QUICK NEWS, 2-9: CONGRESS WANTS 10 MILLION SOLAR ROOFS; NEW ENERGY BUILDING LOOKS BIG; CAPE WIND ON THE EDGE; VOLT PRODUCTION TO START NOV 1ST

CONGRESS WANTS 10 MILLION SOLAR ROOFS
Senate Bill Aims For 10 Million Rooftop Solar Systems
February 5, 2010 (Sustainable Business)

"Legislation introduced in the US Senate…would encourage the installation of 10 million solar power systems and 200,000 solar water heaters on the rooftops of homes and businesses over the next decade.

"The Ten Million Solar Roofs and Ten Million Gallons of Solar Hot Water Act was introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate's green jobs subcommittee, along with nine cosponsors…A similar bill was introduced in the US House by Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee."

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"It would authorize rebates and other incentives to cover up to half the cost of the solar power and heating systems…Non-profit groups and state and local governments also would be eligible…

"Sanders said a recent report shows that solar power could help make every state more energy independent if solar units were installed on available rooftop space, because every state can meet 10% or more of its electricity needs just through rooftop solar. Moreover, because solar energy creates more jobs per megawatt than other energy sources."

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"The legislation's cosponsors include Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

"Sanders' measure is patterned after successful state programs promoting solar energy in New Jersey and California, where prices have fallen as the number of solar units increased."


NEW ENERGY BUILDING LOOKS BIG
Report is bullish on Midwest’s green energy manufacturers
February 8, 2010 (BizTimes)

"If the federal government implements strong energy policies that encourage alternative energy and use of cutting edge high-capacity batteries, the Midwest’s manufacturing hub stands to gain significantly, according to a report by the nonprofit Climate Group and the University of Michigan.

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"American Innovation: Manufacturing Low Carbon Technologies in the Midwest looks at the impacts on wind turbine, hybrid powertrain and advanced battery manufacturing. The study anticipates three factors – a $17 per ton price on carbon, a green economic stimulus program, and a 20 percent federal renewable electricity standard by 2020…[that] could lead to greatly increased revenues and employment in the wind turbine, advanced battery and hybrid powertrain industries between 2010 and 2015…

"…[The 3 policies could generate] $7.3 billion in revenues for wind turbine components, and about 63,000 new jobs in the manufacture of components for the industry… $1.45 billion in revenues for advanced battery manufacturing, and about 12,000 new jobs…[and] $3.8 billion for hybrid powertrain manufacturers and about 31,000 new jobs…"

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"The report looked at five states – Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. It did not examine potential costs or job cuts related to the proposed federal policies…"


CAPE WIND ON THE EDGE
Mass. wind farm that Obama administration might support meets strong resistance
Juliet Eilperin, February 8, 2010 (Washington Post)

"Interior Secretary Ken Salazar journeyed out into Nantucket Sound on a Coast Guard vessel…to signal the Obama administration's readiness to put some muscle behind wind energy. To do that, Salazar has to resolve a battle over building a wind farm on 25 square miles of open water that has driven a rift between environmentalists, infuriated local Native Americans and threatened one of the administration's cherished priorities.

"The nearly decade-long fight over whether to construct a 130-turbine offshore wind farm near Martha's Vineyard has spurred numerous state and federal regulatory reviews. It has cost millions in lobbying fees and has prompted an intense political debate on Cape Cod and in Washington, setting those who back renewable energy against those who want to preserve the natural beauty of Nantucket Sound…"

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"With many other obstacles resolved, including the wind farm's potential hindrance to navigation and fishing and harm to birds, the tribes represent the project's latest challenge: They practice a sunrise ritual every morning on the sound and say they may have artifacts buried beneath the seabed. They have managed to qualify the sound for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, which could restrict its commercial use.

"Salazar got up before dawn Tuesday to observe a site where the Mashpee Wampanoag's sunrise ceremony takes place…[and] said that although his department is trying to broker a deal between the tribes and Energy Management, the company seeking to build the farm… if the two sides cannot resolve their differences…he will do it himself by April."

For the U.S. to achieve its goal of 20% wind by 2030, it needs 305 gigawatts offshore so Secretary Salazar needs to get this mess cleaned up. (click to enlarge)

"The venture stands as a critical test of…[the Obama administration’s ability to] launch the clean-energy revolution it has promised voters…Both sides agree that this offshore wind project, which would be the first in the United States and would furnish about 75 percent of Cape Cod's energy, shows just how hard it will be to construct wind farms off America's coasts…

"In the short term, land-based wind projects represent a better investment because they can win federal approval faster than the roughly dozen offshore ventures pending…Under Salazar, the Interior Department has launched a concerted effort to streamline approval for offshore projects…No other renewable-energy project in America has followed as convoluted a path as Cape Wind. Unveiled in 2001, the roughly 25-square-mile proposal has soured longstanding friendships and opened political fault lines within the Democratic Party. The late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), whose family compound overlooks the sound, fiercely opposed it, while Gov. Deval L. Patrick has pushed for it as part of an ambitious plan to generate 20 percent of the state's electricity with renewable energy by 2025…And all of the recent talk about the importance of clean energy has done little to shift entrenched attitudes on the project…"


VOLT PRODUCTION TO START NOV 1ST
Chevrolet's electric Volt starts production Nov. 1

"...[Gm-Volt], an independent website, has gotten hold of a dealer document that shows that General Motors plans to start making the Chevrolet Volt extended-range electric car in November.

"That means that GM remains on the timeline that many have doubted it could achieve, putting its wonder car on sale by the end of the year."

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"The site quotes Leo Karl, owner of Karl Chevrolet in Connecticut, as noting that dealers are getting ordering information about the new Volt for the first time…"

click thru to follow the progress of all plug-in vehicles

[Leo Karl, owner, Karl Chevrolet:] "[It] shows estimated start of production for the 2011 Chevy Volt is November 1, 2010. However, the chart also shows that GM expects to post each dealers' final allocation on their website by November 17th and then dealer order submission by November 18th. Those last two dates are contradictory to the November 1st start of production, so there are still questions…"

"The Volt is Chevrolet's most important new introduction. It will be able to operate on electric power long enough to get most people to work before its backup gas engine kicks in."