Obama: “Eliminate This Oil Industry Giveaway”

 Congress, Economy, Energy, Taxes  Comments Off
Mar 022012
 

Today in New Hampshire, President Obama renewed his call to repeal the $4 billion in subsidies that taxpayers provide the oil industry each year and said there’s only one real path forward for America’s future — an all of the above approach that develops every source of energy available to us.

So when it comes to oil production, under my administration, America is producing more oil today than at any time in the last eight years. That is a fact … Under my administration, we have a near-record number of oil rigs operating right now — more working oil and gas rigs than the rest of the world combined. Think about that.

Oil “companies are making record profits right now — tens of billions of dollars a year. Every time you go to the gas tank or fill up your gas tank, they’re making money. Every time. Now, does anyone really think that Congress should give them another $4 billion this year? Of course not. It’s outrageous. It’s inexcusable. And I am asking Congress — eliminate this oil industry giveaway right away. I want them to vote on this in the next few weeks.” President Obama, March 01, 2012.

Whitehouse.gov

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 Posted by at 12:43 am

Solar Heating Up In Maine

 Energy, Taxes  Comments Off
Oct 242011
 

Solar rising with tax credits, lower costs

ARUNDEL – On the lawn behind the Solar Market offices here, 144 solar-electric panels are mounted across a 100-foot-long run of wooden racks. No surprise, really, to see a photovoltaic system outside a company that sells the hardware.

But this set-up is way larger than needed to run lights and appliances. And therein lies the surprise: These solar panels generated enough power last winter to supply nearly 70 percent of the building’s warmth — with electric heat.

The falling price of photovoltaic panels, along with the advent of special heat pumps and super insulation, is creating an opportunity in Maine that energy experts could hardly imagine a few years ago. Now some of the state’s leading solar installers, including Solar Market, have begun installing so-called PV panels on homes and businesses to harvest sunshine for baseboard heaters.

Maine Sunday Telegram

 Posted by at 12:18 am

GOP’s Green Jobs Hypocrisy

 Congress, Energy, Jobs, Republicans  Comments Off
Sep 222011
 

Republicans Decrying ‘Job Killing’ Green Energy Agenda Have Sought Green Jobs For Their Own Districts

WASHINGTON — The GOP-led House Oversight Committee may be accusing the White House of a “job killing” green energy agenda in a hearing Thursday — but at least ten Republicans on the panel have signed letters seeking to land green energy jobs in their districts.

In dozens of letters obtained by The Huffington Post, the lawmakers, led by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), argue convincingly about Department of Energy funding going to their favored projects, often touting the job-creating potential of numerous endeavors.

The issue erupted earlier this month when reports broke that the bankrupt solar manufacturer Solyndra, which got $535 million in loan guarantees from the stimulus bill, was raided by the FBI.

Although the guaranteed loan project began under the Bush administration, many Republicans were quick to hammer the deal as evidence of “cronyism” — and proof that Obama’s key green jobs effort was a huge bust.

As it turns out, many of the committee members set to grill Obama administration officials Thursday were plenty eager to help constituents cash in on the efforts.

Huffington Post

Politico has more.

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See also:

Issa Sought U.S. Clean Energy Aid in the Past

 Posted by at 8:23 am

Issa Sought U.S. Clean Energy Aid in the Past

 Congress, Energy, Jobs, Presidency, Republicans  Comments Off
Sep 212011
 

Republican Representative Darrell Issa, who said government subsidies to specific companies can encourage corruption, sought U.S. help in the past for clean- energy projects in his home state of California.

Issa, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, wrote Energy Secretary Steven Chu to support an Energy Department loan for Aptera Motors Inc., a Carlsbad, California, electric-car maker, according to a letter received by the department Jan. 14, 2010.

“Awarding this opportunity to Aptera Motors will greatly assist a leading developer of electric vehicles in my district,” Issa wrote in letters obtained yesterday. …

Issa also signed a June 22, 2009, letter to Chu promoting battery maker Quallion LLC, based in Sylmar, California. An Energy Department clean-energy grant might create more than 2,300 jobs nationwide, according to the letter, which was signed by Issa and 16 members of California’s delegation. …

Issa’s committee will hold a hearing tomorrow titled, “How Obama’s Green-Energy Agenda is Killing Jobs.”

Bloomberg

 Posted by at 1:19 pm

Energy Dept. Backs Landmark Rooftop Solar Project

 Energy, Sustainability  Comments Off
Jun 242011
 

Department of Energy Commits Support for Landmark Rooftop Solar Project : Largest Rooftop Project in U.S. History Will Enable Wide Distribution of Solar Power Across Country While Creating at Least a Thousand Jobs

Washington D.C. – U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the offer of a conditional commitment to provide a partial guarantee for a $1.4 billion loan to support Project Amp. This project will support the installation of solar panels on industrial buildings across the country, with the electricity generated from those panels contributing directly to the electrical grid, as opposed to powering the buildings where they are installed. Supported by funding from the 2009 stimulus bill, the solar generation project includes the installation of approximately 733 megawatts (MW) of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, which is nearly equal to the total amount of PV installed in the U.S. in 2010. The project sponsor estimates Project Amp will create at least one thousand jobs over a four year period.

“This unprecedented solar project will not only produce clean, renewable energy to power the grid in states across the country, but it will help us meet the SunShot goal of achieving cost competitive solar power with other forms of energy by the end of the decade,” said Secretary Chu. “In addition, Project Amp will create at least a thousand jobs across the U.S. and increase our global competitiveness in the clean energy race.”

Project Amp will enable a wide distribution of solar power over approximately 750 existing rooftops owned and managed by Prologis. NRG Energy is the lead investor for the first phase of the project, which includes a 15.4 MW installation in Southern California. Phase 1 will utilize at least 90 percent U.S. sourced components. The power from Phase 1 will be sold to Southern California Edison. Additional installations will be built in up to 28 states and the District of Columbia.
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 Posted by at 12:22 am

New Source For Generating ‘Green’ Electricity

 Energy, Sustainability  Comments Off
Jun 232011
 

University of Minnesota engineering researchers discover new source for generating ‘green’ electricity

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (06/21/2011) —University of Minnesota engineering researchers in the College of Science and Engineering have recently discovered a new alloy material that converts heat directly into electricity. This revolutionary energy conversion method is in the early stages of development, but it could have wide-sweeping impact on creating environmentally friendly electricity from waste heat sources.

Researchers say the material could potentially be used to capture waste heat from a car’s exhaust that would heat the material and produce electricity for charging the battery in a hybrid car. Other possible future uses include capturing rejected heat from industrial and power plants or temperature differences in the ocean to create electricity. The research team is looking into possible commercialization of the technology.

The full research paper is here.

 Posted by at 12:13 am

Clean Energy Competition

 Economy, Energy, Jobs, Presidency  Comments Off
May 092011
 



AMSTERDAM (AP) — Denmark earns the biggest share of its national revenue from producing windmills and other clean technologies, the United States is rapidly expanding its clean-tech sector, but no country can match China’s pace of growth, according to a new report obtained by The Associated Press.

China’s production of green technologies has grown by a remarkable 77 per cent a year, according to the report, which was commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund for Nature and which will be unveiled on Monday at an industry conference in Amsterdam. “The Chinese have made, on the political level, a conscious decision to capture this market and to develop this market aggressively,” said Donald Pols, an economist with the WWF.

Denmark, a longtime leader in wind energy, derives 3.1 percent of its gross domestic product from renewable energy technology and energy efficiency, or about euro6.5 billion ($9.4 billion), the report said. China is the largest producer in money terms, earning more than euro44 billion ($64 billion), or 1.4 percent of its gross domestic product.

The U.S. ranks 17 in the production of clean technologies with 0.3 percent of GDP, or euro31.5 billion ($45 billion), but those industries have been expanding at a rate of 28 percent per year since 2008.

Associated Press

 Posted by at 12:20 am
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