Transitioning to a Clean-Energy Economy Will Save Consumers Money, Especially in Low-Income Households

By Lisa Poole SOURCE: AP Published: July 23, 2009

A woman pumps gas to the right of a sign for self-serve unleaded in Lexington, Massachusetts.

One of the most common and most compelling arguments against comprehensive climate and energy legislation is that it could raise consumer electricity prices. The reality is that the American Clean Energy and Security Act recently passed by the House would raise prices by only about the cost of a postage stamp a day in the short term, and lower them in the long term.

And doing nothing could devastate consumers. Our dependence on volatile fossil fuels leaves consumers at the mercy of a market that offers few choices. Who can avoid paying $4 or more for gasoline when there are few transit or alternative fuel options? How can small businesses survive power outages when there are no alternative electricity options, or when the grid is not “smart” enough to avoid the outages in the first place? How can renters make it through cold winters when heating oil costs go through the roof, if no money has been made available for energy efficiency retrofits on their homes?

Clean-energy legislation would cost “less than a postage stamp a day”

The American Clean Energy and Security Act (H.R. 2454) is Congress’ first serious attempt at clean-energy legislation that includes a cap-and-trade program. Recent estimates suggest that it will “cost households less than a postage stamp a day” as it paves way for our transition to a low-carbon economy.

An initial estimate by the Environmental Protection Agency found that H.R. 2454 would only cost consumers $98 to $140 a year.

Another study by the Congressional Budget Office suggests that the net annual economy-wide cost of the legislation would only be about $175 per household by the year 2020.

H.R. 2454 will direct 15 percent of revenue raised from the sale of allowances to low-income consumers to help households cope with any increase in their energy costs.

H.R. 2454 also includes free allowances to gas and electric companies with the stipulation that those funds are used to provide cost relief to their customers.

Investing in clean energy will save Americans money in the long term

Savings: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy issued an analysis in July 2009 estimating that H.R. 2454 could save American consumers approximately $750 per household by 2020 and $3,900 per household by 2030.

Efficiency: A recent report issued by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts and the Center for American Progress finds that as little as $2,500 invested in energy efficiency retrofits could lead to cost savings to consumers of 30 percent annually on average.

Renewable electricity: According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, a renewable electricity standard to generate 25 percent of the nation’s electricity from renewable energies by 2025 would create nearly $65 billion of consumer savings in electricity costs by 2025.

Green Bank: The creation of a Green Bank to help fund the transition to a clean-energy economy could provide favorable financing of renewable resources and allow investors a return on their capital. This will help keep costs low for consumers while making renewable energy competitive with current electricity prices.

More from the Congressional Budget Office

The most recent CBO report on the American Clean Energy and Security Act shows that:

Households that fall into the lowest quintile—those making less than $20,292 a year—would see a net benefit of approximately $40 per year.

The highest quintile—those making over $100,000 a year—would see a net cost of $245 per year.

Overall net costs for all households would average 0.2 percent of the households’ after-tax income.

Full Story

Obama Opposes Trade Sanctions in Climate Bill

By JOHN M. BRODER www.nytimes.com Published: June 28, 2009

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Sunday praised the energy bill passed by the House late last week as an “extraordinary first step,” but he spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that do not accept limits on global warming pollution. “At a time when the economy worldwide is still deep in recession and we’ve seen a significant drop in global trade,” Mr. Obama said, “I think we have to be very careful about sending any protectionist signals out there.” He added, “I think there may be other ways of doing it than with a tariff approach.” The passage of the House bill on Friday night was an important, if tentative, victory for the president, becoming the first time either chamber of Congress had approved a mandatory ceiling on the gases linked to global warming. Full Story

House Passes Bill to Address Threat of Climate Change

By JOHN M. BRODER www.nytimes.com Published: June 26, 2009

WASHINGTON — The House passed legislation on Friday intended to address global warming and transform the way the nation produces and uses energy. The vote was the first time either house of Congress had approved a bill meant to curb the heat-trapping gases scientists have linked to climate change. The legislation, which passed despite deep divisions among Democrats, could lead to profound changes in many sectors of the economy, including electric power generation, agriculture, manufacturing and construction.

The bill’s passage, by 219 to 212, with 44 Democrats voting against it, also established a marker for the United States when international negotiations on a new climate change treaty begin later this year. Full Story

7 Reasons to Support Comprehensive Clean-Energy Legislation

by SOURCE: AP/David Quinn Center for American Progress May 20, 2009

Ben Gerald from Staley Electric Co. helps install solar panels on a roof in North Little Rock, AK. Legislation that invests in renewable energy and energy efficiency helps grow entire new businesses and create jobs in struggling sectors of the economy such as manufacturing and construction.

Here are seven key reasons why comprehensive clean-energy legislation is a good idea and deserves support.

1. Clean-energy legislation will create jobs by spurring investment in renewables and efficiency.

The legislation would place a cap on global warming pollution that would give companies and utilities an incentive to invest in low-carbon and energy-efficient technologies in order to minimize their emissions.

2. Boosting investments in low-carbon energy will help the United States regain the lead in the manufacture and sale of clean-energy technologies.

A February analysis by HSBC Global Research in Hong Kong projects that nearly 40 percent of China’s proposed $586 billion stimulus plan—$221 billion over two years and $12.6 million per hour—is going toward public investment in renewable energy, low-carbon vehicles, high-speed rail, an advanced electric grid, efficiency improvements, and water-treatment and pollution controls.

3. Action on clean-energy legislation has critical industry support.

CEOs from some big energy and manufacturing companies realize that we must reduce oil use and cut greenhouse gas pollution or face devastating economic and national security consequences. These leaders have far more vision than the conservatives who would continue our current dangerous path.

4. Global warming is harming our health and the physical environment.

Mounting evidence indicates that man-made global warming is already wreaking havoc on our planet. And the economic and health impacts of a warming planet are well known—increased wildfires, more frequent flooding, species extinction, and even skyrocketing property insurance claims.

5. Comprehensive clean-energy legislation can provide a host of economic benefits.

Increased energy efficiency

Nearly half of America’s energy powers our buildings, and too much of this energy is wasted. Making buildings more energy-efficient, on the other hand, would have many benefits, as recent studies show.

A smooth transition for energy-intensive industries

Many legislators had a legitimate concern that immediately requiring heavy energy and trade-intensive industries such as steel, cement, and paper to buy pollution permits would be an additional burden for these already vulnerable industries.

Carbon capture-and-sequestration technology research and development

Technology currently exists to capture carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired plants—which provide half of U.S. electricity —and to sequester that CO2 in underground geologic formations.

6. Clean-energy legislation requires that polluters pay.

Currently, greenhouse gas emitters can pollute the sky without paying any cost. The pollution adds to global warming, and society at large will pay the human and economic costs of the changes caused by an overheated climate.

7. Opponents of action would continue the status quo of doing nothing, which cost the average family a $1,000 increase in energy bills over past eight years.

Inaction on climate change is costly. Opponents of clean-energy legislation would continue the pro-big oil energy policies developed by Vice President Dick Cheney and vigorously pursued by President George W. Bush. Billions of dollars in subsidies were plowed into extremely rich big oil and energy companies, and efforts to remove these payouts were mostly blocked by conservatives. Clean-energy policies—such as a renewable electricity standard—were also blocked.

Full Story

Stimulus Dollars Begin to Flow: Here's How, Where and When

by Jeff Postelwait, Online Editor, Power Engineering Washington, D.C. United States April 2, 2009 [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) continues to announce more places where stimulus money is to be spent as more funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 is allocated.

"There's a whole sequence of events that has to take place. You have to announce the funding opportunity so people can, based on those requirements, submit their proposals. Then there will be an application review process."
-- David Walls, Director, Navigant Consulting

The DOE Web site has links for funding opportunities offered through the stimulus. Directly, the DOE plans to distribute money via grants, contracts and cooperative agreements through a bidding process. Applications on renewable energy projects, advanced fossil energy projects, Smart Grid projects and others will be considered.

Timelines for funding will be available depending on the specific program and project, according to the DOE. Funding will be provided in an indirect fashion through state and local governments, which will administer several energy block grant programs.

The Obama administration also announced US $3.2 billion in funding for local energy efficiency programs in U.S. cities, counties, states, territories and Native American tribes. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program has the goal of reducing demand for electricity, increasing efficiency and reducing fossil fuel emissions. Full Story

House Energy Bill Draft: Cap-and-Trade Included

By Jeff St. John  March 31, 2009 www.greentechmedia.com

The draft of an energy and climate bill emerging from the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday contains a host of green goals, including a controversial carbon cap-and-trade program. But the details of that program are yet to be thrashed out. Two senior House Democrats released on Tuesday a draft of comprehensive climate and energy legislation that calls for a controversial carbon cap-and-trade system, but leaves to future negotiations key details of how it will work. How the call for cap-and-trade will be worked out with the draft's other key energy policies – among them a national renewable portfolio standard, a federal low carbon fuel standard and a host of incentives for energy efficiency – remains to be seen. The draft from the offices of House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward Markey (D-Mass.) would require electric utilities, oil companies, large industrial plants and other entities that collectively make up 85 percent of the nation's greenhouse gas emissions to participate in a carbon-trading system. Full Story

Schwarzenegger Announces California Green Corps: California will use stimulus funding to train at-risk youths for green jobs.

By Gloria Dawson 3.18.2009 www.thedailygreen.com

Governor Schwarzenegger announcing California Green Corp on Monday. From left to right: California Community Colleges Chancellor Dr. Jack Scott, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, Community Resource Project Executive Director Louis Perez and Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums. Photo: The Office of Governor Schwarzenegger

After meeting with President Obama’s Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the launch of California Green Corps, a service that will help at-risk students gain the skills needed for green jobs, a job sector that Schwarzenegger says is expanding in California.

Ten million dollars in federal economic stimulus funding will be invested in the program, as well as $10 million from public-private partnerships. The initial phase of California Green Corps will reach 1,000 at-risk young adults, ages 16-24.

"President Obama and I share similar priorities right now when it comes to helping the economy rebound and creating a greener California and America," said Schwarzenegger. He believes that California Green Corps is "exactly the kind of program that President Obama has envisioned when he put together his economic stimulus package...(creating) jobs, jobs and jobs."

This unique program will combine efforts from non-profits, foundations and businesses across the state. While the students are being trained they will continue their educations and they will volunteer in their neighborhoods; in fact, the program is part of California Volunteers. After being trained – the pilot program will last 20 months – students will be assisted in job placement. These students will be trained for green jobs such as installing solar panels, and producing wind turbines and cogeneration units.

For more information or to enroll in the program visit California Volunteers.

Van Jones: Why I'm Going to Washington

By Doug Pibel, YES! Magazine. Posted March 16, 2009.

Doug Pibel: There were rumors over the weekend that you were going to Washington to become another Czar. What is the actual job title?

Van Jones: Well, there's no such thing as a Green Jobs Czar. I'm just going to be a special advisor at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. My role will be to help to shape policy to get as many jobs and as much justice as we can out of the climate and energy proposals coming from the administration

Doug: You've had a lot of success working from the outside building a grassroots movement. What do you think you can do from within the administration that you couldn't do from the outside?

Van: We have a president who's committed to climate solutions and who's also committed to economic recovery and who has a longstanding commitment to civil rights and equal opportunity. You put those three things together and I think that this administration's going to do an extraordinary job, and I think it's also important that people who have a grassroots perspective on some of these things have the opportunity to serve and to support what the president is trying to do. And so to me that's the main thing. We've got a president like this who's trying to do what he's trying to do, it's important that everybody step up in all the ways that they can. Full Story

Stimulus in California: Projects get green light, but so does tax increase March 18, 11:15 AM www.examiner.com

California’s bite of the stimulus apple recently approved by Congress will pour billions into the state, primarily in so-called “shovel ready” projects that will put people back to work.

What it won’t do, according to a report today in the San Jose Mercury News, is spare state residents from an additional income tax surcharge and related budget cuts passed by the state Legislature during its recent historic, often laughable, and at all times controversial, budget deal.

The cuts would be avoided if the federal stimulus package money offset $10 billion in projected spending from the state’s primary budget fund, according to the report. Projections have it pegged to only replace $8 billion, meaning the surtax and cuts will remain.

The bottom line to taxpayers: anywhere from $10 to hundreds of dollars added to your income tax bill next year, despite nearly three hours of public testimony urging state officials to not add the tax. Full Story

Recovery in Action: Green Jobs Edition

Monday, March 23rd, 2009 at 12:16 pm The White House- THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG

Today the President is hosting an event focused on "Investing in Our Clean Energy Future," with experts from inside and outside government (watch his remarks live-streamed at 12:30). So it’s appropriate that this edition of Recovery in Action focus on green jobs, and given that Susan Hockfield, President of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is one of featured speakers, it’s also appropriate that we start off with an inspiring story out of Massachusetts.  

Erin Ailworth of the Boston Globe had an in-depth piece on the "Renewable job market":   

If you're readying a resume, it might help to use recycled paper. The clean-tech and green industries in Massachusetts are hiring.   Companies looking to add employees include Aeronautica Windpower in Plymouth, lithium-ion battery maker Boston-Power Inc. in Westborough, and Conservation Services Group, also in Westborough. Eco-friendly experience is a plus, but not required.  

The workforce expansions are being partly spurred by the federal economic stimulus package, which includes billions for home energy-efficiency upgrades and an extension of a tax credit for renewable energy technologies such as wind power. Within the next two years, stimulus spending is expected to create or save 79,000 jobs in Massachusetts, and an estimated 3.5 million nationwide, according to the federal government.   Soon after Congress passed the nearly $800 billion bill last month, Stephen Cowell, chief executive of Conservation Services Group, said he told his staff, "Get the resumes together." In the last six months, the energy-efficiency company has hired about 50 employees in its main office. Because of the stimulus bill as well as several new contracts, Cowell plans to add 200 more jobs this year. The company currently employs about 400 and does business in 22 states. At least 30 to 40 of the new jobs will be in Massachusetts, he said.   "We're sort of the tip of the iceberg," Cowell said. "A couple of hundred people will be hired here, but that means that 2,000 people will be hired at the local level to do the work that we spec out and help facilitate."   It goes through company after company and industry after industry from there. And we’re off!

The Price Of Being Green: Can we still afford to invest in an environmentally friendly economy?

By Christina Gillham | Newsweek Web Exclusive Mar 23, 2009

Is there a segment of the green industry that stands to benefit more from the stimulus package than others?
There's a big emphasis on home weatherization and folks in that business will benefit. Having said that, there are 130 million homes in America and 75 percent of them could be made more energy efficient with a very quick payback. And the recovery package, as good a down payment as it is, really only covers a small fraction of the number of homes that could be profitably retrofitted.

How do you keep people interested in green initiatives and saving the environment at a time when people are concerned about their jobs?
To survive on this planet we have to find ways to do the things we want while putting less carbon pollution into the air. I think people who understand that are going to be the entrepreneurs—small and large—that thrive into the future. One way to engage with people is to let them know that we need to do this for environmental reasons, but we also need to do this to get our economy going again. Full Story

Administration Announces Nearly $8 Billion in Weatherization Funding and Energy Efficiency Grants

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Vice President

Immediate Release March 12, 2009

Will support energy efficiency efforts nationwide that will create 87,000 jobs and cut energy bills for families

Washington DC -- Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Chu today detailed an investment of nearly $8 billion in state and local weatherization and energy efficiency efforts as part of the President’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. With an investment of about $5 billion through the Weatherization Assistance Program and about $3 billion for the State Energy Program, the Department of Energy will partner with state and local governments to put 87,000 Americans to work and save families hundreds of dollars per year on their energy bills.

To jump-start job creation and weatherization work, the Department of Energy is releasing the first installment of the funding – about $780 million -- in the next few days. The Department will release additional funding over time as states demonstrate that they are using the funding effectively and responsibly to create jobs and cut energy use.

"This energy efficiency funding for states is an important investment in making America more energy independent, creating a cleaner economy and creating more jobs for the 21st century that can’t be outsourced," said Vice President Biden.

The funding will support weatherization of homes, including adding more insulation, sealing leaks and modernizing heating and air conditioning equipment, which will pay for itself many times over.

"Even as we seize the enormous potential of clean energy sources like wind and solar, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act makes a major investment in energy efficiency, which is the most cost effective route to energy independence," Chu said.

The Weatherization Assistance Program will allow an average investment of up to $6,500 per home in energy efficiency upgrades and will be available for families making up to 200% of the federal poverty level – or about $44,000 a year for a family of four. [$55,140 for Alaska and $50,720 for Hawaii]

The State Energy Program funding will be available for rebates to consumers for home energy audits or other energy saving improvements; development of renewable energy projects for clean electricity generation and alternative fuels; promotion of Energy Star products; efficiency upgrades for state and local government buildings; and other innovative state efforts to help save families money on their energy bills.

The DOE’s Weatherization Assistance Program allows low-income families to reduce their energy bills by making their homes more energy efficient, reducing heating bills by an average of 32% and overall energy bills by hundreds of dollars per year.

Activist tapped as Obama green jobs adviser

Green for All founder to focus on 'vulnerable communities'

By Miguel Llanos Report msnbc.com March. 10, 2009

Author and activist Van Jones will be a special adviser for green jobs, enterprise and innovation in the Obama administration, the White House announced Tuesday.

Jones will start work next week to help direct the administration's efforts to create jobs and help the environment, Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said in a statement. Jones will "help to shape and advance the administration’s energy and climate initiatives with a specific interest in improvements and opportunities for vulnerable communities," Sutley said. A Yale law graduate, Jones founded Green for All, a national organization based in Oakland, Calif., that promises environmentally friendly jobs to help lift people out of poverty. Full Story

My View: Energy efficiency can boost the economy

There's an adage in the electric utility industry that the cheapest power plant is the one we don't have to build. It's another way of saying that energy efficiency is the most cost-effective way to meet growing energy needs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Clean power sources such as solar and wind are very much on the national radar these days, as are electric and hybrid vehicles. That's a good thing, because if the Sacramento Municipal Utility District and other electric utilities are to preserve the environment for future generations, we realize we must all reduce our reliance on carbon-based fuels. SMUD is on track to have 23 percent of its electricity delivered from renewable resources by 2010. Full Story

Energy Efficiency Key to Upcoming U.S. Climate Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC, March 6, 2009 (ENS) The Environment News Service

"Energy efficiency is truly the low-hanging fruit in the climate change discussion," says Marvin Malecha, president of the American Institute of Architects. "We can and we must make our buildings, appliances, and transportation systems more energy efficient," he said Thursday, as a coalition of business, professional, energy, and environmental organizations offered their views on the role of energy efficiency in federal climate change legislation that is now beginning to wend its way through the legislative process. "Energy efficiency can slash greenhouse gas emissions at low cost and in large quantities. A carbon cap is essential to getting those savings but we don't use all cost-effective energy efficiency now and we still won't with a price on carbon," said Joe Loper with the Alliance to Save Energy. "We need to design the program right to wring carbon from our homes, offices, industrial plants, and vehicles," he continued. Full Story

An Antidote Called Hope

By Javier Sierra March 6, 2009 www.huffingtonpost.com

“May you live in interesting times,” says the Chinese curse. And these times of ours can be called anything but boring. The worst economic crisis in 80 years, the melt down of financial markets and a recession that is obliterating millions of jobs throughout the world have infused fear in all of us. You actually have to gather some courage every morning to read the dreadful headlines.

Against this disease called fear, nevertheless, there exists an antidote. It’s called hope, and in his address to Congress, President Obama gave us all a huge dose of this medicine.

In his speech, President Obama walked decisively and confidently on a tight rope, balancing both rising the spirits of a demoralized nation and explaining the true magnitude of our crisis.

“We are a nation that has seen promise amid peril, and claimed opportunity from ordeal,” he said. “Now we must be that nation again.” And to get out of this hole, he outlined a detailed plan sustained by three pillars, including, for the first time, a clear clean and renewable energy policy that can take the U.S. back to its former status as a world leader. Full Story

The Language of the Cap- and-Trade Debate

By CHRISTA MARSHALL, ClimateWire Published: March 5, 2009

For Rep. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), it is "cap and invest." National Aeronautics and Space Administration climatologist James Hansen says it is "tax and trade."Then there are "cap and cash back" and "cap and dividend," mottoes promoted by environmental investing expert Peter Barnes to describe proposals to cap greenhouse gases, often called "cap and trade." Language even popped up in February as a jurisdiction issue in Congress, when Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) and four other House Republicans argued that leading plans to address climate change are actually a "cap and tax" and therefore should begin their legislative path in the House of Representatives, since the Constitution states that all revenue bills must originate there. Aware of the ability of slogans like "No Child Left Behind" to drive the debate on past topics, policymakers are ramping up their rhetoric about global warming like never before. All sides have opportunities to gain political traction by choosing their words carefully, even if President Obama's opponents appear to have the current edge in the communication war, many analysts say. Full Story

A Clean Energy Uprising in California

By Kate Galbraith October 29, 2008 greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com

An election-day rebellion is under way in San Francisco against Pacific Gas & Electric, a big California utility.

On the city ballot next Tuesday is Proposition H, a measure that allows San Francisco to study ways to oust PG&E from being its electricity supplier. (See p. 123 of this PDF document for the text.)

The chief complaint is that PG&E uses too little renewable energy. Last year 11.4 percent of the utility’s electricity came from renewables — exceeding the national average. And it is required under current regulations to raise that to 20 percent by 2010, though this is unlikely to happen. Proposition H would require the city to get 51 percent of electricity from renewables by 2017, and 75 percent by 2030. Full Story