QUICK NEWS, 7-5: BIG BOOST FOR U.S. SOLAR; CHURCH WINS STAR FROM HIGH AUTHORITY; ABOUT THOSE OIL COMPANY SUBSIDIES; OBAMA-LED WORLD OIL SUBSIDY CUTS

BIG BOOST FOR U.S. SOLAR
Obama outlines acceleration of clean-energy economy; President, in weekly address, announces nearly $2 billion in energy funds
July 3, 2010 (MarketWatch)

"U.S. President Barack Obama … outlined plans to ramp up the number of clean-energy jobs in the U.S., with his administration's goal fueled in part by roughly $2 billion in new conditional commitments to two solar companies.

"Abengoa SA...was offered a $1.45 billion loan guarantee by the U.S. Department of Energy to build a 250-megawatt solar plant in Arizona, and Abound Solar Manufacturing was offered a $400 million loan guarantee toward two plants where thin-solar panels will be manufactured."

The Abengoa 11 megawatt PS10 solar power tower power plant. (click to enlarge)

"The guarantees through the Recovery Act and other measures are expected by the awardees to create more than 5,000 jobs…[The President said] the investments will help the country establish leadership in "cutting-edge" solar technology, and create jobs to aid economic recovery efforts.

"A transition to a clean-energy economy and doubling use of renewable-energy sources including wind and solar power "have the potential to create whole new industries and hundreds of thousands of new jobs in America," said Obama…"

An Abound Solar manufacturing facility. (click to enlarge)

"Abengoa Solar Inc., a subsidiary of Spanish renewable energy and engineering firm Abengoa SA, has agreed to build a solar generation plan near Gila Bend, Ariz. The Solona project will create 1,600 jobs in Arizona and about 85 permanent jobs once the plant is operational…70% of the components and products used in the construction will be made in the U.S., and the plant will generate enough to power for more than 70,000 homes at full capacity.

"Abound Solar Manufacturing plans to use the loan proceeds to expand its Longmont, Colo. plant. A portion of the proceeds will be used to open a new plant in an empty Chrysler supplier factory in Tipton, Ind…[The company] estimates construction of the plants will 2,000 jobs, with 1,500 permanent manufacturing and technical jobs..."


CHURCH WINS STAR FROM HIGH AUTHORITY
"Energy Star" label graces churches for efficiency
Jay Lindsay, July 4, 2010 (AP via OneNewsNow)

"…First Parish Church in [Needham,] Massachusett… holds 18th-century timber in its walls and displays proof of its 21st-century energy efficiency with an "Energy Star" plaque by the door.

"Energy Star status, more commonly associated with dishwashers and refrigerators, is now available to houses of worship as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency looks to lower energy use at thousands of congregations nationwide…[N]ine congregations in the nation [now have] the designation…"

click thru for more on the Energy Star "Green Your Congregation" program

"Among [First Parish’s $3.3 million-dollar expansion and renovation ] upgrades: temperature controls for each room so energy isn't wasted in areas that aren't being used; a ventilation system that adjusts to the number of people inside by measuring the carbon dioxide being exhaled; new insulation in the meeting house walls, which are partly supported by beams from the church's original 1774 building…[After the upgrades, its utility bill fell from $20,000 to $12,000 in a year]…

"As churches consider new efficiency upgrades, the EPA hopes they tap into the same ancient religious principle - good stewardship of the earth - that drove First Parish…The United States has an estimated 370,000 houses of worship, nearly the number of its K-12 school buildings."

click thru for more on the Energy Star buildings program

"Some buildings seem primed for big improvement, such as the stately churches with high ceilings and leaky windows that are common in buildings in New England town squares. But Michael Zatz, EPA Energy Star commercial buildings manager, said older churches aren't necessarily far less efficient than newer buildings. Instead, he said, focusing on churches can have broad impact…[EPA] just began awarding the Energy Star label in October. Before then, a periodic federal building survey hadn't reviewed enough houses of worship to allow the EPA to draw up Energy Star scores for that building type…

"So far nine congregations from Alabama to Michigan have won the label. Variables such as a building's size, location and energy use over a year are plugged into a formula. The building's actual energy usage is then compared to what the formula predicts it will use. If it's more efficient than 75 percent of similar houses of worship, it's eligible for the Energy Star label. A licensed engineer must also verify the numbers…"


ABOUT THOSE OIL COMPANY SUBSIDIES
As Oil Industry Fights a Tax, It Reaps Subsidies
David Kocieniewski, July 3, 2010 (NY Times)

"When the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform set off the worst oil spill at sea in American history, it was flying the flag of the Marshall Islands. Registering there allowed the rig’s owner to significantly reduce its American taxes.

"The owner, Transocean, moved its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Cayman Islands in 1999 and then to Switzerland in 2008, maneuvers that also helped it avoid taxes…[and] BP was reaping sizable tax benefits from leasing the rig…[It used] a tax break for the oil industry to write off 70 percent of the rent for Deepwater Horizon — a deduction of more than $225,000 a day since the lease began."



"…[A]n examination of the American tax code indicates that oil production is among the most heavily subsidized businesses, with tax breaks available at virtually every stage of the exploration and extraction process…[C]apital investments like oil field leases and drilling equipment are taxed at an effective rate of 9 percent, significantly lower than the overall rate of 25 percent for businesses in general and lower than virtually any other industry…[F]or many small and midsize oil companies, the tax on capital investments is so low that it is more than eliminated by various credits…[Returns on] investments are often higher after taxes than before…

"Oil industry officials say that the tax breaks, which average about $4 billion a year according to various government reports, are a bargain for taxpayers…[and support] an industry that the officials say provides 9.2 million jobs…[They say] that even with subsidies, oil producers paid or incurred $280 billion in American income taxes from 2006 to 2008, and pay a higher percentage of their earnings in taxes than most other American corporations…"

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"But some government watchdog groups say that only the industry’s political muscle is preserving the tax breaks…[One 2009] study had found that oil prices and potential profits were so high that eliminating the subsidies would decrease American output by less than half of one percent…

"Some of the tax breaks date back nearly a century…when costly investments frequently produced only dry holes. Because of one lingering provision from the Tariff Act of 1913, many small and midsize oil companies based in the United States can claim deductions for the lost value of tapped oil fields far beyond the amount the companies actually paid…[A] Saudi Arabian accounting maneuver…reclassified the royalties charged by foreign governments to American oil drillers…which entitled the companies to subtract those payments from their American tax bills. Despite repeated attempts to forbid this accounting practice, companies continue to deduct the payments. The Treasury Department estimates that it will cost $8.2 billion over the next decade…Over the last 10 years, oil companies have also been aggressive in using foreign tax havens…"


OBAMA-LED WORLD OIL SUBSIDY CUTS
Obama Gets G-20 to End $558 Billion in Fossil Fuel Subsidies
Susan Kraemer, June 30, 2010 (CleanTechnica)

"With the evidence of our gluttony for oil now rudely lapping at our shores, at the G-20 meeting that just wrapped up in Toronto, [President] Obama pressed for and got agreement from other world leaders to actually end fossil fuel subsidies, by erasing the word “voluntary” in the agreement…

"Despite the earlier fears of environmentalists that it would be merely a voluntary “goal”, at the last minute a newly muscular non-voluntary end to fossil energy subsidies, was inserted into the final language of the G-20 agreement, at the request of the US President. America.gov found that fossil fuel subsidies amounted to $558 billion worldwide in 2008."

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"The top 20 nations at the G-20 have now also agreed to ongoing reviews…Initially, the agreement was to be a mere “voluntary” agreement, to the alarm of environmentalists. But at the last minute, President Obama changed the wording. By omitting the word “voluntary”, and including checkups, the agreement becomes much stronger."

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"It appears that coaxing world leaders who run actual democracies to do the right thing for their people is not as difficult as coaxing Senators in this country to…[I]t will be US fossil energy companies with the most to lose by this end to fossil fuel subsidies. But with an international agreement, even those that relocate their headquarters off-shore will now be covered by this agreement…[P]erhaps America is finally ready to move beyond petroleum.

"So far, we’ve cheerfully led the world in the inefficiency of our gasoline vehicles, with 34% sold only getting between 15 and 20 miles per gallon – compared with the carbon-constrained EU where under 1% of vehicles sold are now that inefficient. So our carbon emissions are almost double those of the EU…But have we finally hit our rock bottom, as they say in the addiction-recovery world? Has the gushing volcano of dangerous oil in the Gulf finally moved us to a different place?"