Green Options

President Obama announces $2.4 billion in grants to speed the manufacturing and deployment of the next generation of batteries and electric vehicles

As part of the $787 billion stimulus package approved in February, Congress agreed to include $2 billion in research and development grants for advanced battery technologies, and today, speaking in Elkhart, Indiana, the President announced that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will fund 48 new advanced battery and electric drive components manufacturing and electric drive vehicle deployment projects in over 20 states.

The President said the announcement marks the single largest investment in advanced battery technology for hybrid and electric-drive vehicles ever made.

Applied SunFab Solar Module Production Line

Well it certainly looks like the sun is paving the way for our new energy economy.

According to the Worldwatch institute, an environmental research organization based in Washington D.C., global solar photovoltaic (PV) power installations jumped from 9,000 megawatts in 2007 to nearly 15,000 MW in 2008, an increase of almost 66 percent. This is due primarily to government incentive programs in the world’s top PV markets, Spain and Germany.

Worldwatch provides a snapshot of solar power market trends globally:

• Global PV cell production nearly doubled in 2008, reaching 6,940 MW. The Chinese PV industry led silicon-based cell production, primarily to meet soaring demand in Spain and Germany.
• Europe remains the leading market for PVs, accounting for over 80 percent of world demand in 2008. Top markets Spain and Germany added 2,600 MW and 1,500 MW respectively. The United States came in a distant third, adding approximately 348 MW.
• Spain’s market growth increased a whopping 364 percent in 2008, causing it to overtake industry leader Germany as the number one solar PV market.

So what are Spain and Germany doing that the U.S. is not?

According to Dr. Charles Gay, the President of Applied Solar, a leading supplier of solar manufacturing equipment, Germany and Spain have set more immediate goals than the U.S. for increased use of renewable energy. They have also provided greater government investments to jump start the market.

On Monday, President Barack Obama reiterated his administration’s focus on science by promising a new level of commitment—one with the same intensity and urgency as that which put Americans on the moon—and stressing that “the days of science taking a back seat to ideology are over.”

The stimulus package changed some of the rules for tax credits for energy efficiency. Many of these changes should make energy efficiency expenditures a no-brainer for small businesses and homeowners.

In his interview segment last night, Steven Colbert talked to John Fetterman, the Mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania. In between the usual Colbert shtick, Fetterman managed to make some interesting points about what the town of Braddock is trying to do in this era of green stimulus. His suggestion for how to bring back his town? Experimentation!

President Barack Obama delivered remarks with a forceful conviction that did wonders to dispel the ‘Barry the Bummer’ image the punditry has painted him with over the last few weeks.

Jon Stewart pokes a little fun at a coalition of Republican governors who deplore the money they are getting from the economic stimulus, so much so, that they are taking just about every penny of it.

The economic stimulus plan provides incentive for homeowners to install solar panel systems, but solar companies are taking big hits in the stock market.

A jolt for the green economy?  Perhaps ‘catalyst’ would be a better description for the economic stimulus package signed into law by Barack Obama.

Barack Obama won his first legislative battle with the Republican minority in congress and passed the Economic Stimulus package he feels is needed to jumpstart America’s economy. 

The package includes money for what many are calling the green economy.  Obama has committed $10 B annually to clean energy programs, including wind, solar, biofuels, energy efficiency, geothermal, and others.

What’s in it for the eco-entrepreneur?  Or, as many are now calling it, the ‘Obamapreneur’?

The quickest wins and lowest hanging fruit for the green economy and Obama’s plans lie in energy efficiency.  As the saying goes, the cleanest power plant is the one you don’t have to build, and with buildings accounting for 72% of all energy usage in the U.S., greening these buildings would provide good jobs, and freedom from high energy bills.  Robert Pollen, an economist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, estimates there are $26 B worth of upgrades on public buildings alone in the U.S. that need to be done, with terrific return on investment for the government in terms of job creation and long term savings on energy.

Obama’s economic team has estimated that 5 million green jobs will be created by this $10B in annual investment, and that these jobs will be difficult to outsource or replace.

Two freshmen U.S. senators—who also happen to be cousins—have introduced a bill that would create a national renewable energy standard (RES) of twenty-five percent by 2020.

Jon Stewart covers the bank bailout hearings on Capitol Hill.