Renewable Energy Grants Us
Under section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, commercial renewable power projects were allowed to get direct federal grant instead of taking either a production tax credit or an investment tax credit to offset temporarily the decline in funding attributed to a diminished appetite from investors for tax credits. After all, what good are tax credits if there are no investors who need them.
A recent report by the Lawrence Berkeley National Labs has tried to evaluate the success of the grant program after its first eight months of operation. As of March 1st, 64% of eligible wind power projects and 100% of eligible geothermal projects went for the cash and not the tax credits. Wind and geothermal projects account for 85.9% and 5.9%, respectively, of the $2.6 billion grant dollars awarded so far. Solar PV accounts for 3.7% of the total and biomass plants account for 2.8%. No other technology has been awarded more than 1% of the total.
The report estimates that as much as 2,400 megawatts of wind power capacity additions can be attributed to the availability of the grants. In addition to new clean generating capacity, the ARRA was also intended to support American jobs. The 2,400 megawatts of the 2009 wind power projects accounted for an estimated 51,600 short-term, full-time jobs during construction of the projects and 3,860 long-term, full-time jobs after the plants went into operation.
Of the 40 large wind power projects, turbines were supplied by General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) in 12 of the projects. Other large turbine makers such as Vestas, Mitsubishi, and Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) also supplied turbines. Foreign turbine makers accounted for about 38% of the short-term jobs generated by the grants, while some 98% of the long-term jobs went to US companies.
In gross terms, the renewable energy sector is estimated to receive $6.7 billion in financing through the grant and tax equity programs in 2010. The peak year for renewable energy financing so far was 2007, when $6.1 billion was invested, all of which received either the production or investment tax credit. The US Partnership for Renewable Energy Finance estimates that funding after 2010 will fall by 50%-80% if the grants are not extended into 2011 and beyond.
Chances for extending the grant program have dimmed since the US Senate has given up any hope of passing a climate change bill approved last year by the House. And there is an even smaller chance that the Senate will approve additional stimulus funding that might keep the grants going beyond this year.
In theory, the section 1603 grants have mostly achieved their twin goals of encouraging renewable power generation and creating jobs. Had the US economy as a whole kept pace, the need to continues the grant program would have either disappeared or been significantly reduced. Renewable energy does not have the political clout to keep these grants going beyond the end of this year.
If you think the government should be doing all it can to create jobs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions, then the demise of section 1603 grants is not a good thing. However, if you believe that this kind of government intervention distorts the market and is wasteful, then it’s best to kill the program now and be done with it before it becomes another federal giveaway.
Paul Ausick
With a cap on carbon dioxide an apparent nonstarter in the Senate these days, some clean energy and climate advocates have shifted their sights to a scaled-back but still ambitious goal: passage of a national renewable electricity standard.NewNet News - Greece to invest €12bn on environment and energy to boost beleaguered economy
Such a law would require utility companies to produce a set amount of electricity from renewable sources by a certain date, spurring the development of clean sources like wind and solar and probably lowering overall emissions nationally. Perhaps most important, some argue that with a strong push by the president, such a measure could actually clear the high bar for passage of 60 votes in the Senate this fall.
Greece is to invest €12bn on the environment and energy projects before 2015 in an attempt to kick-start its economy.Lethbridge Herald - Canadian researchers hope to green the web, make Canada the world’s web server
The funds will be partly allocated to renewable energy projects and are being deployed with the hope of attracting €32bn of private investment, according to Environmental Minister Tina Birbili.
‘The ministry hopes the programme will decisively contribute to face recession and lead to dynamic economic growth, Birbilli said in a press release obtained by Reuters.
TORONTO — Canadian researchers hope to stem the global IT industry’s rampant output of greenhouse gas emissions by perfecting a way to host the Internet’s content purely on green power. And if their experiment succeeds, Canada could essentially become the world’s largest Internet server — powered with almost no carbon footprint — and help reduce one of the most significant, growing sources of pollution.U.S. wind energy popular, but lacks investment | Green Tech - CNET News
The GreenStar Network is a two-year project funded by the Canadian Advanced Network and Research for Industry and Education, which aims to address the IT industry’s incessant energy consumption. It’s estimated that two to eight per cent of the world’s energy consumption is drained by computers and the IT field, and the industry’s explosive growth may propel it to a 20 per cent share in some countries by 2020.
Despite public approval, U.S. wind energy investment is slowing down instead of growing, according to the American Wind Energy Association.UK Ponies Up $67M for Green Car Grants
An overwhelming majority of Americans support a renewable electricity standard, and wind energy investment in particular, according to a poll of 600 likely voters conducted in March by Newhouse of Public Opinion Strategies and Bennett, Petts & Normington.
Specifically, 89 percent of Americans said increasing the amount of energy the U.S. gets from wind is a good idea. Broken down by ideology, 84 percent of Republicans, 93 percent of Democrats, and 88 percent of independents support increasing the use of wind energy in the U.S.
But that bipartisan enthusiasm for wind has not translated into real-world investment or public policy, according to a detailed report released this week by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA).
Starting in January 2011, electric and hybrid car buyers in the United Kingdom will be able to tap a £43 million (around $67 million) grant fund to knock up to 25 percent off their purchase price, with a max grant of £5,000 (about $7,789). The grants, initially promised last year by the previous Labour government and announced on Wednesday by Transport Secretary Phillip Hammond, are set to be available through March 2012.
If all participants reap the max grant of £5,000, the funds will cover up to 8,600 vehicles next year from companies like Mitsubishi, Toyota, Renault-Nissan and Tesla Motors, which all have plug-in models on the UK market or in the pipeline for 2011.
