September/October 1985 RAIN Page 5 SHOWERS to produce sludge-derived fuel. The plant is scheduled to come on line by March 1986. The current system of generating digester gas will be retired. A gas turbine, combined cycle system will be installed which will nearly quadruple electrical production to 24.9 MW. This is 10 MW in excess of the plant's needs. The excess will be sold to utilities for an estimated $5.3 million a year. That, plus saving $7.4 million yearly by not buying power, adds up to $12.7 million in savings, which should provide an annual credit of $300,000 over the $12.4 million needed to run the plant each year. The capital cost of the project will be about $198.2 million. Seventy-five percent of the funding is coming from the Environmental Protection Agency, 12.5 percent from the State Water Resources Control Board, and the City of Los Angeles will provide 2.5 to 12.5 percent of the project's costs. (Source: Bio-Joule, July 1985.) Solar Tax Credits Today, renewable energy sources—solar thermal and photovotaics, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal —provide nearly 10 percent of U.S. energy, while conservation and efficiency improvements effectively supply 21 percent through savings, according to Solar Lobby. Ironically, tax credits for renewable energy and conservation, which amount to only about five percent of the tax subsidies given to oil, gas, nuclear, and fossil electric sources, will expire this year unless Congress takes action. Recently the oil and gas industries and the electric utilities testified that even with their tax credits in place, and without disruptions in the Middle East, energy shortages will occur within the next five to 10 years. Renewable energy provides a prudent insurance policy for America's future energy independence. Legislation has been introduced in Congress (H.R. 2001 and S. 1220) to provide for subsidies for renewables and conservation. For more information on Solar Tax credits, contact: The Solar Lobby, 1001 Connecticut Avenue NW, %638, Washington, DC 20036; 202/466-6350. World Bank Stops Brazilian Deforestation Loan On April 1, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, a.k.a. the World Bank, stopped payment on $209 million of a loan for a road-building and development project known as Polonoreste, in northwest Brazil. Thirty environmental and human rights groups from the U.S., Brazil, and 10 other countries had opposed continued financing of the project, which has caused deforestation and destruction of Indian lands. Natural Resources Defense Council attorney Bruce Rich, who helped spearhead the project, said that the cutoff "represents the first time the Bank has halted disbursements for environmental reasons." (Source: Not Man Apart, July/August 1985.) Innovative Bike Shelters in New York In New York City, there are 2.5 million bicycles, and 60,000 people commute via bicycle daily. Storing those bicycles is a problem because of small apartments and security concerns. Early this year, Gail Boorstein of the Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council initiated a design contest to try to solve the storage problem. The Bicycle Shelter Project requested submissions that were "economical, street-wise, and appealing." More than forty-five proposals came in, and three winners were chosen. One winning design uses wrought iron for a picket fence look, a common feature of N.Y. brownstone architecture, and another features a kiosk design using roll-up metal doors similar to those used by shopkeepers in Manhattan. One very street-wise design proposed using old vans, with seats and motor removed and windows covered over, as shelters. The Bicycle Shelter Project is now seeking $15,000 to build prototypes. Eventually, they hope well-designed shelters will protect bicycles and free up apartment space in many cities. For information, contact: Bicycle Shelter Project, Strycker's Bay Neighborhood Council Inc., 561 Columbus, New York, NY 10024; 212/874-7272.
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