45 item(s) were returned.
Last week, House and Senate Appropriations Committees approved separate and distinct versions of a Fiscal Year 2013 Energy and Water Development appropriations bill. The legislation sets spending levels for DOE, among other agencies, and specific programs such as the State Energy Program (SEP). The SEP is administered by DOE, and provides funding to states for use by State Energy Offices. According to the National Association of State Energy Officers (NASEO), with “SEP funds and the resources leveraged by them, the 56 State and Territory Energy Offices develop and manage strategic programs that support the private sector in increasing energy efficiency,… [more]
View InsightTo date, no offshore wind farms have operated in the United States. However, several projects under consideration or development could change that. In February, the federal government completed an environmental review of designated “wind energy areas” off the mid-Atlantic coast, and found that lease sales for wind energy would not create environmental problems. This finding may facilitate the sale of wind energy leases off the coasts of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Delaware as early as this year. [New York Times] The Cape Wind Project, a wind farm off Massachusetts’ Cape Cod, could be the first operational offshore wind energy… [more]
View InsightA Senate bill that would have cut $24 billion in tax breaks to oil companies over 10 years was blocked by Republicans yesterday. The bill, endorsed by President Obama hours before the vote, would have used $11.7 billion of the $24 billion to extend renewable energy tax credits and fund clean energy initiatives. The remainder would have gone toward deficit reduction. Critics of the bill have said that it would do nothing to reduce gas prices. Would legislation like this impact gas prices in the short- to medium-term? Should the U.S. remove subsidies from one industry in order to subsidize… [more]
View InsightLast week The Economist called attention to growing demand for rare earth minerals, their importance in clean energy technologies, and rising tension over their global supply. Two of these minerals – dysprosium and neodymium – are essential components of the magnets used in wind turbines and electric motors. According to The Economist, for these technologies to play the role expected of them in reducing CO2 emissions, world supply of neodymium and dysprosium would need to increase “more than 700% and 2,600% respectively during the next 25 years.” China, which produces around 90% of the world’s rare earth minerals, has recently… [more]
View InsightOn March 5th, 68 Congressional Democrats sent a letter to regulators at the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) urging that the agency “immediately enact strong position limits to eliminate excessive oil speculation as required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010.” The Dodd-Frank Act requires that the CFTC promulgate and enforce limits on oil speculation by January 17, 2011, but the CFTC has not yet done so. According to a Goldman Sachs report cited by the letter, “excessive oil speculation ‘translates out into a premium for gasoline at the pump of $.56 a gallon’”. Despite… [more]
View InsightH.R. 2842, the Bureau of Reclamation Small Conduit Hydropower Development and Rural Jobs Act of 2011, has been referred to the House of Representatives. The bill, introduced by Rep. Scott Tipton (R-CO), would call on the Bureau of Reclamation to develop small conduit hydropower at Bureau facilities. The bill would require that power privilege leases be offered to local irrigation districts or water users associations. The bill would prohibit altering existing water management and altering existing small conduit projects or outlays. “At a time when our country needs to focus on domestic energy production and job creation, hydropower can play… [more]
View InsightSenate Energy & Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has introduced the Clean Energy Standard Act of 2012, which would require electric utilities to derive increasing percentages of their supply mix from low-CO2 sources. The bill would take effect in 2015, and would require that by 2035 84% of power from large utilities come from low-CO2 sources. Sources eligible under the legislation include: renewables, such as wind and solar, “qualified” renewable biomass and waste-to-energy, hydropower, natural gas, and nuclear. Facilities with CO2 capture and storage, and some combined heat and power facilities, are also eligible. The bill establishes a market-based… [more]
View InsightPresident Obama sent his requested FY2013 budget to Congress Monday, and requested, among other energy-related items, significant increases to energy R&D, renewable energy investments, and energy efficiency programs. From the request: “In light of the tight discretionary spending caps, this increase in funding is significant and a testament to the importance of innovation and clean energy to the country’s economic future.” Among the energy-related budget requests: $27.2 billion to the Department of Energy, a 3.2% hike over FY2012 $5 billion for DOE’s Office of Science $2.3 billion for DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy office – a 29% increase –… [more]
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KL Gates
In the State of the Union President Obama renewed his commitment to the widespread adoption of renewable power as a critical piece of America’s energy and economic future. In last year’s speech he included a proposal to have 80 percent of US electricity come from renewables by 2035. Even making incremental steps towards these goals requires better access to financing for these renewable energy projects. Energy projects, and particularly renewable energy projects, require a lot of money to build. There appear to be 3 key challenges for a renewable energy company to access capital in today’s market. (1) Low natural… [more]
View InsightLast Wednesday, the Obama administration officially denied approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. A rider included by the GOP in the payroll tax plan President Obama signed last month required the Administration to decide on the pipeline within a 60-day window. In rejecting the pipeline, the White House said “imposing an arbitrary 60-day deadline on this process would make it virtually impossible for an adequate review [of the pipeline] to take place.” House Speaker John Boehner criticized the decision saying “President Obama is destroying tens of thousands of American jobs and shipping American energy security to the Chinese. [There’s] no… [more]
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