|
Jan 25, 2010 |
San Jose Mercury News |
| Government working on ‘Home Star’ plan for energy-efficiency rebates
By Dana Hull
Energy efficiency to shine in 2010
Hoping to capitalize on the success of the federal government’s Energy Star label for appliances, the White House and business officials are pushing a new program dubbed “Home Star,” which would give property owners rebates and other incentives to weatherize their homes and make other improvements to cut their energy use. Home Star is expected to be part of a broad jobs bill Congress is preparing to unveil in the coming weeks.
Although details are still being hammered out, several players involved in drafting the Home Star legislation say the program falls into two main categories. Short-term upgrades like air-sealing, insulation, and furnace and water heater replacement would give homeowners $250 rebates for each new appliance installed. Longer-term projects that reduce a home’s energy use by 20 percent could see households earning a rebate of as much as $4,000.
Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr, who serves on President Barack Obama’s board of outside economic advisers, is a leading champion for Home Star, which he describes as “Cash for Caulkers.” The idea has widespread support from big-box retailers, labor unions, environmental groups and the construction and contracting industries, which have been devastated by the collapse of the housing market. Although national unemployment remains at about 10 percent, almost a quarter of the nation’s construction workers are unemployed, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“We are in an urgent moment where we desperately need jobs,” said Bracken Hendricks, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress and an architect of the Home Star legislation. “You have business and environmental interests aligned around making this happen, and happen now. I have never seen a coalition this broad and this committed.”
Contact Dana Hull at 408-920-2706 408-920-2706 .
|
Analysis Shows Transmission Upgrades, Offshore Wind, and Operational Changes Needed to Incorporate 20 to 30 Percent Wind
January 20, 2010
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) released the Eastern Wind Integration and Transmission Study (EWITS). This unprecedented two-and-a-half year technical study of future high-penetration wind scenarios was designed to analyze the economic, operational, and technical implications of shifting 20 percent or more of the Eastern Interconnection’s electrical load to wind energy by the year 2024.
“Twenty percent wind is an ambitious goal, but this study shows that there are multiple scenarios through which it can be achieved,” said David Corbus, NREL project manager for the study. “Whether we’re talking about using land-based wind in the Midwest, offshore wind in the East or any combination of wind power resources, any plausible scenario requires transmission infrastructure upgrades and we need to start planning for that immediately.”
http://www.nrel.gov/news/press/2010/801.html
Plus, other good studies in here. http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/ewits.html
From EERE News, January 21, 2010
U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu announced today the selection of five projects to receive more than $20.5 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support deployment of community-based renewable energy projects, such as biomass, wind, and solar installations. These projects will promote investment in clean energy infrastructure that will create jobs, help communities provide long-term renewable energy and save consumers money. They will also serve as models for other local governments, campuses, or small utilities to replicate, allowing other communities to design projects that fit their individual size and energy demands.
“Smaller, more localized renewable energy systems need to play a role in our comprehensive energy portfolio,” said Secretary Chu. “These projects will help create jobs, expand our clean energy economy, and help us cut carbon pollution at the local level.”
The selected projects will be leveraged with approximately $167 million in local government and private industry funding. DOE estimates that these projects will provide enough clean, renewable energy to displace the emissions of approximately 10,700 homes.
Projects selected for awards include:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=290
From the EERE News, January 20, 2010
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced that the Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) will invest up to $12 million in total funding—$10 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—in four companies to support the development of early stage solar energy technologies and help them advance to full commercial scale. The goal of this effort is to help further expand a clean energy economy and make solar energy more cost-competitive with conventional forms of electricity.
“Expanding the solar power industry in the United States can create new jobs, reduce carbon pollution, and save consumers money,” said Secretary Chu. “By partnering with NREL, these companies will be able to gain from their expertise, accelerate the pace of innovation and help get technologies to market faster.”
Companies awarded under DOE’s Photovoltaic Incubator Program will work with NREL to transition prototype and pre-commercial PV technologies into pilot and full-scale manufacturing. The anticipated subcontracts, up to $3 million each, will be awarded as 18-month phased subcontracts with payment made upon completion of project milestones.
Through the Recovery Act, the DOE is investing more than $117 million in developing and deploying solar energy technologies. While supporting cutting edge research and development on photovoltaics and concentrated solar power at the national laboratories, the Department is also making significant investments in training solar systems installers, supporting the growth of grid-tied solar photovoltaic systems, and the use of solar energy in U.S. cities.
The partnership projects announced today include:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=289
|
|
|
| By CAROLE FELDMAN
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON
Making energy efficient improvements to your home will do more than reduce your energy costs — they’ll also reduce your tax bill.
The tax credit for energy-efficient windows or doors, air conditioners or furnaces, or other energy-saving improvements disappeared in 2008, but returned for 2009 and 2010 — at an even higher value. This is one case where procrastination paid off.
Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, homeowners who made the improvements are eligible for a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost, up to a maximum credit of $1,500.
To get the maximum credit, a taxpayer would have to pay $5,000 on energy efficiency improvements. The previous maximum had been $500. The good news for homeowners is that they can claim the new credit even if they had taken the old one.
“You get a clean start with this one,” said Mark Luscombe, principal analyst for CCH’s tax and accounting group.
To qualify, the improvements must have been made during 2009 — or 2010 if you’re going to claim them the following year. There is no income limit for the credit, and limits on individual items are gone. That means, for example, you can claim the full credit for windows, Luscombe said.
But there’s a catch. “Homeowners should be aware that the standards in the new law are higher than the standards for the credit that was available in 2007,” the Internal Revenue Service said. The IRS cautioned that not all products that carry the Energy Department’s Energy Star label qualify.
So how do you know if the furnace or hot water heater you purchased is eligible?
It’s up to the manufacturer to certify that the product qualifies. The IRS recommends that taxpayers keep a copy of the certification statement.
Homeowners who choose alternative energy could be in for a bigger tax credit.
There’s a 30 percent tax credit with no maximum for homeowners who install solar water heaters, geothermal heat pumps or small wind turbines. The credit also applies to site preparation and installation.
If you want to claim the credits, you’ll have to file Form 5695.
The tax credits for energy efficient home improvements are in addition to those for purchasing certain hybrid or alternative energy vehicles. The credit begins phasing out after the manufacturer sells 60,000 hybrids.
For 2009 model year cars, manufacturers that had hybrids still eligible for the credit are Cadillac, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, GMC, Mazda, Mercury, Nissan and Saturn. For the 2010 model year, the list includes hybrids manufactured by Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Mercury, Mercedes-Benz and Nissan.
There are new tax credits for plug-in electric vehicles.
The credits range from $2,500 to $15,000, depending on the kind of vehicle, its weight and its battery. |
MPSC Press Release – January 19, 2010
The Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) staff today filed its annual net metering program report, which shows that the number of net metering customers in Michigan has more than doubled from July 1, 2008 through June 30, 2009.
“The number of net metering electric customers who have added small, renewable energy electric generation projects onsite has more than doubled,” noted MPSC Chairman Orjiakor Isiogu. “That demonstrates the high interest electric customers have in producing electricity from renewable sources at their homes and businesses.”
The MPSC in May last year adopted net metering and interconnection rules for small, renewable electric generation projects onsite, as required by Public Act 295 of 2008. The report issued today said the number of net metering customers increased from 53 in the 2007-2008 year to 137 in the 2008-2009 period. Wind proved the most popular with the number of installations increasing from 29 to 96 during the period, while solar installations increased from 23 to 39 during the same time period. Customers are located throughout the state.
The entire report is available on the MPSC’s Web site michigan.gov/netmetering (http://www.michigan.gov/netmetering).
The MPSC is an agency within the Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth.
EERE News January 15, 2010
Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced more than $37 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to support high-efficiency solid-state lighting projects. Solid-state lighting, which uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) instead of incandescent bulbs, has the potential to be ten times more energy-efficient than traditional incandescent lighting. Lighting accounts for approximately 24% of the total electricity generated in the United States today—by 2030, the development and widespread deployment of cost-effective solid-state lighting could reduce electricity use for lighting by one-third nationally. The 17 projects selected today include funding for solid-state lighting core research, product development, and domestic manufacturing.
“The United States must lead in energy efficiency. These solid-state lighting projects will help us significantly cut our energy use, reduce our carbon footprint, and save money,” said Secretary Chu. “This funding will also support the United States as a global leader in this rapidly evolving industry, creating high-tech, value-added jobs.”
The projects selected today address the full spectrum of research, development, and deployment for solid-state lighting (SSL) technologies. These 17 SSL awards will be leveraged with nearly $28.5 million in private industry cost share, for a total project value of more than $66 million. Projects have been selected in the following three areas:
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=287
(From EnergyCentral.com, January 12) – The US Department of Energy has awarded $47 million for 14 projects across the country to support the development of new technologies for improving energy efficiency in the IT and communication technology sectors.
The $47 million in federal funding will be matched by more than $70 million in private industry funding, for a total project value of more than $115 million.
The funding is provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for research, development and demonstration projects in three fields: equipment and software, power supply chain, and cooling.
The equipment and software projects will focus on the core components of a data or telecommunications center, such as servers and networking devices as well as software to optimize equipment energy use. The power supply chain projects will develop technologies to minimize the power loss and heat generation that occurs as electricity flows through server-based IT and communications systems. The cooling projects will seek to demonstrate ways to cool the equipment used in IT and telecommunications work effectively.
http://www.energycentral.com/functional/news/news_detail.cfm?did=14208968
From UCS’s Greentips: January 2010 Edition
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) have become the go-to choice for energy-efficient lighting, consuming 50 to 80 percent less electricity than traditional incandescent bulbs. But an even more efficient option is light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs, which use semiconductor technology to convert electricity directly into visible light.
LEDs use a fraction of the electricity required by other light sources: a six-watt LED generates more light than an 11-watt CFL or 40-watt incandescent while using 45 percent less electricity than the CFL and 85 percent less than the incandescent. According to our research, if a million households each replaced one 40-watt incandescent bulb with a six-watt LED, and used it six hours per day, more than 53,000 metric tons of heat-trapping carbon dioxide would be kept out of the atmosphere per year.
LEDs offer other advantages as well, see:
http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/greentips/
January 13, 2010
U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced the investment of nearly $80 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for advanced biofuels research and fueling infrastructure that will help support the development of a clean sustainable transportation sector. The selections announced today—two biofuels consortia for up to $78 million to research algae-based and advanced biofuels—are part of the Department’s continued effort to spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry while creating jobs.
“Advanced biofuels are crucial to building a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “By harnessing the power of science and technology, we can bring new biofuels to the market and develop a cleaner and more sustainable transportation sector. This investment will help spur the creation of the domestic bio-industry, while creating jobs and reducing our dependence on foreign oil.”
http://apps1.eere.energy.gov/news/progress_alerts.cfm/pa_id=286
