MORE NEWS, 4-23 (SOLAR POWER PLANT ADDS 1000+ JOBS; EPA’S TAKE ON CLIMATE LEGISLATION; S. AFRICA BANK $$$ TO AUSSIE NEW ENERGY)

SOLAR POWER PLANT ADDS 1000+ JOBS
FPL hiring 1,100 workers to build solar energy plant west of Indiantown
Eve Samples, April 21, 2009 (Palm Beach Post)

"Wanted: about 1,000 workers to build the second-largest solar plant in the world.

"Qualifications: basic assembly skills; plumbers, carpenters and other tradesmen also may be needed.

"To apply: head to Indiantown this weekend.

"The contractor overseeing Florida Power & Light Co.'s solar-thermal power plant in western Martin County is looking for help - lots of help - at a time when double-digit unemployment has hamstrung the local economy."

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"The 1,000 jobs would be welcome enough, but the ripple effects could inject new life into small businesses…

"Job fairs are scheduled for [10 a.m. to 4 p.m.] Friday and Saturday [at Timer Powers Park] in Indiantown, and the community is bracing for a big turnout…"

"In Martin County, the jobless rate was 10.1 percent in March. In Palm Beach and St. Lucie counties, the rates were 9.9 and 12.8 percent, respectively…

"For skilled trade workers, the jobs will start at $20 an hour…Lower-skill positions will start at $9 an hour."

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"When the FPL plant is complete in 2010, it will generate up to 75 megawatts…

"Martin Next Generation Solar Energy Center, as it is dubbed, is one of three solar-powered plants FPL announced last year…[It will also partner] to build a 75-megawatt solar plant at Babcock Ranch north of Fort Myers…

"At the Martin plant, more than 180,000 mirrors will be used to collect sunlight in troughs, in turn making steam to power FPL's existing gas-fired plant at the site. When complete, it will be the largest solar plant of any kind outside of California and the second-largest in the world…"


EPA’S TAKE ON CLIMATE LEGISLATION
E.P.A. Releases Analysis of Climate Bill
Jad Mouawad, April 21, 2009 (NY Times)

"Just days after declaring that carbon emissions were a threat to human health, the Environmental Protection Agency has given high marks to a wide-ranging energy and climate bill that was recently put forward by the House Energy Committee.

"The Waxman-Markey bill, also known as the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, will “drive the clean energy transformations of the U.S. economy,” and substantially reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions, according to the E.P.A.’s review."

From NationalWildlife via YouTube.

"In a summary, the E.P.A. said it focused its analysis on the bill’s proposed cap-and-trade mechanism. It assumes that carbon prices would range from $13 to $17 per ton in 2015, and would rise by about 5 percent a year. By 2020, carbon costs would reach $17 to $22 per ton. That is approximately what participants in a European Union cap-and-trade program are currently paying.

"The E.P.A.’s analysis suggests that under the plan, the share of low-carbon and zero-carbon energy sources — including renewables like wind and solar, as well as nuclear and carbon capture plants — would rise to 26 percent of the nation’s energy mix by 2030, and could reach 46 percent by 2050. Without the policy, that share would remain at a steady 14 percent the E.P.A. estimated."

The UN's "international offsets" program is called the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). (click to enlarge)

"Republican opponents to a cap-and-trade policy say it amounts to a hidden energy tax…But Representative Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat and a co-sponsor of the bill, said the E.P.A.’s analysis, along with other provisions in the bill for updating energy efficiency weatherization, suggested that “the savings will pile up for consumers.”

"The E.P.A.’s analysis predicted the [bill’s impact on consumers would be modest and]… said that in order to minimize costs, the program needed to include a mechanism that allows companies to offset their carbon emissions by investing…in international offsets — such as reforestation programs in Africa — [that] would significantly reduce the cost of achieving the bill’s goals. Excluding such offsets would nearly double the price of the carbon allowances… the House energy committee is holding a series of hearings on the proposed bill, and plans to have the legislation ready by Memorial day."


S. AFRICA BANK $$$ TO AUSSIE NEW ENERGY
Investec May Invest in Australian Solar, Geothermal Projects
Angela Macdonal-Smith, April 21, 2009 (Bloomberg News)

"Investec, the South African investment and private bank, said it may invest in Australian solar thermal and geothermal energy projects as it seeks to participate in emerging renewable energy ventures.

"The bank signed an initial agreement last week to provide as much as A$250 million ($176 million) of funds for a wave energy project in southern Australia. It is interested in similar accords in solar and geothermal once project plans are more advanced…"

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"Australia’s government has a target to increase use of renewable energy to 20 percent of electricity supplies by 2020 to tackle global warming. Investec is advancing the A$600 million Collgar wind energy project in Western Australia, after selling development rights for other wind farms to Contact Energy Ltd. and AGL Energy Ltd…

"Solar thermal plants use reflective troughs to concentrate the sun’s energy to heat oil or another liquid, generating steam for conversion into power."

From CarnegieCorporation via YouTube.

"The funding in Carnegie Corp.’s wave energy project may involve taking an equity stake in the venture company…It is subject to a successful application for federal government funding for the project in southern Australia and to other milestones…

"Carnegie’s CETO technology uses a device that sits on the seabed and carries high-pressure seawater ashore through a pipeline, where it is used to produce either electricity or fresh water. The company is close to securing contracts for the sale of the project’s electricity output and related renewable energy and carbon credits… Investec wants to participate in projects rather than in technology companies, and ventures considered so far in solar thermal and geothermal energy haven’t been far enough advanced…"