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Clean Tech Business Policy Update (August 16)

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CALENDAR

August 22nd /  Speaker Pelosi Fundraiser in Marin County

August 31st /  Kentucky U.S. Senate Nominee Jack Conway in Silicon Valley & San Francisco

October 4th / Early Voting Begins in California

News Summary

v   Top Stories

  • Senate Democrats Punt on Oil Spill Bill, Politico
  • How Calif’s Proposition 23 Will Decide the Future of Federal Climate Laws, GreenBiz
  • Why China Does Green Tech The Right Way, Fortune

v   Government & Politics

v   Science, Jobs, & Investment

 

Articles

v   Top Stories

Senate Democrats Punt on Oil Spill Bill / Politico, August 3

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid gave up the pretense that there would be a vote on offshore drilling reform before August recess, saying that after trying “jujitsu and yoga” on Senate Republicans, he was dropping the effort for now, with hopes of revisiting it in September. A handful of Democrats claim they're optimistic about this tack, and hope to use the extra time to expand the bill with some of the clean energy provisions dumped earlier this summer, including a renewable electricity standard. But pragmatic staffers and lobbyists say the break will harden positions, and the only thing that could likely pass would be an even further slimmed-down spill bill.

 

How Calif. Mid-Terms Will Decide the Future of Federal Climate Laws / GreenBiz, August 13

History is in the making in California with one of the biggest political battles over climate set for the state's mid-term elections this fall. The November ballot represents the Normandy Invasion equivalent for national climate legislation -- a historic battle whose outcome will likely have major impact on the future of efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Why China Does Green Tech The Right Way / Fortune, August 13

Having emerged from the recent global recession relatively unscathed, China has launched what appears to be an all-out assault in its ambitions to become a major player in the future of green technology. As one of the most polluted places on the planet, China’s motivation seems natural and unsurprising.

 

v   Government & Politics

Clean Energy Loses Out on Carbon Limits / BusinessWeek, July 29

Now that Democrats have pulled the plug on climate-change legislation clean tech companies that are creating competition to heavily subsidized carbon energy companies already are feeling pain. "If we had this climate bill passed, the money would flow immediately," Jack Oswald, CEO of biofuels company SynGest says. "This is the biggest economic opportunity we have in front of our country, and for some reason our politicians can't get their minds wrapped around it." [The dead federal climate bill would have helped] biofuels company SynGest to attract financial backing for a "rolling thunder of construction" across the Midwest, CEO Jack Oswald says. Each SynGest plant would create 360 temporary construction jobs, 40 permanent ones, and a local market for corncobs of as much as $10 million, he says ... Putting a price on carbon is "huge" because it would fairly account for the environmental costs of greenhouse gas emissions, says Sunil Paul of Spring Ventures, an investment fund that specializes in clean-tech companies.

California’s Prop23: Global Warming Measure Could Suspend Other Landmark Environmental Rules / San Jose Mercury News, August 16

A November ballot measure that would suspend California's landmark global-warming law could also end up rolling back some of the state's other sweeping environmental standards -- including rules that require utilities to generate a third of their electricity from renewable sources and programs requiring oil refineries to make cleaner-burning fuels.

Whitman - Nuance or Flip-Flop on Issues?  / S.F. Chronicle, August 1
Before the June GOP primary, Whitman called California's landmark climate change bill, AB32, a "dangerous job killer" that the state can't afford and urged a suspension. But her spokeswoman Sarah Pompei said recently that Whitman "supports the goals" of the bill and the candidate herself said she would probably vote against Proposition 23.


Judge Changes Prop. 23 Ballot Description / Los Angeles Times, August 4

A Sacramento Superior Court judge Tuesday amended the ballot description of Proposition 23, the November initiative that seeks to delay the state's global warming law.

 

v   Business, Science, & Investment

Green Tech Investment Surges Even as Economy Lags / Grist, August 3

“The anemic economic recovery may have hit the dog days of summer with consumer spending and factory orders slowing, but the new energy economy continues to surge, according to a report released Tuesday by Ernst & Young,” reports Todd Woody.  “Venture capital (VC) investment in renewable energy, electric cars, energy efficiency, and other green technology jumped to $1.5 billion in the United States in the second quarter of 2010, a nearly 64 percent spike over the second quarter of last year. Green tech investment now has returned to the record levels of the third quarter of 2008, before the global economic collapse shut down the VC's ATM.

 

Obama Panel Boosts Bid to Put Greenhouse Gas Emissions Underground / Christian Science Monitor, August 12

“An Obama Administration task force today reported that underground storage of greenhouse gas emissions from power plants is technically feasible, but there is little likelihood it will move forward without legislation to put a price on those emissions,” reports Mark Clayton.  “Carbon capture and storage – or CCS – has long been heralded by scientists, environmentalists, and even some in the utility industry as perhaps the only real way to prevent climate change while still enabling the United States to continue burning its massive coal reserves in power plants.”

 

Want to Create Millions of Jobs?  Look to China / Huffington Post, August 13

To date, U.S. policymakers are losing the Earth Race and the only environmental target they can hit are their own feet. The Chinese recently pulled ahead in the contest, announcing through its State Information Center that it would spend $738 billion in renewable energy projects over the next decade.

Solar-Power Industry Hits Magic Number / CNBC, July 28

“While some investors feel they're still waiting for the sun to rise on the solar energy industry, it's already high noon for some parts of the sector,” reports Trevor Curwin.  “Generally speaking though, solar energy users can expect a quick return on investment for installing PV panels and enjoy cheap energy for the system's lifetime, often guaranteed for 20 years or more.  Solar industry insiders argue that promoting out solar technology in a distributed manner—from the "end user up" rather than from the "power plant down"—better captures the real value of solar energy, versus trying to compare the cost of kilowatt generated from coal versus one generated from solar, or "grid parity."

 

"As an industry we've allowed ourselves to be painted into a corner," says Doug Payne, executive director of the solar industry trade group SolarTech, about aiming for grid parity while minimizing the industry's real efforts at saving their customers' money over retail electricity costs.

 

Cleantech Industry Coming Out Against Prop. 23 / San Jose Mercury News, August 10

If voters roll back California's landmark climate change bill in November, the state's burgeoning cleantech economy and the jobs it has created will face serious jeopardy. That was the consensus of cleantech leaders who gathered Tuesday morning at Google's Mountain View campus to talk about the state's leadership in clean energy and to rally opposition to Proposition 23.

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