MORE NEWS, 10-21: FEDS FUND HOME RETROFITS; ATLANTIC CITY LIKES OFFSHORE WIND; EYES ON THE EV PRIZE; GEOTHERMAL OIL PUMPS

FEDS FUND HOME RETROFITS
Biden Says Energy-Saving Plan Would Help Homeowners
Daniel Whitten and Roger Runningen, October 19, 2009 (Bloomberg News)

"The Obama administration is backing a plan to let homeowners finance the cost of energy-efficiency improvements through their property tax assessments.

"The proposal is one of several that would help cut U.S. energy consumption while creating jobs in industries that make and install energy-efficient products such as insulation, Vice President Joe Biden said…Retrofitting homes with insulation and weather-proofing doors can save [$300-to-$1,200 per year, providing rapid payback on the investment], Biden said…"

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"Biden said the proposal builds on provisions of the $787 billion stimulus package passed by Congress earlier. As part of the stimulus, the Energy Department was given $7.6 billion to dole out to states to weatherproof homes and other energy efficiency efforts…[T]he provision meets the [Obama administration’s] twin goals of boosting jobs in so-called green industries and helping the U.S. cut greenhouse-gas emissions.

"Each year, Americans spend $1,500 to $3,000 to heat and air condition their homes, Biden said. Paying for improvements on property tax bills would let homeowners spread the cost of the investment over time…In addition, the new initiative, dubbed Recovery Through Retrofit, would provide wider access to reliable information about increasing the energy efficiency, set national standards for training of workers to perform such jobs and create a certification process identifying energy-efficient homes."

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"Retrofitting the nation’s 130 million homes for energy efficiency would cut greenhouse gas emissions by as much 20 percent, the equivalent of taking 30 million cars off the road, Biden said. Savings on energy bills would amount to $21 billion annually…

"Republicans have criticized the stimulus legislation, saying it added to the deficit without doing enough to boost jobs…Republican Representative Doc Hastings, of Washington, said the administration was creating a relatively small number of jobs in energy efficiency, while effectively slashing jobs in traditional energy sectors like oil and gas production…The administration reported last week that federal contracts awarded so far have saved or created 30,383 jobs…[T]he stimulus has allowed school districts to avoid layoffs and restore budgets, resulting in about 250,000 education jobs."


ATLANTIC CITY LIKES OFFSHORE WIND
Fishermen's Energy Releases Public Opinion Study Results
October 20, 2009 (PRNewswire via Reuters)

"Fishermen's Energy is pleased to release the very positive results of…Survey of Residents & Visitors in Four Communities Along the Southern New Jersey Shore…published by…The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy, in accordance with methodology utilized by Zogby International.

"Fishermen's Energy commissioned Zogby International and The William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy…to develop and administer a survey to discern the public's sentiments in reference to Fishermen's Energy's proposed wind farm project, which will be located three miles off shore from Atlantic City and develop a report of the survey."

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[Sharon Schulman, Special Assistant, William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy:] "Contrasted with a similar poll exactly three years earlier, we see that a huge amount of support has grown from both residents and visitors in support of wind mills three miles off Atlantic City's shore…The survey is quite explicit in pointing out that not only do residents and tourists not mind having wind turbines off the shore of Atlantic City, two-thirds of the respondents believe that it will have a positive effect on Atlantic City and the environment."

[Daniel Cohen, President, Fishermen's Energy:] "Public opinion has significantly shifted from 2006 to 2009. The results of the survey are yet another signal that society is ready to and wants to invest in Renewable Energy."

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"Some highlights of the study include…[1] 90% of the respondents were aware that electricity could be produced by using offshore wind turbines…[2] Support for a wind turbine project 3 miles off the Atlantic City shore is strong among all subgroups and almost 30 percentage points higher than a similar question asked in 2006…

"…[3] Most residents do not feel that this project would have a negative impact on Atlantic City and the local environment. In fact, 66% thought it would have a positive impact…[4] More than three-quarters of the visitors said it would have no effect on whether or not they would visit the Atlantic City area and another 19% said that they would be a little or a lot more likely to visit the area."


EYES ON THE EV PRIZE
Electric Cars: A Wide-Open Race; Warren Buffett has invested in China's BYD, but columnists Anil Gupta and Haiyan Wang caution against putting too much faith in its early-mover advantage
Anil Gupta and Haiyan Wang, October 19, 2009 (BusinessWeek)

"The electric car is likely to emerge as one of the most transformational products of the current era, as important, perhaps, as the personal computer and the Internet. Given the effect of the auto industry on the rest of the economy, mass commercialization of the electric car will fundamentally transform not just that industry but others such as petroleum, electricity generation and distribution, steel, nonferrous materials, and chemicals. By reducing the world's dependence on crude oil, the electric car will reshape the structure of global trade. Importantly too, because electric cars have zero emissions, they also could dramatically reset the debate on global warming.

"…PCs, mobile telecommunications, and Internet services were invented and launched in the West…But this time, Asian companies are among the leaders in the electric-car race. The Chinese company BYD, for instance, is determined to roll out its all-electric E3 and E6 models this year and has announced plans to bring the E6 to the U.S. in 2010. Japan's Mitsubishi Motors has already launched its electric car, the i MiEV…[Nissan will bring out an EV] with Renault, the boldest promoter of electric cars. Tata Motors (TAMO) in India has announced that it will introduce its all-electric Indica Vista EV in Norway this year…"

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"In predicting the future of this emerging industry, it is critically important to guard against two fallacious assumptions. No. 1: Leadership in battery technology will be the primary determinant of who emerges as the leading electric-car maker of tomorrow. No. 2: Being the first company to launch an electric car will bestow a strategically important first-mover advantage on the pioneer…

"Intel dominates the world of microprocessors, the brains of PCs. Yet Intel is not a player in the PC industry…Along with fellow chipmaker Texas Instruments (TXN), Intel was once an early entrant in a very different industry: electronic wrist watches…Intel and TI briefly attempted to be players in watches but realized rather quickly that, while semiconductors and wristwatches had now become related businesses, they are very different…"

True, but not necessarily the very first one. (click to enlarge)

"Toyota has emerged as the undisputed leader in the global auto industry. People who have analyzed Toyota give many explanations as to why it has achieved this dominance…However, no serious observer has argued that either Toyota's dominance—or GM's weakening position—in the car business has much to do with those companies' global positions in engine technology…Simply put, a car is much more than just an engine or a stack of batteries. Winning or losing in the car business depends on many factors—performance, safety, reliability, comfort, styling, dealership network, service quality, and price, to name just a few…

"Toyota was not the first company to introduce an automobile. IBM, Dell, and HP were not the first companies to launch a PC. Microsoft did not launch the first Internet browser…Google was not the first [search technology] company…Clearly, there are severe limits…of a first-mover advantage…Even the most optimistic projections indicate that electric cars may constitute just 20% of all auto sales by 2020. This will give almost every car company plenty of time…Equally important…there will be several large companies that specialize in the design and manufacture of batteries for cars. Thus, in-house leadership in battery technology will become increasingly unimportant for leadership in the car business. Just as a car is much more than an engine, it will remain much more than a stack of batteries. Thus, winning or losing the electric-car race will depend on many factors besides battery technology."


GEOTHERMAL OIL PUMPS
DOE buys geothermal plant in Wyoming
October 19, 2009 (AP)

"The U.S. Energy Department has bought a geothermal plant north of Casper [Wyoming] for an undisclosed amount.

"Ormat Technologies…built the test plant at the Teapot Dome oil field to prove the technical feasibility of using hot water associated with oil production to generate electricity.

"The plant was designed to produce 250 kilowatts of electricity. It has been operating for over a year, providing electricity to operate the oil wells."

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"…[W]hile the plant proves the technology's viability, more study is needed to see if it would work at other oil fields in the country.

"The federal government plans to continue testing for another two years and collect more data related to long-term durability…"