QUICK NEWS, February 14: LOVE THOSE LOAN GUARANTEES; WIND WANTS CONGRESS TO BRING THE LOVE; FLORIDA LOVES SUN

LOVE THOSE LOAN GUARANTEES
Federal Energy Loan Guarantees Win Clean Bill of Health; Noted Conservative’s Independent Report Demonstrates Effectiveness
Richard Caperton, February 11, 2012 (Center for American Progress)

"…Federal loan guarantees for energy projects have been successful, cost-effective investments…[according to] Herb Allison, former national finance chairman for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who led a team of accountants and auditors in conducting an independent analysis of the Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program…

"…[D]espite the hysteria around the now-bankrupt solar-panel maker Solyndra LLC, this program will cost [$2.7billion instead of $5 billion, more than] $2 billion less than initially expected…[T]he fossil-fuel industry got a whopping $70 billion in government subsidies from 2002 to 2008. Many of these subsidies have been in place for nearly 100 years. The nuclear industry, too, has benefited from billions of dollars in subsidies, including loan guarantees, over the last half-century…"

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"…[The Allison’s review] includes an analysis of every loan guarantee issued from Department of Energy, as well as recommendations for managing this portfolio of federal guarantees going forward. This independent review was requested by the White House in late 2011 to make sure that the DOE loan guarantee portfolio was cost-effective for taxpayers…[It confirms findings from] the Congressional Research Service and Bloomberg Government…that the overwhelming majority of the portfolio was in electrical generation projects, which DOE structured to have very low risk…[and] the media’s incessant focus on Solyndra was ‘not proportional to its impact.'

"There are multiple reasons why the risks to taxpayers from this program are so low…It’s important to remember why the Loan Guarantee Program exists. Innovative companies—key to our future competitiveness and economic prosperity—risk getting caught in the “valley of death,” where nascent but promising companies often languish as they strive to accumulate the necessary funds…[It] can require hundreds of millions, even billions, of dollars…The DOE’s Loan Guarantee Program brought companies across the “valley of death” by providing these businesses with loan guarantees that made it possible to raise the necessary capital and…The Loan Guarantee Program helped America compete in the global economy…"


WIND WANTS CONGRESS TO BRING THE LOVE
Lawmakers Pushing Tax Committee For Wind Energy PTC Extension
9 February 2012 (North American Windpower)

"Seven members of the Colorado congressional delegation…delivered a letter to the chairmen of the conference committee that is negotiating the payroll tax credit extension, urging them to extend the PTC…The letter…called for the payroll tax reduction package to include the wind energy PTC, as well as a way to pay for the tax credit…"

[The Letter] “The PTC has been very effective in facilitating new market penetration of wind energy and moving us toward a more diversified and cleaner energy portfolio…A delay in this extension would do enormous damage to that progress."

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[The Letter:] “Unless the wind PTC is renewed in the first quarter of this year, new wind energy development projects and the thousands of jobs associated with those projects are predicted to drop off precipitously after 2012…"

"The congressional leaders also emphasized the impact that a failure to extend the PTC would have on jobs both in the state and nationwide…Colorado renewable energy leaders have also called for an extension of the wind PTC…Christine Shapard, executive director of Colorado Cleantech Industry Association…[said that if] the United States wants to bring back its manufacturing base - in both small and large companies - the wind industry is one of the best places to start…"


FLORIDA LOVES SUN
Solar Power Ambitions Grow Under Florida Sun
Lauren Craig, February 13, 2012 (Earth Techling)

"National Solar Power…[last year planned] two large solar farms in Florida: a 400-megawatt (MW) solar farm in Gadsden County and a 200-MW solar farm in Hardee County. Now, National Solar Power has entered into an agreement with Liberty County to build a [$350 million, 100 MW] solar farm…on five 200-acre plots of Liberty County property adjacent to the…Gadsden County project.

"The project will be designed, built and operated by Hensel Phelps Construction—the same firm that rebuilt the Pentagon after the 9/11 attacks in 2001…[T]he first phase of the project is expected to be online within six to seven months [after groundbreaking]. National Solar Power estimates the project will create up to 100 construction, and up to 25 permanent operations jobs, with an average salary of about $40,000 per year."

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"To finance the project, National Solar Power says it is negotiating with multiple financial institutions and private equity investors. It has also created its own venture capital fund—Green Infrastructure Partners…externally managed and advised by Solar Capital Management, a subsidiary of National Solar Power Partners.

"The company has entered into an agreement with Progress Energy Florida, and is having discussions with other potential customers to purchase power generated by its Florida solar farm projects…Despite the fact that Florida is one of the top 10 states in solar power capacity, [Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) is a leader in skepticism about] government support for solar energy…"