By Jeff Seldin VOA WASHINGTON, DC — A new look at the impact of so-called “green” [environmently-friendly] technology shows it is beginning to pay off for at least some U.S. workers. Across the United States, businesses and organizations are starting to make a change, shifting to cleaner sources of energy. One such place is the [...]
Tags: · clean tech, Green jobs
As Congress threatens to punch holes in domestic spending with its latest budget resolution, 34 clean tech and clean energy CEOs have come together to fight for the federal loan guarantees their projects depend upon.
Without the loan guarantees from the Department of Energy, many pending clean energy projects will stall or be shuttered, creating huge job losses in several states and pushing back American progress on developing new, domestic sources of power, the CEOs wrote to Congressional leaders today.
Their letter to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Majority Leader John Boehner and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi:
Dear Leader Reid, Speaker Boehner, Leader McConnell and Leader Pelosi:
As the Senate considers a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remainder
of the 2011 fiscal year, we urge you to continue funding the Department of Energy?s (DOE)
renewable energy loan guarantee programs (Sec. 1705 and Sec. 1703). In addition, we request
your support for program changes that would allow viable Sec. 1705 project applications to
transfer into the Sec. 1703 program. As chief executive officers of 34 companies, we are
investing in projects with pending loan guarantee applications based on the good faith notion
that the DOE programs would function as stipulated in law and as Congress intended.
Tags: · Biofuels, biomass energy, clean energy companies, clean tech, DOE loan guarantees, federal support for clean energy, geothermal power, Green Energy, Green jobs, greenrightnow.com, Solar Power, Wind Power
Now that the political winds have shifted, the American Wind Energy Association has taken a new snapshot of the horizon.
What do they see? Bipartisan support.
Really. They say they do. Those words came up often at an AWEA web conference on Friday to discuss the future of wind under the new split Congress. It became such a mantra — you could almost hear the turbines at Texas’ Horse Hollow wind farm whirring out the words bi-paaar-ti-saaaan sup-poooorrrrt, as AWEA CEO Denise Bode and others counted the ways they hope that “bipartisan support” will work to keep government wind supports alive in this witheringly tough economy.
Now before we dismiss this as naive thinking, we should remember that wind power actually does have serious bipartisan roots. Elected officials in 29 states have put targets for clean energy into place, pushing utilities to make room for wind- and solar-generated electricity that doesn’t pollute like the fossil fuels (mainly coal) they have relied upon. These initiatives, called Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS’s) were put into place mostly over the last decade and have been endorsed by legislators and governors of red and blue stripes (those a few more wear blue).
Tags: · AWEA, BarbaraKesslerBlog, clean energy economy, Green jobs, greenrightnow.com, offshore wind, Wind energy, Wind industry, wind manufacturing, Wind Power
Slapping a solar panel on the roof sounds so alluring. You can produce your own energy, slice your carbon footprint in a big way and not have to fret so much about vacillating energy costs. You’re home free.
Except that solar panels are far from free. While the cost of solar photovoltaics has come down considerable, a solar rooftop array remains in a rarifed price household category, right up there with cars. It will run in the ballpark of $15,ooo-$20,000, maybe more, even with home energy tax credits.
Tags: · efficient homes, Federal Housing Finance Agency, FHFA, green houses, Green jobs, PACE, PACE financing, Photovoltaic, solar array, Solar industry, solar roofs
Clean energy advocates and labor leaders are calling on the U.S. to step up its commitment to wind energy and wind-related manufacturing — or risk losing thousands of jobs to China, Europe and India.
American wind urgently needs strong supports, such as long-term investment tax credits and a Renewable Electricity Standard (RES), to show investors and domestic and global companies that it believes in the sector, the leaders said at a Monday news conference. A RES would signal that the U.S. wants to incubate developing firms and build everything it needs — from wind towers and blades to the highly evolved nacelles that keep the turbines turning.
Tags: · American jobs, American Wind Energy Association, BlueGreen Alliance, clean energy, Green jobs, green manufacturing, jobs, manufacturing, Renewable Electricity Standard, Sierra Club, union jobs, United Steeworkers, wind, Wind energy, wind jobs
Wind industry manufacturer Alstom today joined officials of the Amarillo Economic Development Corporation to begin construction of its 115,000 square foot wind turbine assembly plant in Amarillo, Texas. The facility, which is scheduled to be operational in 2011, is expected to create 275 full time engineering, production, and technical support jobs when the plant is at full capacity.
Tags: · Alfonso Faubel, Alstom, Alstom Wind Vice President, Amarillo, Amarillo Economic Development Corporation, American Wind Energy Association, Engineering, Green jobs, nacelles, production, technical support, Texas, WINDPOWER 2010 conference
From Green Right Now Reports
North Carolina could benefit economically and add nearly 40,000 new jobs over the next 15 years if it follows a greener development path, according to a new study by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy.
The ACEEE’s study looked at how North Carolina, one of the fastest growing states in the nation, could benefit from enacting policies that promote energy and water efficiency and that “lock in” energy savings by building energy-smart buildings and creating eco-friendly communities.
The analysis by the non-profit ACEEE found that:
Tags: · ACEEE, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, clean technology, Electricity, energy efficiency, green building, Green jobs, North Carolina, power generation
From Green Right Now Reports
Calling themselves “Clean Energy Patriots,” dozens of environmental leaders today asked the U.S. Senate to quit serving the interests of “Big Oil” and take action on behalf of Americans who want clean energy and climate solutions.
The leaders from nearly 50 environmental and social responsibility groups signed a declaration at the U.S. Capitol. It demands that the Senate quit stalling on climate action, and kicks off a 40-day countdown until Earth Day, which celebrates its 40th anniversary on April 22.
They urged citizens to join in what they are calling the Earth Day Revolution.
Tags: · clean energy, clean energy legislation, Clean Energy Patriots, climate action, climate legislation, conservationists, Earth Day 2010, Earth Day Network, Earth Day Revolution, Green jobs, green veterans, League of Conservation Voters
From Green Right Now Reports
Clean energy and Fortune 500 executives arrived in Washington D.C. today for the fifth and final leg of the “Race for American Jobs: Clean Energy Leadership,” a coast-to-coast virtual race to drive home the economic and job-creation benefits of national climate and energy legislation.
Sponsored by We Can Lead, a coalition of business leaders from 30 states who are pushing for new  energy and climate policies in the United States, the  the four-week campaign included events in Oregon, Colorado, Ohio and New Hampshire, before moving to Washington.
A “race” baton, calling for swift passage of comprehensive climate legislation, was delivered at Congressional today on Capitol Hill. The baton was signed by executives from Best Buy, Nike, Starbucks, Levi Strauss, Jones Lang LaSalle and Stonyfield, and others from clean energy companies, union leadership, and investor and youth groups.
Tags: · Best Buy, clean energy, Green jobs, Jones Lang LaSalle, Levi Strauss, Nike, Race for American Jobs: Clean Energy Leadership, Starbucks, Stonyfield, We Can Lead
From Green Right Now Reports
Image: state.pa.us
A combination of federal and private sector funding will be the basis of Pennsylvania’s $48 million Green Energy Revolving Loan Fund, providing money for energy-saving and renewable energy projects in existing, non-residential buildings around the state.
The Recovery Act will contribute $12 million to the fund, while The Reinvestment Fund, TRF, will add $36 million and will serve as the program’s manager. Governor Edward Rendell cited TRF’s track record of investing in green and sustainable energy as key elements in the selection process.
Tags: · clean energy investment, Green Energy Revolving Loan Fund, Green jobs, Pennsylvania, Recovery Act
By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now
The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) and the Environmental Defense Fund, with the support of The Meadows Foundation have developed the Texas Green Jobs Guidebook.
The project highlights that in an emerging green energy economy, green means dollars. There are more than 200 green jobs listed in guidebook, as well as specific training and education opportunities across Texas, and the list is expected to grow. Green is not a short term trend, but a fundamental shift in political, corporate, and personal decision making, according to those advocating for green jobs.
Tags: · American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Biofuels, biomass, Environmental Defense Fund, Green jobs, Solar Power, Texas, Texas Green Jobs Guidebook, Wind Power
By Bill Sullivan
Green Right Now
Image: cleanenergyweek.org
Legislators wrestling with health care reform, job concerns and a spiraling federal deficit have another group vying for their attention in Washington this week. Thanks to a hastily thrown-together coalition, it’s Clean Energy Week, with environmental activists and business leaders descending on Capitol Hill to press for money for more and better green initiatives.
Tags: · ACORE, Alliance to Save Energy, American Council on Renewable Energy, CEDA, Clean Economy Network, Clean Energy Deployment Administration, Clean Energy Week, Coalition for the Green Bank, Green bank, Green Energy, Green jobs, Kateri Callahan, Reed Hundt, Solar Power, U.S. Senate, Wind Power
Barbara Kessler
Andrew Winston
Danielle Nierenberg
Anthony Swift