MORE NEWS, 10-5: SENATE ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL CUTS COSTS; NO 2009 ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL?; NEW ENERGY MONEY HESITANT; IRISH EXTEND WIRES FOR WIND

SENATE ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL CUTS COSTS
Climate Bill Would Ease Energy Costs, Senator Says
Juliet Eilperin, October 2, 2009 (Washington Post)

"Senate Democrats will initially devote 70 percent of the pollution allowances in their new climate measure to making it easier for people to pay their energy bills, Senate Environment and Public Works Chairman Barbara Boxer said…

"Boxer (D-Calif.) introduced legislation this week with Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) aimed at limiting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions nationwide. It would force any facility emitting at least 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year to obtain pollution permits. The bill does not indicate how these pollution allowances would be allocated, but Boxer said…Democrats are prepared to give away allowances to make carbon-intensive commodities such as electricity more affordable."

While the Treasury Department study on cap&trade has been discredited as inapplicable, studies by the EIA...(click to enlarge)
...and the CBO...(click to enlarge)
...and the EPA show the cost burden of cap&trade will be modest. (click to enlarge)

[Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA):] "The vast majority of allowances will go to consumers to keep them whole…"

"An aide to the senator said the panel was still working on the precise language of the bill, so it was too early to say whether all of those allowances would be given away free. It probably will be modeled on the House-passed bill, which aids consumers by providing free allowances to local electricity distribution companies as well as low income consumer rebates and tax credits and other measures."

click to enlarge

"Boxer also acknowledged that the climate bill does not have enough votes to pass right now in the Senate, adding that she will work to change that…To win votes, Kerry and Boxer have said they are willing to make compromises, and Boxer reiterated that in her interview, suggesting that the current target of reducing U.S. greenhouse gases 20 percent by 2020 compared with 2005 levels could change."

[Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA):] "We're gaining ground, but at this point I can't count to 60…But you just do your job and move forward…I can't predict the end game…This is the environment committee, not the pollution committee. . . . This should be the high-water mark."


NO 2009 ENERGY/CLIMATE BILL?
Obama Energy Advisor: Climate Bill Unlikely in 2009
3 October 2009 (Voice of America w/AP)

"U.S. President Barack Obama's top energy advisor says the U.S. Congress is not likely to pass a bill targeting climate change this year.

"Carol Browner…said the lack of a new U.S. policy will not hurt the country's ability to negotiate an international climate treaty."




"A final round of negotiations on a new global treaty are scheduled for December in Copenhagen, Denmark.

"Senate Democrats unveiled a plan…to cut U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. The House of Representatives passed a bill in June calling for a 17 percent cut."

The House bill is in the middle box on the right, wating. The Senate bill is about to go to the upper right corner and then down the right side. Almost into the white - but will it make it? (click to enlarge)

"If the Senate passes a climate change bill, the two measures would need to be negotiated into one final bill and signed by Mr. Obama.

"In addition to climate change, U.S. lawmakers are also dealing with major health-care and financial reforms."


NEW ENERGY MONEY HESITANT
Clean energy investment fell in Q3: research group
Laura Isensee (w/Andre Grenon), October 2, 2009 (Reuters)

"Investors worldwide poured $25.9 billion into clean energy in the last three months, down 9 percent from $28.6 billion in the second quarter…[but almost twice what New energy investment was in the first quarter]…"

[Michael Liebreich, chairman/chief executive, New Energy Finance:] "It is heartening to see that the collapse in investment seen in the first quarter of this year is firmly receding in the rear-view mirror…"

click thru for the complete New Energy Finance presentation

"…[Q3 investment was] far ahead from the collapse the sector suffered in the first quarter, when it saw only $13.3 billion of investment…

"The recovery in public markets and the first real installment of "green" stimulus dollars pledged by major economies helped boost investment in the third quarter."

click thru for the complete New Energy Finance presentation

"New Energy Finance also revised its forecast for investment for the full-year to $105 billion to $115 billion, the upper end of its prior estimate of $95 billion to $115 billion…

"…[[T]he financing environment is still difficult, with excessive reliance on stimulus funds, development banks and state-backed capital providers...Investment in clean energy still has not recovered to levels seen in 2008 and 2007."


IRISH EXTEND WIRES FOR WIND
Ireland Expands Transmission Capacity
Pete Browne, September 29, 2009 (NY Times)

"Planning permission was granted this month to build a 500-megawatt interconnector linking the national electric grids in Ireland and Wales. The interconnector will enable a two-way transmission of power – through submarine cables stretching 110 miles under the Irish Sea – with the capacity to supply 300,000 homes with electricity.

"The project represents an investment of $880 million, and will be financed by the Irish state-owned electricity transmission operator EirGrid, with a $160 million contribution from the European Union..."

Route of the newly financed transmission. (click to enlarge)

"A converter station will be built in Woodland in Meath County, and the cables will reach the coast at Rush, in County Dublin, before making the undersea crossing to Barkby Beach in North Wales.

"The Swedish engineering firm ABB secured the contract for the construction, which is predicted to take two years beginning in 2010..."

Now Ireland can not only move away from fossil fuels but export its wind riches as well. (click to enlarge)


"According to a report by Sustainable Energy Ireland, a group that promotes the development of renewable energy, the country is currently over 90 percent dependent on imported fossil fuels...

"Ireland currently has an ambitious goal of producing 40 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 — twice that of the European Union’s current ambitions. That target looked in doubt after reports that the Irish grid did not have the capacity to reach this goal."