Week in Review: October 12, 2009 to October 19, 2009
Published on October 19th, 2009 in Week in Review
- While the Waxman-Markey climate bill has passed in the House, the Senate has yet to prepare a bill to vote on. This week, two key senators, Kerry (D-MA) and Graham (R-SC), moved the agenda forward by announcing a bipartisan proposal for a climate change bill, that would include support for nuclear energy and expanded domestic production. President Obama also said that he would be pushing forward climate change legislation once the health care bill was passed. Read More.
- Secretary of Energy Steven Chu in a speech at the International Energy Agency in Paris reiterated the U.S.’s commitment to combating climate change and his expectation that the U.S. will pass a climate change bill prior to the Copenhagen conference. He also said that he expects to announce loan guarantees to nuclear power plants to help restart that non-greenhouse gas emitting industry. Read More.
- Based on trends over the past 9 months, the Energy Information Agency is forecasting a reduction of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels in 2009 of 5.9% relative to 2008 levels. Drivers for the reduction include reduced use of coal and jet fuel and an increase in electric power generation from renewables of 2%. Read More.
- The U.S. Secretary of the Navy, Ray Mabus, spoke on October 14th at a Naval Energy Form and called energy reform a ‘strategic imperative’ and said ‘The carbon that’s emitted from our ships, aircraft, and vehicles is a contributor to global warming and climate change.’ For the Navy, he proposed significant reductions in fossil fuels, including the use of biofuels. He set a goal for the Navy of meeting half of its energy needs for ships, aircraft, tanks, vehicles, and shore installations from alternative sources by 2020. Read More.
- Mitsubishi Power Systems Americas announced its intention to build a wind turbine manufacturing plant in Fort Smith, Arkansas. The plant will cost $100 M to build and is expected to employ 400 people after completion in 2011. Read More
- Siemens AG purchased Solel Solar Systems, an Israeli thermal solar company for $418 M. Siemens President and CEO Peter Loscher emphasized the importance of alternative energy products for the company and specifically forecasted that the solar energy market will grow 20% per year. Read More
- Pasedena, California based eSolar, a utility scale thermal solar company will begin to market solar thermal power plants in Sub-Saharan Africa after signing a deal with Johannesburg-based Clean Energy Solutions. Read More.
- Winners of Solar Decathlon on the National Mall were announced. Teams from around the world competed in numerous categories associated with building zero carbon homes. Team Germany won first place with a cube home that produced surplus power even in 3 days of rain. For a complete listing of winners Read More.
