MORE NEWS, 11-24: CONGRESS POSTPONES CLIMATE CHANGE; $4 BIL FOR U.S. WIND JOBS; NEW ENERGY POLISHES RUST; COAL AND THE DAMAGE DONE

CONGRESS POSTPONES CLIMATE CHANGE
No Climate Bill This Year, Senators Say; Key Senators have told the Wall Street Journal that a climate and energy bill containing controversial carbon cap-and-trade provisions won’t get passed this year
Jeff St. John, November 18, 2009 (Greentech Media)

"The U.S. Senate will postpone until next year its debate on energy and climate legislation, along with its controversial plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions…Key Senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.)…[said] the climate and energy bill will have to wait while the Senate tackles bills aimed at reforming the nation's health insurance system and financial market regulation.

"The proposed cap-and-trade legislation has drawn harsh opposition from Republican lawmakers and industry groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Petroleum Institute that say it will increase energy costs and harm the economy…[T]he House passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act…includes a cap-and-trade system aimed at cutting the nation's greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020…[and a proposed] Senate bill…which would seek to cut those emissions by 20 percent by 2020…passed…the Senate environment panel…"

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"Republicans have asked for more support for nuclear power and offshore oil drilling…Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Jim Webb (D-Va.) proposed a bill, the Clean Energy Act of 2009, that would offer about $20 billion over the next decades, much of it to support nuclear power…[A] delay until next year leaves the Obama Administration bereft of legislation it hoped to present in December at a United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen to craft an agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol…

"The Environmental Protection Agency has moved on its own to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, but has yet to formulate standards for enforcement...The EPA program is expected to cover 70 percent of the nation's total emissions, including power plants, refineries, and cement production facilities that emit at least 25,000 tons of greenhouse gases a year… But the EPA may well face years of legal battles over regulating greenhouse gases, which could lead the agency to look to Congress to pass a bill…"

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"In the meantime, questions remain over the competing renewable electricity standards contained in the House and Senate energy and climate bills…The Senate bill would require 9 percent of the nation's power to come from renewable resources and 6 percent from efficiency gains by 2021…[but may] adopt the more aggressive measures in the House bill, which calls for 12 percent of the nation's power to come from renewables and 8 percent from efficiency by 2020.

"These renewable energy mandates, as well as provisions in the House energy and climate bill to give new federal authority to site transmission lines, could be taken up separately from cap-and-trade rules…[A]n energy bill without cap-and-trade could pass by May 2010, but [experts doubt] the likelihood of greenhouse gas limits being put into law during an election year…"


$4 BIL FOR U.S. WIND JOBS
EDP Renovaveis Plans To Spend $4B On US Wind Power
Bernd Radowitz, November 19, 2009 (Dow Jones Newswires via Wall Street Journal)

"Portugal's EDP Renovaveis SA…plans to spend $4 billion through 2012 to build new wind farms in the U.S., one of the world's fastest-growing markets for renewable energy… EDPR said it aims to add more than 2 gigawatts in new wind power generation capacity…

"The investment is in line with expectations… for the company's U.S. investments, and should help the company to reach its target to install between close to 1.4 GW per year in new electricity generating capacity per year globally…The company has earlier said it plans to add about half of its new wind power generation capacity in the U.S…"

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"EDPR, together with Iberian peers Iberdrola Renovables SA…is already among the top renewable energy utilities in the U.S.. The only U.S.-based company that rivals the Iberian companies in the U.S. market in size is Next Era Energy Resources LLC, a unit of FPL Group Inc. (FPL).

"EDPR…plans to build on the new 800 megawatts of capacity already installed or under construction in the U.S. market. EDPR's U.S. unit Horizon Wind Energy has a presence in 21 states and operates more than 2,500 MW of wind energy capacity."

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"The rapid growth in the U.S. comes in large part due to grants for renewable energy given via U.S. Treasury and the Department of Energy's 1603 Program…

"The U.S. is currently the world's most dynamic market for renewable energy…Other growth markets, such as China, aren't as easy to enter for foreign companies due to protectionism and unclear rules…To ensure more companies can maker longer term investments in the renewables sector in the U.S., however, more needs to be done…[an EDP spokesperson] said…A renewable electricity standard [is needed]…"


NEW ENERGY POLISHES RUST
Solar energy industry brings a ray of hope to the Rust Belt; Areas hard-hit by the U.S. automakers' slump are pitching themselves to green technology firms. Workers and machines that used to crank out cars are now making parts for solar and wind power plants.
Todd Woody, November 23, 2009 (LA Times)

"…In years past, Sunbelt governors recruited Midwestern [rustbelt] businesses to set up shop in their states, dangling tax breaks and the lure of a union-free workforce…Now the tables have turned as solar start-ups, wind turbine companies and electric carmakers from California and the Southwest migrate to the nation's industrial heartland. They're looking to tap its manufacturing might and legions of skilled workers, hit hard by the near-collapse of the United States auto industry and eager for work.

"For all of green tech's futuristic sheen, solar power plants and wind farms are made of much of the same stuff as automobiles: machine-stamped steel, glass and gearboxes…That has renewable energy companies hitting the highway for Detroit and Northeastern industrial states, driven in part by the federal stimulus package's incentives and buy-American mandates…Fisker Automotive [of Southern California], for example, will manufacture its next plug-in electric hybrid car at a defunct General Motors assembly plant in Wilmington, Del…"

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"…Stirling Energy Systems, which is building two massive solar power plants in Southern California, has signed deals with two automotive companies to make components for its giant solar dishes…Stirling's 40-by-38-foot SunCatcher resembles a mirrored satellite dish. The SunCatcher's mirrors focus the sun on a Stirling engine that sits on an arm that extends from the center of the dish. The heat causes hydrogen gas in the engine to expand, which drives pistons that generate electricity…[The mirror frame is stamped metal just like a car frame]…

"Stirling signed an agreement with Tower Automotive to manufacture the dishes' structural components and assemble the mirror facets. The Livonia, Mich., company makes vehicle body parts and other components for the major carmakers but has seen auto orders slow with the downturn… Tower can use its existing machinery, with some modifications, and workforce to make SunCatcher components…[and] Stirling avoids the capital costs of setting up its own factories and gets to tap Tower's manufacturing know-how to bring down its costs, which will be a key competitive advantage…"

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"…[Stirling has] spent $30 million to $40 million in the Detroit area over the last year… hired 40 to 50 people from the automotive industry…[and] outsourced the manufacturing of specialized tools to companies in Ohio, Illinois and Indiana…About 25,000 SunCatchers will roll off the assembly line annually once production ramps up…

"…[A]vailable manufacturing muscle [also] attracted Skyline Solar, a Silicon Valley solar power plant builder…[to] a Troy, Mich., subsidiary of automotive giant Magna International to make the long metal arrays that hold its photovoltaic panels…[Ohio economic development officials] said Michigan was [their] biggest competitor for solar manufacturing projects…[but Ohio] secured one of the biggest solar companies, First Solar of Tempe, Ariz., to produce photovoltaic modules…[W]ind turbines are already made in Ohio, and Rolls-Royce recently announced it would consolidate its fuel cell operations in the Buckeye State…"


COAL AND THE DAMAGE DONE
Coal Pollution Damages Human Health at Every Stage of Coal Life Cycle, Reports Physicians for Social Responsibility
November 18, 2009 (Physicians for Social Responsibility)

"...[Coal's Assault on Human Health, from Physicians for Social Responsibility,] takes a new look at the devastating impacts of coal on the human body. By examining the impact of coal pollution on the major organ systems of the human body, the report concludes that coal contributes to four of the top five causes of mortality in the U.S. and is responsible for increasing the incidence of major diseases already affecting large portions of the U.S. population...

"…Coal combustion releases mercury, particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and dozens of other substances known to be hazardous to human health. This report looks at the cumulative harm inflicted…on three major body organ systems…[and] considers coal's contribution to global warming, and the health implications… [I]n this way, the totality of coal's impact on health becomes clear. Coal pollutants affect all major body organ systems and contribute to four of the five leading causes of mortality in the U.S.: heart disease, cancer, stroke, and chronic lower respiratory diseases."

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"...[1] Respiratory Effects…[include] asthma, lung disease and lung cancer, and adversely affect normal lung development in children….[2] Cardiovascular Effects…lead to cardiovascular disease, such as arterial occlusion (artery blockages, leading to heart attacks) and infarct formation…leading to permanent heart damage…[and] cardiac arrhythmias and congestive heart failure. Exposure to chronic air pollution over many years increases cardiovascular mortality…[3] Nervous System Effects: Studies show a correlation between coal-related air pollutants and stroke….[and] loss of intellectual capacity, primarily through mercury…[B]etween 317,000 and 631,000 children are born in the U.S. each year with blood mercury levels high enough to reduce IQ scores and cause lifelong loss of intelligence.

"Global Warming: Even people who do not develop illnesses from coal pollutants will find their health and wellbeing impacted…The discharge of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere associated with burning coal is a major contributor to global warming and [leads to] adverse effects on health and wellbeing worldwide, such as heat stroke, malaria, declining food production, scarce water supplies, social conflict and starvation."

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"…[T]he report [also] pinpoints negative health consequences at each step of the coal life cycle. Coal mining leads U.S. industries in fatal injuries and is associated with chronic health problems among miners…[C]ommunities near coal mines may be adversely affected by mining operations due to the effects of blasting, washing, leakage from "slurry ponds," the collapse of abandoned mines, damage done to streams and waterways, and the dispersal of dust from coal trucks during transportation. Slurry injected underground can release arsenic, barium, lead and manganese into nearby wells, contaminating local drinking water supplies. The storage of post-combustion wastes from coal plants also threatens human health. There are 584 coal ash dump sites in the U.S, and toxic residues have migrated into water supplies at dozens of sites. While every stage of the coal life cycle impacts human health, the combustion phase exacts the greatest toll…

"…PSR issued five policy recommendations:…[1] Cut emissions of carbon dioxide as deeply and as swiftly as possible…to 350 parts per million, through 1)…legislation that establishes hard caps on global warming pollution coming from coal power plants, and 2) strict enforcement of the Clean Air Act…[2] Reduce fossil fuel power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides…[3] Establish a standard, based on Maximum Achievable Control Technology, for mercury and other hazardous air pollutant emissions from electrical generation…[4] End all new construction of coal-fired power plants…[5] Develop the capacity to generate electricity from clean, safe, renewable sources so that existing coal-fired power plants may be phased out…"