Two recent developments will effect plans for offshore energy, commerce and conservation projects,  in Massachusetts for years to come. See Herald coverage here.

On the federal level, the National Park Service announced that Nantucket Sound was eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. The request for a determination of eligibility was made by the federal Mineral Management Services with support from the Wampanoag Indian Tribe and the Massachusetts Historic Preservation Officer. Designation on the National Register could complicate Cape Wind plans for 130 turbines in Nantucket Sound.

 At the same time however, US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he hoped to meet with parties for and against the Cape Wind project next week, with an eye toward resolving differences by March. As chief of the Dept. of the Interior, Salazar ultimately has authority over the National Register, so these two developments could be tied together. Is there some kind of tug-of-war-going on here? Cape Wind, the organization behind the wind power project, welcomed Salazar’s involvement.

 As reported in the Herald today, Governor Patrick has criticized Park Service decision of eligibility as `not Sound.’

Also locally, Patrick released his final Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan.

According to the Herald’s Jay Fitzgerald:

`The plan, which was praised by environmental groups, would actually make it easier for towns and cities to push ahead with small “community” wind farms in state waters - with Boston getting permission to install up to 22 wind turbines off its coast.

The plan would also allow two large commercial wind farms - each with 150 turbines - in waters off the Elizabeth Islands and south of “Nomans Land,” an uninhabited island near Martha’s Vineyard.’

This new management plan does not apply to the Cape Wind project, which is further offshore. It will however, become a guiding document for development on the state’s coast line for year’s to come.

There was important news in the green energy sector last week when Calif. Sen. Dianne Feinstein filed legislation to designate a million acres of desert in California’s Mojave Desert for conservation. The bill would take the high, dry lands off the table for wind and solar development. Two solar projects had already been formally proposed for the area in question and many more were under discussion.

In the announcement from her office,  Sen. Feinstein said, “I strongly believe that conservation, renewable energy development and recreation can and must co-exist in the California Desert.  This legislation strikes a careful balance between these sometimes competing concerns.” A map of the proposal is here.

Coverage of the announcement from the LA Times is here.

One of the most visible critics of the move so far has been Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who told the Times, “This is arguably the best solar land in the world, and Senator Feinstein shouldn’t be allowed to take this land off the table without a proper and scientific environmental review.”

The Times went on to point out that Kennedy is “a partner with a venture capital firm that invested in a solar developer called BrightSource Energy. In September, BrightSource canceled a large project in the monument area.”

 An interesting turn since Kennedy has also been an outspoken critic of the Cape Wind project, which proposed 130 wind turbines off the coast of Massachusetts in Nantucket Sound.

A key component to the discussion of the Mohave Desert preservation seems to be that much of the land was originally purchased from rail companies with combined public and private funding for the express purpose of conservation.

What remains to be seen is whether or not development proposals will shift to the land outside the conservation area.

Notable news in the renewable energy front this week included a report that First Solar had reached a deal with China to build what could become the largest solar array on the planet, one the size of Manhattan! The project is planned in phases, so it may or may not actually end up that big. But consider the fact that it is the Chinese government planning the project. No regulations to curb the proliferation of coal plants in China – so even with the ability to burn coal at will, the Chinese are making a major move to solar.

At 2 gigawatts, the solar plant would be about 2,000 times the size of the 10MW plant in this picture.

On Wednesday, NY Times reported that Big Dig contractor Bechtel had partnered with BrightSource Energy on a 440MW solar project being called the Ivanpah Solar Electricity Generating System.

From the Times Green Inc. Blog: “Ivanpah is the first large-scale solar power plant to undergo regulatory review in the United States in nearly two decades, and the selection of Bechtel as BrightSource’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor is considered a significant step in obtaining financing needed to build the project. “

Late this week, Associated Industries of Massachusetts took a shot at the Patrick Administration’s proposal to make a specific amount of solar energy required as part of the Massachusetts Renewable Portfolio Standard. Currently, solar is required to be part of the mix, without a specific portion required.

You can read AIM’s letter to the state Department of Public Utilities here.

And finally, in late August, the state adopted rules that require utilities to pay retail rates to small solar and wind generators who provide excess energy to the grid.

From Christine McConville’s report in the Herald: “Robert Keough, spokesman for the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, said private individuals, businesses and even municipalities stand to benefit from this change.

But Eleanor Tillinghast, a critic of several of the state’s green energy initiatives, said that the change could result in higher energy costs for all consumers, if electric companies opt to pass on the added expense to their customers.”

This is an important change that improves the financial model for rooftop solar and backyard wind generators. Before this rule change, utilities could pay wholesale rates. That meant if you had rooftop solar, you paid one price for the energy coming into your house and received less (in the form of a credit) for the energy you provided.

Greater Boston pushed the 90 degree mark yesterday, but it’s still too early to think about planting tomatoes, unless you’re starting indoors. It’s not too late to think about the farm stands and fresh food that will be available throughout the area in the coming months, though.

If you’re a devotee of tomatoes, lettuce, cukes, etc. and make multiple trips for locally grown food during the season, you may want to think about joining a Community Supported Agriculture group, or CSA.

A CSA works by grouping members who pay a farmer or grower a fee for shares of a farm’s produce through the growing season. Every week, for around 20 weeks during the growing season, members can pick up their shares either at the farm or at designated drop-off points in the area. There are a number of CSA’s active in the Greater Boston area. Locations, including their drop-off points, can be found on this map, which was started by bostonlocalvores.org with additional material added for Earth Day by the Herald.

Rates vary. Some CSA’s offer half shares, others jumbo shares. Regular shares generally cost in the area of $25 a week and are sized for 2-4 people. Some offer the opportunity to visit the farms to pick flowers and herbs. Each organization offers more details and information at their own website. Look for the tractor on the map.

If you live outside of Boston, the Northeast Organic Farming Association lists CSA’s across the state.

Big news on the solar energy front came this week buried under a deluge of bailout angst.

In fact, credit the high stakes $700 billion game of chicken with finally getting Congress off the starting line to pass an extension of alternative energy development credits that were set to expire on midnight, Jan. 1. Of course, there were also those initiatives for rum distillers and wooden arrow makers tacked on, too. But that’s another story.

CNN’s Green Wombat has a thorough breakdown of the renewable energy incentive package included in the bailout, but two points jumped out at me. First, extension of the 30% solar investment tax credit to 2016 is meaningful for the long horizon it provides developers, investors, utilities etc.

The imminent expiration of the existing credit was already causing mayhem north of Boston where two school districts, Triton and Newburyport, which neighbor each other, have been mulling solar projects atop school roofs. The large arrays were to be developed by Eyeonsolar, a Colorado company that builds out solar systems on existing real estate and sells back power to the host user and the electric grid.

The difficulty the school districts faced was that Eyeon made an offer contingent upon quick acceptance, a matter of weeks, following the initial proposal, purportedly to take advantage of the renewable energy credits about to expire. This caused a lot of difficulty for both school districts which were forced to bring decisions variously before school committees, city councils, selectmen and even the state for a pass on state bidding laws. In the end it appears that Newburyport is going ahead with the deal and Triton is taking its time thinking it over. The Newburyport Daily News has been following developments closely.

The extension of solar credits out to 2016 takes that particular ginsu knife, act-now sales pitch of the table. And it enables companies to get business models together to develop energy projects into the foreseeable future.

The second point in the federal package is removal of a $2,000 cap on the residential solar energy tax credit. What this means is that homeowners can get a 30% tax credit on solar panels installed after Dec. 31 without bumping up against a $2,000 cap. This is in addition to state tax credits, which in Massachusetts currently amount to 15% with a cap of $1,000.

On the local level, National Grid just announced this week plans to build out solar generating facilities totaling 4 Megawatts at sites in Dorchester, Revere, Everett and Haverhill. Boston Herald coverage is here and the original release from National Grid is here.

National Grid US President Tom King said “These installations are just a start for us; in the coming months, we expect to expand our program to include installations on customers’ properties including municipal, state and federally owned buildings.”

Coupled with Congress’ passage Friday of the renewable energy tax incentives, I suspect we’ll see a lot more energy development in Massachusetts and across the country during the next several years.