QUICK NEWS, April 30: MILITARY VETS FOR WIND; NOT MORE OR LESS GOVERNMENT, JUST SMART GOVERNMENT; GIGAWATTS OF SUN ON LA’S ROOFS

MILITARY VETS FOR WIND Vets group: Wind energy critical to America's security

April 27, 2012 (Wind Energy Weekly)

"…Congressman Mike Thompson (D-Calif.) joined [retired Marine Corps Lieutenant General John Castellaw; Mike Breen, vice president of the Truman National Security Project; and Jeff Duff of Airstreams Renewables, a company that makes a point of hiring veterans] to talk about the importance and urgency of extending the federal Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy… The group discussed how critical renewing the PTC is to America’s economic and national security.

"The PTC, they said, is an important federal policy incentive without which 37,000 jobs and $10-20 billion of domestic investment would be lost next year and thereafter…"

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"…Thompson, a Vietnam Army veteran and member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which [just] met on the PTC and other possible tax extensions…[said that extending the] tax incentives will give businesses certainty, help create and save more than 50,000 American jobs in the next four years, and allow [the U.S.] to strengthen our national security by reducing our dependence on foreign oil…

"Wind power is a critical part of America’s energy independence. The growth of wind energy, which produces enough electricity to power 12 million homes, has been fueled by the PTC, wind power’s primary, performance-based policy incentive…Breen, who served in both Afghanistan and Iraq...[said the U.S. would] need sources of energy [it] can rely on in the 21st Century…"

NOT MORE OR LESS GOVERNMENT, JUST SMART GOVERNMENT Smart Government Technologies; Intelligent Systems for the Management of Smart Sustainable Cities and Communities: Technology Trends, Market Analysis, and Global Forecasts

Q2 2012 (Pike Research)

"…[T]he growing interest in smart cities and communities is putting the spotlight on the smarter government operations that must guide their development. Smart government can be defined as the use of innovative policies, business models, and technology to address the financial, environmental, and service challenges facing public sector organizations. Smart government encompasses strategy and policy definition, specific applications and technologies to help improve service delivery and the establishment of new platforms for communication, data sharing, and application development. "Smart government builds on the IT infrastructure investments made by the public sector over the last decade. Back-office systems have helped improve process efficiency and the integration of services. Front-office systems have been adapted to support multi-channel communication with citizens and a growing range of transactional services. Smart government continues this transformation and also embraces innovations happening in areas such as energy, transport, and waste management…"

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"This Pike Research report analyzes the global market opportunity for smart government technologies. It assesses the business drivers, market forces, and technology trends that are transforming the use of ICT and related technologies in smart cities and communities.

"The study forecasts the size and growth of the market for smart government technologies through 2017, and it also forecasts the growth in smart government data analytics and cloud-based services between 2011 and 2017…"

GIGAWATTS OF SUN ON LA’S ROOFS Los Angeles' Rooftops Could Provide 5 GW Of Solar Capacity

27 April 2012 (Solar Inudstry)

"The city of Los Angeles has more than 12,000 acres of prime space for solar development on the rooftops of local homes, businesses and multifamily buildings, with the potential capacity to create as much as 5 GW of locally generated power, according to a study by the Los Angeles Business Council (LABC)…[A] solar-ready rooftop space…equivalent to nearly 20 square miles.

"The recent approval by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to move forward with the city's first feed-in-tariff (FIT) program - CLEAN LA Solar - provides the opportunity to create the first 150 MW of rooftop solar in the next three to four years, with a goal of reaching 600 MW by 2020."

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"An LABC-sponsored study by UCLA found that a 600 MW FIT could result in 18,000 green jobs, spur $2 billion in investment, and produce long-term cost savings for businesses, ratepayers and the LADWP…

"…[LA] must meet a state mandate requiring local utilities to generate 33% of their power from renewable sources by 2020. The solar FIT…[is expected] to help the utility meet that goal…in the limited time frame…"