There were 679 renewable energy initiatives supported by 23 federal agencies and their 130 subagencies in fiscal year 2010. This according to a study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) on renewable energy. The leading agencies in renewable energy support included the Department of Defense (DOD), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. …
EWEA Event to be Powered Solely by Wind
Last year the wind industry worked together to create the “WindMade” designation, which means “runs on 100 percent wind power”. Today, it has been announced that the upcoming EWEA 2012 Conference & Exhibition will be the first ever WindMade event. The event is Apri 16-19, 2012 in Copenhagen. EWEA’s CEO Christian Kjaer said he is proud to be the first …
USDA Announces Ten Rural Energy Grants
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has selected 10 projects for funding 10 to help rural small businesses and agricultural producers reduce energy consumption and implement renewable energy technologies. The funding will be made available through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP), which was authorized by the 2008 Farm Bill. “For the first time in 13 years, imported oil accounts …
Senate Rejects Obama Push to End Oil Subsidies
Despite a last minute plea by President Obama, the Senate today rejected a plan to end oil company subsidies. “Right now, the biggest oil companies are raking in record profits –- profits that go up every time folks pull up into a gas station,” said Obama in a Rose Garden speech this morning. “But on top of these record profits, …
Senate Defeats Renewable Incentives Amendments
As work on the Transportation Bill progressed in the Senate Tuesday, two amendments that would have extended tax incentives for renewable energy sources were defeated. An amendment offered by Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) failed on a tie vote of 49-49, since 60 votes were needed for passage. The amendment would have extended a variety of incentives, including the Cellulosic Biofuels …
Progress in Blueprint for Secure Energy Future
The White House today released a one-year progress report on the “Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future,” the Administration’s all-of-the-above approach to American energy. Among the highlights noted in the report is that the plan has resulted in a doubling of renewable energy generation from wind, solar, and geothermal sources since 2008. According to the report, “Since 2009, DOI has …
Amendment Would Extend Domestic Energy Tax Credits
Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) introduced an amendment to the Transportation Bill (S.1813) Thursday that would extend tax incentives for domestically produced energy sources, including biodiesel, ethanol, cellulosic biofuels, electric vehicles, wind energy and solar. The measure would re-instate and extend the $1 per gallon biodiesel tax incentive, which expired at the end of last year, and the Advanced Energy Manufacturing …
President Calls for Alternative Fueling Stations
During a speech at a truck manufacturing plant in Mount Holly, North Carolina this week, President Obama outlined specifics for an energy plan that includes alternative-fueled vehicles and fueling stations. “We’ve got to develop every source of American energy — not just oil and gas, but wind power and solar power, nuclear power, biofuels,” Obama said, noting that he has …
President Stresses All of the Above Energy Policy
As the ethanol industry was meeting in Orlando last week, President Obama was talking energy just a few hundred miles to the south at the University of Miami. “If we’re going to take control of our energy future and can start avoiding these annual gas price spikes that happen every year — when the economy starts getting better, world demand …
Wind Energy Industry Worries About Job Losses
President Obama put a face on the wind energy industry during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. It was the face of Bryan Ritterby who “found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan” after being laid off from a job making furniture and is “proud to be working in the industry of the future.” However, the …