MORE NEWS, 9-3: NEW ENERGY CREATES JOBS - BOGUS SPAIN STUDY ‘DISSED; DETROIT UTILITY FUNDS SUN; DUKE BUILDS WYOMING WIND; A TALE OF TWO BIOFUELS

NEW ENERGY CREATES JOBS - BOGUS SPANISH “STUDY” DISCREDITED
NREL Response to the Report Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources from King Juan Carlos University (Spain)
Eric Lantz and Suzanne Tegen, August 2009 (National Renewable Energy Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy)

"Job generation has been a part of the national dialogue surrounding energy policy and renewable energy (RE) for many years…The report Study of the Effects on Employment of Public Aid to Renewable Energy Sources, from King Juan Carlos University in Spain…asserts that, on average, every renewable energy job in Spain “destroyed” 2.2 jobs in the broader Spanish economy…and [estimates significant U.S.] job loss from renewable energy development and policy…The analysis by the authors from King Juan Carlos University represents a significant divergence from traditional methodologies used to estimate employment impacts from renewable energy. In fact, the methodology does not reflect an employment impact analysis. Accordingly, the primary conclusion made by the authors – policy support of renewable energy results in net jobs losses – is not supported by their work….

"The authors of the King Juan Carlos study…compare the government expenditure per estimated RE job with the average private-sector resources expended per worker and the average productivity per worker…[and conclude there will be] job loss as a result of public investment in renewable energy. This is based on the assumed principle that every dollar spent subsidizing renewables represents a reduction of one dollar in private-sector investment and that every dollar spent in the private sector will generate jobs equally. In contrast, traditional jobs analyses evaluate how changes in demand for specific goods and services will affect economic activity and jobs within specific industries, their supply chain, and the broader economy. The input-output tables applied in traditional analyses are derived from real inter-industry transactions at a specific time…"

This highly-regarded ASES study sees enormous job growth in New Energy and Energy Efficiency. (click to enlarge)

"Fundamental Limitations…The metrics used in the Spanish study are not jobs impact estimates…The comparison of RE jobs with average economy-wide metrics fails to recognize the variability within the modern economy…The report fails to account for technology export potential…The study ignores the role of government in facilitating growth of valued new industries…

"Technical Limitations…The calculation of average capital and average productivity per worker is based on jobs resulting from economic activity at all levels (i.e., it includes direct, indirect, and induced jobs). However, the RE jobs estimate used to calculate the RE subsidy per job is based on a quantification of direct and indirect impacts only…The report relies on jobs estimates that were developed in 2003 and do not reflect Spain’s RE industries in 2009…The report lacks transparency and supporting statistics…"

The U.S. Dept. of Energy predicts wind will provide a half million jobs in the coming 2 decades. It created 35,000 new jobs in 2008 without provoking any job losses. (click to enlarge)

"Shortcomings in Assumptions…The authors assume that a dollar spent by the government is less efficient than a dollar spent by private industry and that it crowds out private investment…The authors assume that results from Spain are reflective of the impact of RE technologies in other countries…The report relies on jobs as the sole metric to assess the value of renewable energy…

"In summary, the analysis performed in this recent study is not a jobs impact estimate…provides little insight into job creation or job loss from Spanish RE policy… has oversimplifications and assumptions that lead to questions regarding its quantitative results…[and fails] to justify their implication that because of the jobs comparison, subsidies for renewables are not worthwhile…[A]n array of benefits besides employment creation [flows] from government investment in renewable energy technologies. Nevertheless, the authors’ basic question regarding whether investment in RE provides a positive or negative employment impact is a fair one…In general, comprehensive analyses show that net employment impacts are sensitive to assumptions regarding future energy prices, strategies for addressing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, and the capacity to export technology…[R]ecent research has found that it is only when conventional energy prices are forecast to be very low that net employment impacts from RE investments are negative…Measuring long-term economic and employment impacts is a complex task, sensitive to an array of unknowns, including future prices for both conventional fuel and renewable energy. Because this work is highly sensitive to assumptions and the quality of research, it is critical that policy makers seriously evaluate the work presented to them; and even after careful scrutiny, place jobs estimates within the broader context of energy, the economy, the environment, and the future."


DETROIT UTILITY FUNDS SUN
New Detroit Edison Program Will Enable Customers to Cut the Cost of Installing Solar Energy
September 1, 2009 (PRNewswire)

"Detroit Edison has introduced a new program that will make installing a solar energy system 50 percent more affordable for homes and businesses.

"Called SolarCurrents, the pilot program is intended to encourage Detroit
Edison customers to purchase and install a solar energy system, and at the
same time help the utility meet renewable energy targets contained in
comprehensive energy legislation approved last year…"

click thru to learn more

"Solar energy systems…use of photovoltaic (PV) technology…[to turn] the sun's light energy into…direct current electricity…by the solar panels [and] is converted [by an inverter] to alternating current - the type of electricity accessed through standard electric outlets.

"A solar energy system for a typical 2,000 square foot home or business can cost about $18,000 to install. Under SolarCurrents, customers will receive a one-time payment when their system is installed. They then will receive monthly credits on their electric bill for the next 20 years for providing Detroit Edison with renewable energy credits associated with the system…[reducing the overall system cost 50%]…"

click thru to calculate any home's costs and benefits

"Solar Currents was developed following passage of the Clean, Renewable and Efficient Energy Act of 2008 - legislation that requires Michigan's electric utilities to provide 10 percent of their electricity sales from renewable resources by 2015. Detroit Edison expects upwards of 1,500 customers to take part in the SolarCurrents program.

"Detroit Edison also plans to introduce a second-phase of the SolarCurrents programs in which the company will place large-scale solar energy panels it owns on customer rooftops or property. In return, Detroit Edison will pay long term leasing or rental fees to the property owners. Further details on the next phase of the SolarCurrents program are expected in the coming months…"


DUKE ENERGY BUILDS WYOMING WIND
Duke Energy plans for ninth wind farm
September 1, 2009 (Dayton Business Journal)

"Duke Energy Corp. plans to build its ninth wind-power project, a 200-megawatt wind farm in Wyoming.

"…Top of the World Wind Power [is expected to go into commercial production in late 2010 and]…will be constructed on 17,000 acres in Converse County, Wyo. It will produce energy for as many as 60,000 homes…Duke provides electricity to customers in Warren and Butler counties."

Duke was not among the biggest wind-building utilities last year but the way it is going it could make the list this year. (click to enlarge)

"…Duke has grown quickly in the wind business during the past year or so. The company had no wind capacity in 2006. By the end of this year, it expects to have 733 megawatts of wind capacity. That would be enough to make it the 10th-largest wind generator in the country…

"[Duke Energy Generation Services, DEGS] does not build a project unless it has a long-term customer for the power it will generate. Rocky Mountain Power of Wyoming has signed a 20-year contract for the power from Top of the World."

In choosing to work in Wyoming, Duke has picked wind-rich territory. (click to enlarge)

"That utility also has contracted to buy all the power produced by Duke’s nearby 99-megawatt Campbell Hill Windpower Project. Campbell Hill is scheduled to start generating electricity by the end of the year.

"DEGS is one of Duke’s unregulated businesses, unconnected to its regulated utilities such as Duke Energy Carolinas. The utilities own no wind facilities, although Duke’s Midwest franchise has contracted to buy some of its energy from wind producers…"


A TALE OF TWO BIOFUELS
Jacobson and Chu offer different futures for biofuels
John Guerrero, August 31, 2009 (SF Examiner)

"Biofuels are a complicated issue and seen to draw up conflict at the mere mention of their name. Figuring the economic, social, and environmental implications of developing a biofuel industry requires the use of complex computer models (much like those used in climate change scenarios) with numerous input variables that affect the outcome of the individual studies.

"Two of the main players in the foreground of the debate have come up with very different views based upon their studies." [Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson, author, Review of Solutions to Global Warming, Air Pollution and Energy Security:] 'Biofuels are the most damaging choice we could make in our efforts to move away from using fossil fuels.' [U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu:] '…developing the next generation of biofuels is key to our effort to end our dependence on foreign oil and address the climate crisis, while creating millions of new jobs that can't be outsourced…'"

Professor Jacobson's study showed biofuels to be a pretty weak choice for powering personal transport. (click to enlarge)

"The difference of opinion may be that these two scientists are talking about different generations of biofuels. The first generation of biofuels relied on food crops for their feedstocks; this was primarily corn, soy, palm, and sugarcane crops. Then came along second generation biofuels, or cellulosic ethanol; the feedstocks for this kind of biofuel came primarily from switchgrass, miscanthus, and agricultural waste. Third generation biofuels rely on genetically modified plants that ultimately increase energy yield per acre or decrease the amount of energy needed to process the feedstocks into fuel. Fourth generation biofuels…are not only engineered to have high energy yields and low conversion costs, but they also are engineered to soak up more CO2 than regular plants…

"Jacobson's report on biofuels ultimately recommended against ethanol made from corn and switchgrass…Corn and switchgrass ethanol finished last and second to last in his list of worst vehicle fuel options…Steven Chu…[talking about miscanthus] gives a different impression of cellulosic ethanol…Jacobson's report [may not have considered miscanthus or]… the use of agricultural waste residues like sugarcane bagasse and corn stover, feedstocks that do not require water, fertilizer, or the use of farm machinery to harvest…[Other researchers such as the] Genomics: GTL research program [see] benefits and challenges facing cellulosic ethanol…"

Secretary Chu has a very different take. From USDepartmentofEnergy via YouTube

"…[F]irst generation ethanol[has been commercialized] to the point where we have learned its limitations; second generation facilities are set to come online next year; third and fourth generation biofuels are still in the experimental stage. Many problems surface for biofuels going from the laboratory phase to commercial scale, but scientists continue to build off of their successes to evolve the industry toward sustainability.

"Perhaps the difference between Jacobson and Chu is that while Jacobson is a realist, Chu is a dreamer…Chu's vision is one that spans the entire twenty-first century and looks toward finding solutions to biofuels' limitations. Jacobson is correct in his assessment that current forms of biofuels are not much better than the fossil fuel systems that currently power our society. The difference of opinion in the general public comes from whose eyes you choose to look through and how much time you think we have to solve the developing energy and environmental crises."