Clean Tech Business Policy Update (August 29)

News Summary

Top Stories

• Doerr Gives U.S. a ‘C’ for Alternative-Energy Development, Bloomberg
• Number of Green Jobs Fails to Live Up to Promises, New York Times
• Cleantech Investing Stagnates, But California Clings to Lead, Xconomy

Science, Jobs, & Investment

• Building the Green-Collar Economy, Discover Magazine
• Ford, SunPower Team Up on Alternative Energy, San Francisco Chronicle

Government & Politics

• U.S. Cities Prepare to Adapt to Climate Change, USA Today
• U.S. Jobs Expected from New Fuel Economy Standards, Reuters
• USA’s First Large-Scale Industrial Carbon Capture & Storage Facility, US DoE
• California: Law Aids State's Clean Tech Growth [Erceg & Hochschild], Sacramento Bee
• California: Offsets Could Make Up 85% of Calif.'s Cap and Trade, New York Times
• California Panel Reaffirms Carbon Trading Program, Los Angeles Times
• California: Gov. Brown Seeks to Extend Public Good Charge, Los Angeles Times
• California: Clean Energy Wants Public Goods Charge Extended, CapitalPublicRadio

Politics Extra: Presidential Candidates on Clean Energy & Climate

• Michelle Bachmann: Settle the issues on “real science, not manufactured science.”
• Herman Cain: “All of this alternative energy stuff is a joke.”
• Newt Gingrich: We “must take action to address climate change,” but EPA a “threat to freedom.”
• Jon Huntsman: “I believe in evolution & trust scientists on global warming. Call me crazy.”
• Ron Paul: “My answer to energy is to let the market work.”
• Rick Perry: Global warming is “all one contrived phony mess that is falling apart.”
• Mitt Romney: “I believe that climate change is occurring,” but “I don't know if it's mostly caused by humans,” and “What I'm not willing to do is spend trillions of dollars,” yet “it's important for us to reduce our emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases.”

Articles

Top Stories

John Doerr Gives U.S. a ‘C’ for Alternative-Energy Development / Bloomberg, August 3

John Doerr, head of venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, said he would give the U.S. a ‘C’ grade for development of green technology, which trails innovation in Internet and biotechnology,” reports Ari Lev.  “His grade would have been a D or F without $20 billion in loan guarantees for clean-energy projects under President Barack Obama’s stimulus plan and collaborative work between the government and private sector, Doerr said yesterday at an event in Palo Alto, California. He and other members of the White House Council on Jobs and Competitiveness spoke on a panel about entrepreneurship.”

Number of Green Jobs Fails to Live Up to Promises / New York Times, August 18

In the Bay Area as in much of the country, the green economy is not proving to be the job-creation engine that many politicians envisioned. President Obama once pledged to create five million green jobs over 10 years. Gov. Jerry Brown promised 500,000 clean-technology jobs statewide by the end of the decade. But the results so far suggest such numbers are a pipe dream.

Cleantech Investing Stagnates, But California Clings to Lead / Xconomy, August 3

So far this year, venture investments in cleantech and alternative energy aren’t keeping up with the optimistic pace set in 2010. While total U.S. cleantech investments in the second quarter were up slightly from the quarter before—$1.093 billion, versus $1.014 billion—they’re lagging 44 percent behind the quarterly record set one year ago, in the second quarter of 2010 ($1.949 billion). At least, so says a report released today by the Ernst & Young accounting firm, based on data from Dow Jones VentureSource.

Business, Science, & Investment

Building the Green-Collar Economy / Discover Magazine, September 2011

The lure of renewable energy sources is that they help fight climate 
change. Four experts argue that the transition to a clean economy could also jump-start economic growth and put a new generation to work.

Ford, SunPower Team Up on Alternative Energy / San Francisco Chronicle, August 11

SunPower, based in San Jose, will offer discounted home solar systems to people who buy the all-electric Focus, which Ford plans to start selling in California late this year. The two companies announced the effort, called Drive Green for Life, in Richmond on Wednesday at a former Ford auto plant that now houses a SunPower office.

Government & Politics

U.S. Cities Prepare to Adapt to Climate Change / USA Today, August 15

An NRDC report says coastal cities such as New York and San Francisco anticipate "serious challenges" from sea-level rise, while Southwestern cities such as Phoenix will face water shortages and Midwestern cities, including Chicago and St. Louis, can expect more intense storms and flooding.

Green Jobs Expected from New Fuel Economy Standards / Reuters, August 16

A report released this week by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), automotive workers union (UAW), and the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) shows that vehicle emissions standards and clean vehicle R&D and production are already responsible for 155,000 jobs at 504 facilities in 43 states and the District of Columbia. 119,000 jobs have been created in this industry since 2009 alone. The NRDC has an interesting interactive map on its website now showing where all these facilities are and providing a bit more information on them.

Nation’s First Large-Scale Industrial Carbon Capture and Storage Facility

US Dept. of Energy, August 24

The U.S. Department of Energy issued the following statement in support of today’s groundbreaking for construction of the nation’s first large-scale industrial carbon capture and storage (ICCS) facility in Decatur, Illinois. Supported by the 2009 economic stimulus legislation – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the ambitious project will capture and store one million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year produced as the result of processing corn into fuel-grade ethanol from the nearby Archer Daniels Midland biofuels plant. Since all of the captured CO2 will be produced from biologic fermentation, a significant feature of the facility is its “negative carbon footprint,” meaning that the storage results in a net reduction of atmospheric CO2.

California Panel Reaffirms Carbon Trading Program / Los Angeles Times, August 25

The California Air Resources Board voted to reaffirm its cap-and-trade plan Wednesday, a decision that puts the nation's first-ever state carbon trading program back on track, for now.  The on-again, off-again rules have been years in the making and are meant to complement AB 32, California's landmark climate change law that mandates a reduction in carbon pollution to 1990 levels by 2020. The air board adopted a preliminary carbon trading plan in late 2008 but was sued by environmental justice groups in 2009.

Greenhouse Gas Law Aids State's Clean Tech Growth [Erceg & Hochschild]

Sacramento Bee, August 21

We already are seeing hints of what AB 32 could mean for our economy. Since the bill became law, investment in California's clean technology sector has skyrocketed, with more than $11 billion in venture capital flowing into the state. The National Venture Capital Association estimates that each $100 million in venture capital funding will help create 2,700 jobs directly and support other jobs indirectly, while generating $500 million in annual revenue over two decades. It is clear that clean energy policies are propelling the state down a positive economic path.

Offsets Could Make Up 85% of Calif.'s Cap and Trade / New York Times, August 8, 2011

Starting in 2013, California's landmark cap and trade law will give companies the option of using offsets, investments in forest preservation and other efforts that pare carbon, instead of emissions reductions. California argues cap and trade needs offsets to keep costs low. Environmentalists warn the numbers stack up in a way that threatens the success of the plan. The Golden State plans to limit offsets to 8 percent of a business's total reported greenhouse gas emissions.  The 8 percent limit, green groups argue, translates to a much larger percentage of the carbon cuts mandated under the plan. Offsets will potentially make up 85 percent of all greenhouse gas reductions in the program from 2013 through 2020, a level some environmentalists see as perilous. The state agrees that hitting that 85 percent level for offsets is possible but said that it is an improbable worst-case event.

Gov. Brown Seeks to Extend California Energy Surcharge / Los Angeles Times, August 25

In a major effort to create more high-tech jobs, Gov. Jerry Brown is sponsoring legislation to extend a state program that collects about $400 million a year from utility customers and invests it in renewable energy and efficiency programs.

Clean Energy Backers Want Utility Fees Extended / Capital Public Radio, August 17

Every month, your electric bill has a one percent state surcharge - and your natural gas bill has a 0.7 percent surcharge.  Those fees are set to expire at the end of the year, and Tom Steyer with Californians for Clean Energy and Jobs says lawmakers should pass an extension.

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