaried workers, but some who aren’t covered by government pay restrictions could get up to half their salary.
“Details regarding salaried performance awards are considered confidential employment records,” Ranieri said.
Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has said the workers deserve bonuses even though the company lost money because of work they did in revamping or redesigning 16 models since the 2009 bankruptcy.
For both companies, the bonuses come less than two years after they needed government bailouts to survive through bankruptcy protection. GM received a $49.5 billion bailout, while Chrysler got $12.5 billion.
Both companies have performed far better financially than they did before bankruptcy. GM made $4.2 billion in the first three quarters of the year and is expected to post a fourth-quarter profit in the coming weeks. Chrysler lost $652 million last year but is predicting a net profit this year.
The bonus checks at both companies could draw the ire of the United Auto Workers union because they will be much larger for many white-collar workers than checks that are going to hourly employees.
At GM, hourly workers are expected to get around $3,200 each, about 5 percent of their base pay, while they’ll get $750 at Chrysler, about 1.2 percent of their base pay.
GM said in its statement that more than 96 percent of the salaried workers will get bonuses of 4 to 16 percent of their base pay. Fewer than 1 percent, the company said, will get 50 percent or more. Bonus sizes grow depending on a worker’s level of responsibility.
GM said its top 100 earners are still covered under government pay restrictions imposed on companies that received government aid. Chrysler’s top earners also are affected, but a number was not available Thursday night.
Cash salaries have been capped at $500,000, but further compensation can be made in stock. Many of the executives still will take home more than $1 million.
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