Energy & Environment: Markey Wants Answers on Rare Earths
• Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., "is pressing the Obama administration for information about alleged Chinese restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals used in defense and energy technologies, warning of threats to U.S. interests," The Hill reports.
• "Three months after BP capped its runaway well in the Gulf of Mexico, the state of Louisiana is still building a chain of sand berms off its coast to block and capture oil even as federal officials and many scientists argue that the effort will prove pointless," the New York Times reports.
• An Idaho couple has "sued the state to stop the shipments by Imperial Oil and ConocoPhillips" to an oil sands site in Canada, "arguing that the" truck loads delivered there "would threaten the integrity of Idaho's historic portion of U.S. 12, as well as the safety of communities that depend on it as the main road in and out of the area," the Times also reports. "National environmental groups and climate change activists are supporting their efforts, seeing a broader opportunity to stall development of Canada's oil sands, which they denounce as a dirty source of energy. "
• "Combating climate change has long taken a back seat to coal production in West Virginia, but in the hard-fought House race in this state's 1st district, global warming hasn't even made it onto the bus," The Hill reports. "In interviews on Thursday, both the Democratic and Republican nominees for Congress voiced skepticism of the science behind global warming, and the Republican, David McKinley, flatly called concerns about climate change 'an attack on coal.'"
Contributor
Charles R. Brettell
Biography provided by participant
Charles R. "Bob" Brettell is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Energy Asset Advisors, LLC (EAA). Mr. Brettell leads the Project Support group and co-leads the Financial Advisory practice.
A 15-year veteran of the energy industry, Mr. Brettell's experience includes the leadership of acquisition, financing and asset management activities for transactions valued at over $6 billion. Mr. Brettell has also provided interim executive management, including daily oversight of asset management, legal, finance, human resources, tax and accounting, for independent power producers, private equity firms & hedge funds with facilities located in CAISO, PJM, MISO, SERC, SPP & FRCC.
Prior to founding EAA, Mr. Brettell held executive posts with Tyr Energy and Aquila, Inc. As Senior Director with Tyr, Mr. Brettell was responsible for asset acquisition & merger integration, as well as third-party crisis management for Tyr's client base. In advance of the passage of EPACT 2005, he formulated a biomass investment thesis for Tyr that would later underpin its investment in American Renewables, the largest independent biomass power development platform company in the United States (a transaction in which Mr. Brettell led Tyr's acquisition team).
During his tenure at Aquila, Mr. Brettell's leadership spanned strategy, competitive intelligence, business development, legal, regulatory and human resources for multiple wholly-owned subsidiaries. Among other assignments, Mr. Brettell advised QF's and commercial & industrial clients with on-site power generation assets, including forest products, paper & pulp and consumer packaged goods companies, with regard to off-balance-sheet financing, operational optimization and power purchase agreements. Under the Aquila banner, Mr. Brettell started a business to facilitate commodity gas & electric "shopping" for commercial & industrial energy end-users via an on-line reverse auction platform which was ultimately folded into the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) commodity trading platform development effort.
Mr. Brettell has also gained fluency in the various federal, state and local grants, incentives & financing programs related to the energy industry, including USDA Section 9000 & Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), DOE Section 1700 & Treasury Dept. Section 1603. Mr. Brettell also been engaged in setting national energy policy through his involvement in the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) where, in conjunction with the Biomass Coordinating Council, he helped lead an effort to establish a single, unified definition of biomass for all federal legislative (including tax) purposes. Mr. Brettell is a published author in the field of energy policy, practice & finance and frequent speaker at energy conferences around the US.
Mr. Brettell holds a Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Maryland, a joint Juris Doctor & Master of Business Administration (Finance) degree from the University of Kansas, and a Master of Laws (Taxation) degree from the University of Missouri - Kansas City.
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