PUBLIC AFFAIRS - American Embassy
Sylvie VACHERET
Tel: 01 43 12 29 28
E Mail: vacheretsr@state.gov
GENERAL INTEREST
Annual Energy Outlook 2010 with Projections to 2035
Energy Information Administration – May 11, 2010 – 231 pages
http://www.eia.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/0383(2010).pdf
This report “presents long-term projections of energy supply, demand, and prices through 2035, based on results from EIA’s National Energy Modeling System (NEMS).” “In addition to considering alternative scenarios for oil prices, economic growth, and the uptake of more energy-efficient technologies, the AEO2010 includes cases that examine the impact of changes in selected policies, such as the extension of existing policies that are currently scheduled to sunset as well as the sensitivity of natural gas shale production to variations in drilling activity and the size of the resource base.”
U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions in 2009: A Retrospective Review
Environmental Protection Agency – May 5, 2010 – 15 pages
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/environment/emissions/carbon/pdf/2009_co2_analysis.pdf
“While emissions have declined in three out of the last four years, 2009 was exceptional. As discussed below, emissions developments in 2009 reflect a combination of factors, including some particular to the economic downturn, other special circumstances during the year, and other factors that may reflect persistent trends in our economy and our energy use.”
A Pivotal Industry: Energy’s Ups and Downs Drive Economies
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – TEN magazine – Spring 2010 – 6 pages
http://www.kansascityfed.org/PUBLICAT/TEN/PDF/Spring2010/Pivotal_Industry.pdf
This article discusses the central role of the energy industry in some U.S. states and the effect of the recession on these industries.
Growing Challenges of Energy and Environment – Part I and II
Susan Froetschel - BP unleashed the oil spill disaster, but all Americans are complicit
Olivier Cattaneo -Taxing carbon at the border could be protectionism in disguise
YaleGlobal – June 22 and 24, 2010
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/growing-challenges-energy-and-environment-part-i
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/content/growing-challenges-energy-and-environment-part-ii
“Emerging economies have joined developed nations in the wild scramble for energy, all taking greater risks in drilling for oil and gas supplies while largely shrugging about effects on climate, the environment or public health. Nations and corporations go to great lengths to explore and drill, but repairs are not so easy, as seen with a broken well gushing oil into the Gulf of Mexico since April 20. This two-part series examines governments’ failure to end dangerous dependence on fossil fuels. The first article analyzes what the Gulf oil spill reveals about the intricate global connections and entrenched interests of the energy industry and the second article describes US and European proposals to impose tariffs on nations that lag in limiting carbon emissions.”
ENERGY POLICY
Toward a New National Energy Policy: Assessing the Options (1)
Resources for the Future – Study – July 2010
http://www.rff.org/toward-a-new-energy-policy
“This two-year study analyzes and appraises U.S. energy policy choices and provides policymakers with a wealth of valuable information for developing a coordinated national energy policy. Carried out by RFF and the National Energy Policy Institute with support from the George Kaiser Family Foundation, it assesses 35 different policies and policy combinations based on their societal costs and their ability to reduce oil consumption and CO2 emissions. Each is evaluated and ranked using a consistent and rigorous methodology, underpinned by an RFF version of the Energy Information Administration’s National Energy Modeling System.”
Toward a New National Energy Policy: Assessing the Options (2)
Resources for the Future – Event – June 23, 2010
http://www.rff.org/Events/Pages/Toward-a-New-National-Energy-Policy-Assessing-the-Options.aspx
“Among the many pressing issues facing Congress is the drive to create a new and comprehensive national energy policy, one that will make significant progress on addressing the twin challenges of energy security and climate change…. As the dialogue continues to unfold on Capitol Hill, how should policymakers choose among these different options and potential combinations of options?”
Promoting a Clean Energy Economy
U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee – Hearing - July 27, 2010
http://jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=b41ac54d-53f8-42ae-94c3-eeb99a151905
The hearing focused on ways to promote innovation in clean energy technologies. In particular, this JEC hearing explored the critical role of federal investments in spurring energy innovation. Innovation in both the production and consumption of energy can achieve the dual goal of helping the US economy recover while preserving and promoting a cleaner environment. Witnesses include Dr. Michael Greenstone, an MIT professor specializing in estimating the costs and benefits of environmental quality and the consequences of government regulation; Mr. Anthony Malkin, a leader in existing building energy efficiency retrofits who is coordinating the Empire State Building project; and, Dr. E.G. (Skip) Ward, a specialist in ultra-deep water gas and petroleum exploration and development.
Policy Leadership Forum: The Road to a Low-Carbon Energy Future
Resources for the Future – Event – May 12, 2010
http://www.rff.org/Events/Pages/The-Road-to-a-Low-Carbon-Energy-Future.aspx
John W. Rowe, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Exelon Corporation “discussed U.S. legislative and regulatory actions to address climate change, and why we must focus on economic approaches that will provide the country with cleaner, more secure energy while minimizing the costs to consumers and putting more people to work.”
Assessing the American Power Act: The Economic, Employment, Energy Security, and Environmental Impact of Senator Kerry and Senator Lieberman’s Discussion Draft
Peterson Institute for International Economics – May 2010 – 18 pages
http://www.piie.com/publications/pb/pb10-12.pdf
“The senators promised that if passed the bill will: (1) reduce US oil consumption and dependence on oil imports; (2) cut US carbon pollution 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and over 80 percent by 2050; and (3) create jobs and restore US global economic leadership. In this policy brief we evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed American Power Act in achieving those goals.”
Daniel J. Weiss
The “Energy-Only Bill” Mirage: Why an Energy Bill Could Fail Without Pollution Reduction Measures or Revenue
Center for American Progress – June 25, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/energy_mirage.html
“The time for Senate action on clean energy legislation is rapidly leaking away, yet some senators continue to advocate passage of an ‘energy-only’ bill that ignores comprehensive reductions in global warming pollution…. CAP analysis determined that the clean energy incentives and loan guarantees in these bills would cost $70 billion.”
Daniel J. Weiss and Susan Lyon
Senate Oil Savings' Greatest Hits: The Best Provisions to Cut Our Consumption
Center for American Progress – June 29, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/oilsavings_greatest_hits.html
“There are three primary ways to reduce oil use: make cars much more fuel efficient, launch cleaner alternative fuels such as electricity for cars and natural gas for trucks, and invest in public transportation. CAP evaluated the major oil savings proposals in senators’ bills that address all three of these needs and chose the provisions with the most oil savings in each category.”
Implementation of the 2008 Farm Bill Energy Title
House Subcommittee on Conservation, Credit, Energy, and Research – Hearing - June 9, 2010
http://agriculture.house.gov/testimony/111/h060910/CookCoppessBailey.pdf
Cheryl Cook, Deputy Under Secretary, Rural Development discuss successes and challenges of implementing Title IX, the Energy Title, of the 2008 Farm Bill.
Van Jones
Speaking of “Small People”: Will the Energy Bill Hurt or Help All Americans?
Center for American Progress – June 18, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/jones_small_people.html
“Overall, the present version of the American Power Act is quite promising. It does include some strong provisions to lower consumer costs and provide access to new clean energy jobs. But it lacks some fundamental provisions to truly scale up the clean energy economy, ensure that green jobs are good jobs, and put some green rungs on the ladder out of poverty.”
Power to the People: Renewable Energy for Underserved Communities
Santa Clara University – Event – April 22, 2010
http://www.scu.edu/sts/PublicEngagement/conferences/archives/20092010/powertothepeople.cfm#delio
Power to the People brought together social benefit entrepreneurs, investors, policy innovators, energy technologists, and community organizations to examine innovations in technology, business models, and public policy required to deliver cost-effective renewable energy solutions to the underserved both domestically and in the developing world.
STATE POLICIES
Energy Regulation in the States: A Wake-up Call
Institute for Energy Research – 191 pages
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/pdf/statereport.pdf
Interactive map: http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/states/
“Some of the most contentious of these ongoing [energy regulation] battles are happening right now in state capitals across the country. This report analyzes many such policies and explains how state governments are increasing the price of energy and the price of using energy through additional regulations.”
Advancing Clean Energy: A Report on the Clean Energy States Grant Program
National Governor’s Association – April 2010 – 36 pages
http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/1004ADVANCINGCLEANENERGY.pdf
“Throughout the decade, states have launched initiatives to improve energy efficiency, promote alternative energy sources and lower greenhouse gas emissions. The report profiles the work of 12 states, which were selected for participation in the Clean Energy States Grant Program, as part of the Securing a Clean Energy Future Initiative. The program provided states an opportunity to explore and expand new techniques for promoting clean energy, as well as develop and implement their own state programs.”
Araceli Ruano and Sean Pool
A California Campaign with Global Consequences: Proposition 23 Puts Clean Energy in Danger
Center for American Progress – July 15, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/07/prop23.html
“Texas oil companies have taken advantage of California’s quirky initiative system to place Proposition 23 on the ballot. This proposition has one purpose: to undo California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (also known as Assembly Bill 32, or ‘A.B. 32’), which stands as a landmark piece of bipartisan clean energy legislation and is a model for federal action.”
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Green Housing for the 21st Century: Retrofitting the Past and Building an Energy-Efficient Future
Senate Committee on Banking – June 30, 2010
http://banking.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=523fdfb6-9876-44a2-b69d-2f99e0e0ef9e
“I hope that this hearing will make clear that energy-efficient housing connects tackling climate change and reducing our dependence on foreign fossil fuels to cutting government outlays and trimming household budgets, to renovation, design, and construction jobs that can’t be exported. Despite this promise, energy efficient options in housing are not well understood by consumers, and homebuyers today often pass up green opportunities that are in their economic interest. Our challenge as legislators is to devise programs to inform consumers and jumpstart the green housing economy.”
RESEARCH
Sean Pool
How to Power the Energy Innovation Lifecycle: Better Policies Can Carry New Energy Sources to Market
Center for American Progress – June 2010 – 21 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/pdf/energy_innovation.pdf
“We’ll first define the different stages of the innovation lifecycle, then describe the network of players engaged at each stage of the process. This ‘network lifecycle’ approach can help us better understand who does innovation, the processes that drive it, and the opportunities for public policy to aid it at various points in the process. As you’ll see, our innovation economy in the energy arena needs some key reforms to perform at its peak again.”
White House Innovation Conference: Summary Report
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation – May 7, 2010 – 21 pages
http://www.energyinnovationnetwork.org/en/Backpages/~/media/Files/WH_summary_report.ashx
“The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation co-convened a conference on Energy Innovation…. The conference was designed to bring together diverse stakeholders in a forum for discussion on how to leverage private- and public-sector investments and direct philanthropic support to accelerate innovation and job creation in the energy sector.”
James Duderstadt, Mark Muro, and Sarah Rahman
Hubs of Transformation: Leveraging the Great Lakes Research Complex for Energy Innovation
Brookings Institution – June 2010 – 8 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/papers/2010/0602_innovation_muro.aspx
“America needs to transform its energy system, and the Great Lakes region… possesses many of the needed innovation assets. For that reason, the federal government should leverage this troubled region’s research and engineering strengths by launching a region-wide network of collaborative, high-intensity energy research and innovation centers.”
TRANSPORTATION
The Recovery Act: Transforming America’s Transportation Sector – Batteries and Electric Vehicles
U.S. Department of Energy – July 14, 2010 – 8 pages
http://www.whitehouse.gov/files/documents/Battery-and-Electric-Vehicle-Report-FINAL.pdf
“The Obama Administration is investing in a broad portfolio of advanced vehicle technologies…. Investments in batteries alone, for example, should help lower the cost of some electric car batteries by nearly 70 percent before the end of 2015. What’s more, thanks in part to these investments, U.S. factories will be able to produce batteries and components to support up to 500,000 electric-drive vehicles annually by 2015. Overall, these investments will create tens of thousands of American jobs.”
Policies to Reduce Oil Consumption Through the Promotion of Accelerated Deployment of Electric-Drive Vehicles, as Proposed in S. 3495, the Promoting Electric Vehicles Act of 2010
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources – Hearing – June 22, 2010
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=40d7de7c-0bca-170d-d5e8-8e3b4ce8ba0b
Witnesses:
David Sandalow - Assistant Secretary for Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Department of Energy
Frederick Smith - Chairman, President, and CEO, FedEx Corporation
Kathryn Clay - Director of Research, Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers
Brian Wynne - President, Electric Drive Transportation Association
David Friedman - Research Director, Union of Concerned Scientists
Alan Crane - Senior Program Officer, National Research Council
ELECTRICITY
Smart Grid
Pew Center on Global Climate Change – Fact Sheet
http://www.pewclimate.org/technology/factsheet/SmartGrid
“The smart grid is a concept referring to the application of digital technology to the electric power sector to improve reliability, reduce cost, increase efficiency, and enable new components and applications.”
Smart Power: Climate Change, Smart Grid and the Future of Electric Utilities
Brookings Institution – Event – April 9, 2010 – 60 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/events/2010/0409_electric_utilities/20100409_electric_utilities.pdf
On April 9, the Brookings Institution hosted Dr. Fox-Penner for a discussion of Smart Power. Following his presentation, a panel of experts shared their perspectives on the future of U.S. energy and climate policy and the importance of the development of the smart grid for meeting our energy goals. Senior Fellow Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings, provided introductory remarks and moderated this discussion.
Smart Grid’s Future: Evaluating Policy Opportunities and Challenges After the Recovery Act
Brookings Institution – Event – July 14, 2010
http://www.brookings.edu/events/2010/0714_smart_grid.aspx
“The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 earmarked $11 billion for smart grid technologies to modernize and enhance the nation’s electric transmission infrastructure. A year later, what are the most promising benefits for everyday citizens who gain access to the grid? What is the right policy path moving forward to realize the promise of the smart grid?”
Smart Grid Architecture and Standards: Assessing Coordination and Progress
House Committee on Science and Technology – Hearing – July 1, 2010
http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2866
“Today we will delve into the standards process in a little more detail, discuss the work that has been done, and see where things are headed. I am particularly interested in the witnesses’ views on the strength of this process thus far and when the witnesses think certification systems will be in place to bring more assurances that the technologies will work together as intended. I will also be interested in the progress of addressing privacy and security challenges posed by the smart grid and the level of international engagement that is necessary for the U.S. to continue its leadership in smart grid technologies.”
Real-Time Forecasting for Renewable Energy Development
House Committee on Science and Technology – Hearing – June 16, 2010
http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2857
“Right now, electric grid managers throughout the country are doing their best to integrate and balance several gigawatts of wind with baseload power options on an hour-by-hour and even minute-by-minute basis. To ensure a steady flow of electricity to their consumers, these managers rely on forecasts of power production…
Recent studies led by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory have shown that improving the accuracy and frequency of these forecasts can have a major impact on the economic viability of renewable energy resources.”
The Galvin Electricity Initiative
http://galvinpower.org/about-us/galvin-electricity-initiative
“The Galvin Electricity Initiative is leading a campaign to transform our nation's power system into one that truly meets our needs for reliable, efficient, clean electricity service. The imperfect quality of power service today robs thousands of dollars a year from each American household, and the transformation of service quality to twenty-first century digital standards is critical to resolving the serious economic and environmental threats facing our nation. The Initiative believes that these threats can only be resolved if we shift to a new industry paradigm that is consumer-centric and driven by entrepreneurial innovation and smart technology.”
NUCLEAR
Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap
Department of Energy – Report to Congress – 60 pages
http://nuclear.gov/pdfFiles/NuclearEnergy_Roadmap_Final.pdf
“To achieve energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction objectives, the United States must develop and deploy clean, affordable, domestic energy sources as quickly as possible. Nuclear power will continue to be a key component of a portfolio of technologies that meets our energy goals. This document provides a roadmap for the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) research, development, and demonstration activities that will ensure nuclear energy remains viable energy option for the United States.”
Charting the Course for American Nuclear Technology: Evaluating the Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Research and Development Roadmap
House Committee on Science and Technology – Hearing – May 19, 2010
http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2818
“I would like to welcome our expert panelists who will discuss and evaluate the four main objectives highlighted in the Roadmap and help us understand how innovation in nuclear energy can affect our national energy portfolio, our economic competitiveness, and our national security.”
OIL
OPEC Revenues Fact Sheet
Energy Information Administration – May 2010 – 3 pages
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/OPEC_Revenues/pdf.pdf
“Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) could earn $783 billion of net oil export revenues in 2010 and $846 billion in 2011. Last year, OPEC earned $573 billion in net oil export revenues, a 41 percent decrease from 2008. Saudi Arabia earned the largest share of these earnings, $154 billion, representing 27 percent of total OPEC revenues. On a per-capita basis, OPEC net oil export earnings reached $1,553 in 2009, a 42 percent decrease from 2008.”
Kristie M. Engemann and Michael T. Owyang
Unconventional Oil Production: Stuck in a Rock and a Hard Place
FRB St Louis – The Regional Economist – July 2010 – 2 pages
http://stlouisfed.org/publications/pub_assets/pdf/re/2010/c/oil.pdf
“Highly variable oil prices and increasing world demand for oil have led producers to look for alternative sources of transportation fuel. Two popular alternatives are oil sands (aka tar sands) and oil shale. However, obtaining usable oil from oil sands or oil shale is more capital-intensive and more expensive than obtaining oil from conventional reserves. At what price of oil do these alternatives become cost-effective?”
Nicolas D. Loris, Claude G. Berube, James Jay Carafano, Ben Lieberman, Jack Spencer, and Matt Mayer
Stopping the Slick, Saving the Environment: A Framework for Response, Recovery, and Resiliency
Heritage Foundation – June 15, 2010 – 17 pages
http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/2010/pdf/SR0080.pdf
“While the federal government may lack the resources and expertise to stop the flowing oil at the site of the disaster, it has the authority and responsibility to play a more proactive and responsive role in mitigating and recovering from the effects of the disaster. After months of observing the federal response, however, it is clear that the response is inadequate.”
Curry L. Hagerty and Jonathan L. Ramseur
Deep Horizon Oil Spill: Selected Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress – Report - June 18, 2010 – 44 pages
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/143929.pdf
“On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire occurred on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. This resulted in 11 worker fatalities, a massive oil release, and a national response effort in the Gulf of Mexico region by the federal and state governments as well as BP. Based on estimates from the Flow Rate Technical Group, which is led by the U.S. Geological Survey, the 2010 Gulf spill has become the largest oil spill in U.S. waters, eclipsing the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill several times over. The oil spill has damaged natural resources and has had regional economic impacts. In addition, questions have been raised as to whether the regulations and regulators of offshore oil exploration have kept pace with the increasingly complex technologies needed to explore and develop deeper waters.”
Legislation to Respond to the BP Oil Spill and to Prevent Future Oil Well Blowouts
House -Subcommittee on Energy and Environment – Hearing - June 30,2010
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2055:hearing-on-legislation-to-respond-to-the-bp-oil-spill-and-to-prevent-future-oil-well-blowouts&catid=130:subcommittee-on-energy-and-the-environment&Itemid=71
The hearing focused on the discussion draft entitled the “Blowout Preventer Act of 2010” which was released on Friday, June 26, 2010.
Drilling Down on America’s Energy Future: Safety, Security, and Clean Energy
House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment – Hearing - June 15, 2010
http://energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2034:hearing-on-drilling-down-on-americas-energy-future-safety-security-and-clean-energy&catid=130:subcommittee-on-energy-and-the-environment&Itemid=71
“The top executives of the five largest oil companies will testify regarding the impacts of the nation’s dependence on oil, the safety of drilling operations and the ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and actions to develop and promote the use of renewable and alternative energy sources that can reduce our overall dependence on oil.”
Deepwater Drilling Technology, Research, and Development
House Committee on Science and Technology – Hearing – June 23, 2010
http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2862
“Whether the moratorium on drilling activities in the Gulf is lifted in 30 days or 30 years, we must accept that the hydrocarbon reserves in these fields will be produced someday. And if not there, it will certainly be done somewhere else in the world. Our charge is to understand the technological advances and best practices to further ensure that drilling in the deepwater can be done with minimal risk to workers and the environment.”
Daniel J. Weiss
The High Costs of Offshore Drilling: Deepwater Horizon Underscores Need to Find Sustainable Energy Solutions
Center for American Progress – May 3, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/05/oil_costs.html
“The BP oil disaster will put additional upward pressure on oil prices that were already climbing as global demand for oil increases dramatically over the next two decades. The United States cannot produce its way out of the supply-demand gap. The most cost-effective, speedy way to reduce our oil dependence is not offshore drilling—it is reducing U.S. oil demand.”
Toni Johnson
U.S. Deepwater Drilling's Future
Council on Foreign Relations – May 25, 2010
http://www.cfr.org/publication/22204/us_deepwater_drillings_future.html#
“The Gulf of Mexico oil spill spotlights the growth of deepwater drilling and the challenges of balancing environmental regulation with efforts to expand U.S. domestic oil production.”
Stephen P. A. Brown
Some Implications of Tightening Regulation of U.S. Deepwater Drilling
Resources for the Future – June 2010 – 14 pages
http://www.rff.org/rff/documents/RFF-BCK-Brown-Regulations.pdf
“Can markets, the legal system, and current regulatory policy provide the proper incentives for producers (and consumers) to consider fully the possibility of oil spills and the risks that could ensue while drilling in deepwater offshore areas?”
Jonathon L. Ramseur
Oil Spills in U.S. Coastal Waters: Background, Governance, and Issues for Congress
Congressional Research Service – April 30, 2010 – 38 pages
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL33705_20100430.pdf
“This report reviews the history and trends of oil spills in the United States; identifies the legal authorities governing oil spill prevention, response, and cleanup; and examines the threats of future oil spills in U.S. coastal waters.”
Michael Greenstone
Liability and Financial Responsibility for Oil Spills Under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 and Related Statutes
House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure – Testimony – June 9, 2010
http://www.brookings.edu/testimony/2010/0609_oil_spill_greenstone.aspx
“My primary argument here today is that the removal, or substantial increase, of the liability cap on economic damages from oil spills is the most effective way to align oil companies’ incentives with the American people’s interests…. [I]f the removal of a cap were to compromise energy security goals, it could be paired with economically sound polices that promote domestic production or reduce oil consumption without putting our environmental goals at risk. Such a pairing would allow us to achieve our energy security and environmental goals.”
GAS
Christopher Flavin and Saya Kitasei
The Role of Natural Gas in a Low-Carbon Energy Economy
Worldwatch Institute – April 2010 – 23 pages
http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Worldwatch%20Gas%20Paper%20April%202010.pdf
“The report provides an initiative designed to explore and communicate the potential of natural gas, renewable energy, and energy efficiency to work together to build a low-carbon economy. The project provides a forum to examine potential environmental, social, and political obstacles that must be addressed if natural gas is to accelerate, rather than delay, a low-carbon energy transformation.”
NUCLEAR
Nuclear Regulation in an Era of Growth and Change
Stanford University Energy Seminar – Event – May 18, 2010
http://energyseminar.stanford.edu/node/241
“Nuclear Regulatory Commission Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko will discuss the simultaneous challenges of overseeing the existing fleet of reactors, managing in parallel multiple reactor design certification requests and multiple plant construction license requests, and overseeing the safety of and licensing an expansion of the nuclear fuel industry to support new plants, not to mention the storage of spent fuel.”
BIOFUELS – BIOGAS - BIOMASS
William T. Coyle
Next-Generation Biofuels: Near-Term Challenges and Implications for Agriculture
U.S. Department of Agriculture – May 2010 – 26 pages
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/BIO0101/BIO0101.pdf
“In early 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency lowered the cellulosic biofuel mandate to 6.5 million gallons, more in line with production prospects. Even so, expansion of next-generation fuels will have to be rapid to meet subsequent annual mandates and the longer term goal of 16 billion gallons for cellulosic biofuel use by 2022. Near-term sector challenges include reducing high capital and production costs, acquiring financial resources for precommercial development, and developing new biomass supply arrangements, many of which will be with U.S. farmers.”
Using Biofuel Tax Credits to Achieve Energy and Environmental Policy Goals
Congressional Budget Office – July 2010
http://www.cbo.gov/doc.cfm?index=11477
“The federal government supports the use of biofuels--transportation fuels produced mainly from renewable plant matter, such as corn--in the pursuit of national energy, environmental, and agricultural policy goals. Tax credits encourage the production and sale of biofuels in the United States, effectively lowering the private costs of producing biofuels, such as ethanol or biodiesel, relative to the costs of producing their substitutes--gasoline and diesel fuel. In addition, federal mandates require the use of specified minimum amounts and types of biofuel each year through 2022. Together, the credits and mandates increase domestic supplies of energy and reduce U.S. emissions of greenhouse gases, albeit at a cost to taxpayers.”
A USDA Regional Roadmap to Meeting the Biofuels Goals of the Renewable Fuels Standard by 2022
USDA – Report – June 23, 2010 – 21 pages
http://www.usda.gov/documents/USDA_Biofuels_Report_6232010.pdf
“The U.S. Department of Agriculture is developing a comprehensive regional strategy to help recharge the rural American economy. The strategy targets barriers to the development of a successful biofuels market that will achieve, or surpass, the current U.S. Renewable Fuels Standards (RFS2)… USDA’s objectives for this report include: providing the practical knowledge from the field that can enhance various models for biofuel production, identify challenges and opportunities, and help develop solutions to this massive undertaking.”
AgSTAR Program
USDA – Website
http://www.epa.gov/agstar/
“The AgSTAR Program is a voluntary effort jointly sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Energy. The program encourages the use of methane recovery (biogas) technologies at the confined animal feeding operations that manage manure as liquids or slurries. These technologies reduce methane emissions while achieving other environmental benefits.”
Biomass 2010 Conference
U.S. Department of Energy – March 30-31, 2010
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/biomass/biomass2010/
“More than 600 attendees were able to discuss some of the most pressing issues in the biomass community as well as recent accomplishments and the challenges that lie ahead. We were able to focus on the role of biomass in our nation's energy portfolio and address important issues like technology innovation, biopower, rural development, and commercialization and feature a technical program that took a closer look at foundational science and applied R&D, feedstocks, hyrdrocarbon fuels, and sustainability.”
SOLAR AND WIND
Western Wind and Solar Integration Study
National Renewable Energy Laboratory – May 2010
http://www.nrel.gov/wind/systemsintegration/wwsis.html
This study assesses the operational impacts and economics of increased contributions from wind and solar energy producers on the power grid. It examines the benefits and challenges of integrating enough wind and solar energy capacity into the grid to produce 35 percent of its electricity by 2017. The study finds that this target is technically feasible and does not necessitate extensive additional infrastructure, but does require key changes to current operational practice.
Jenna Goodward
What’s Blocking the Sun?: Solar Photovoltaics for the U.S. Commercial Market
World Resources Institute – May 2010 – 26 pages
http://pdf.wri.org/working_papers/whats_blocking_the_sun.pdf
“This paper provides a snapshot of the current investment environment for solar PV in the United States from the commercial end user’s point of view…. Solar PV installations are concentrated in states with strong financial incentives and no regulatory barriers to distributed generation. Commercial investments have fared worse than the residential market during the economic downturn of the past two years. The policy landscape has improved since 2008, but multiple regulatory barriers remain at the state level and federal support is less certain after 2010…. An analysis of the hurdles remaining for solar PV finds that they are both economic and regulatory.”
Jacob Funk Kirkegaard, Thilo Hanemann, Lutz Weischer, and Matt Miller
Toward a Sunny Future? Global Integration in the Solar PV Industry
Peterson Institute for International Economics – May 2010 – 66 pages
http://piie.com/publications/wp/wp10-6.pdf
“This paper analyzes the global integration of the solar photovoltaic (PV) sector and looks in detail at the industry’s recent growth patterns, industry cost structure, trade and investment patterns, government support policies and employment generation potential…. Lowering existing trade barriers—by abolishing tariffs, reducing non-tariff barriers and harmonizing industry standards—would create a positive policy environment for further global integration.”
MISCELLANEOUS
Deborah Seligsohn and Kelly Levin
China’s Carbon Intensity Goal: A Guide for the Perplexed
World Resources Institute – China FAQs – April 20, 2010 – 7 pages
http://www.chinafaqs.org/files/chinainfo/ChinaFAQs_China's_Carbon_Intensity_Goal_A_Guide_for_the_Perplexed_0.pdf
“In late November 2009, China announced its intention to reduce the intensity of carbon dioxide emissions within the Chinese economy by 40-45% by 2020, as compared with a 2005 baseline…. To enhance understanding of China’s commitment, we provide answers to the major questions related to the Chinese carbon intensity target below.”
Julian L. Wong
China’s Clean Energy Push: Evaluating the Implications for American Competitiveness
Center for American Progress – June 21, 2010
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/06/china_clean_energy_push.html
“Senior staff from the Center for American Progress brought a select group of Senate staffers to visit China in April to meet with policymakers, academics, and companies to better understand China’s clean energy economic development strategy. The visit provided convincing evidence to those involved that China has made large-scale investments in clean energy manufacturing and infrastructure, and that these signal China’s clear desire to lead the world in clean energy technology production, deployment, and eventually innovation.”
Country Analysis Briefs: Algeria
Energy Information Administration
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Algeria/pdf.pdf
“Algeria's hydrocarbons sector accounted for 60 percent of its budget revenues, nearly 30 percent of its GDP, and over 97 percent of its export earnings in 2008, according to the U.S. State Department. Algeria was the sixth largest natural gas producer in the world in 2008 after Russia, the United States, Canada, Iran, and Norway. Algeria produced 3.05 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2008, of which 69 percent was exported and 31 percent was consumed domestically.”
samedi 31 juillet 2010
samedi 7 février 2009
U.S. ECO ONLINE - ENERGY 2009
U.S. ECO ONLINE - ENERGY
EnergyOnLine no 8No 8 – December-January 2008
Annual Energy Outlook 2009
Energy Information Administration - December 17, 2008
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/aeo2009_presentation.pdf [21 pages].
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/appa.pdf [41 pages, Tables]
He early release report presents updated projections for U.S. energy consumption and production through 2030. For the first time in more than 20 years, the new reference case projects virtually no growth in U.S. oil consumption, reflecting the combined effect of recently enacted CAFE standards, requirements for increased use of renewable fuels, and an assumed rebound in oil prices as the world economy recovers.
The President’s Agenda on Energy & the Environment
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment/
“The energy challenges our country faces are severe and have gone unaddressed for far too long. Our addiction to foreign oil doesn't just undermine our national security and wreak havoc on our environment -- it cripples our economy and strains the budgets of working families all across America. President Obama and Vice President Biden have a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs.”
Energy Independence and Global Warming: 110th Congress Final Staff Report
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – December 2008
http://globalwarming.house.gov/mediacenter/pressreleases_2008?id=0059#main_content
“Part I of the report addresses the challenges posed by the climate crisis and America’s growing energy needs. Part II provides recommendations on a series of “win-win” solutions that will bolster America’s energy security while achieving the reductions in global warming pollution needed to save the planet. Part III presents the findings and recommendations resulting from the Select Committee’s oversight activities. Part IV discusses international issues, and reviews the findings of the Select Committee Congressional delegations to Greenland and the EU, Brazil, and India.”
Investing in the Future: R&D Needs to Meet America's Energy and Climate Challenges
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming - Hearing – September 10, 2008
Investing in the Future - R&D needs to meet America's Energy and Climate Challenges
http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs/pubs?id=0053#main_content
“As we have seen here on Capitol Hill and today’s witnesses from our top universities can attest, young people today are bursting with ideas on how to bring about the green energy revolution.”
Witnesses:
Dr. Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Stephen Forrest, Vice President of Research, University of Michigan
Dr. Jack Fellows, Vice President, University Corporation on Atmospheric Research
Dr. Daniel Kammen, Professor, UC-Berkeley
Energy Priorities for the Next Congress
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (Senate Energy Committee)
Remarks at Center for Strategic and International Studies - November 18th, 2008
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=f9032d6a-3f9b-469c-bb64-bee84af7fb22&Month=11&Year=2008&Party=0
“We have just elected a new President, Barack Obama, who campaigned on a strong platform of energy efficiency, energy security, and renewable energy. That gives us the ability to harness his strong interest in energy to an effective bipartisan strategy in Congress. When you can get a combination of White House leadership and bipartisan Congressional engagement, chances of real progress are substantial.”
Making Domestic Energy Affordable
Ben Lieberman and Jack Spencer
The Heritage Foundation - Memo to President-elect Obama - December 8, 2008 – 4 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/obamamemo_6.pdf
“Your promise to address the nation’s high energy costs resonated soundly with the voters, and your pledge to use safe nuclear power as a key part of our energy mix makes sense. You should not let the temporary decrease in gasoline prices distract you from keeping these promises. If you persevere and follow the right steps to open and use all domestic energy sources, including nuclear power, energy will become more affordable and plentiful for all Americans, and the nation will be less reliant on hostile nations for energy.
But you should not undercut these goals by shackling energy with costly restrictions and mandates…”
Investments in Clean Energy and Natural Resources Projects and Programs to Create Green Jobs and to Stimulate the Economy
Senate – Energy Committee – Hearing – December 10, 2009
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=f950a2d8-bd94-5d1f-ec07-a93bf518e2e5
A Framework for Achieving Energy Security and Arresting Global Warming
Ken Berlin Center for American Progress – Report - December 2008 – 34 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/energy_security.pdf
Addressing energy security and arresting climate change will require a transition to a non-carbon based economy and more fuel-efficient vehicles. This will take decades, even with strong measures, so new initiatives will have to be durable enough to withstand political vicissitudes and arguments that regulations should be weakened during economic slowdowns. Because efforts to solve both issues are inextricably intertwined, they must be addressed together, and actions to solve one issue cannot compromise the ability to address the other successfully.
Renewing America: A Blueprint for Economic Recovery
Environment America – Report -November 2008 - 29 pages
http://www.environmentamerica.org/uploads/SO/o9/SOo90pehULc3juLoBFh4Yg/AME_RenewAmerica.pdf
“To revive the American dream, we need to rebuild our economy on a sound foundation—one that puts people back to work, contributes to long-term prosperity, rebuilds our communities, and protects our environment. There is one path to a renewed economy that achieves all of those goals—one that is increasingly recognized by opinion leaders, politicians, investors and workers as our best chance to work our way out of our current economic troubles, while building a stronger, more self-reliant and environmentally responsible America. It is the path to a clean energy future.”
IER’s Bold Stimulus Plan: A Roadmap to Improving the Economy and Creating Jobs, All at No Cost to the Taxpayer
Institute for Energy Research – January 27, 2009
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2009/01/27/ier-offers-economic-stimulus-plan-urges-president-obama-to-adopt-historic-change/
“IER supports government policies that encourage private investment, foster job creation, and provide American consumers access to the vast, proven, affordable energy supplies they own beneath the 2.3 billion acres of government lands not leased for responsible energy production. These enormous taxpayer-owned resources, and the American jobs they would create, have been held hostage by a decades-long government policy of saying, “No, we can’t”… IER’s plan represents the most significant change in government energy policy in more than three decades. We urge the Obama Administration to say, “Yes, we can” to our two-part plan, which begins by embracing the fundamental medical precept: First, Do No Harm.”
Putting Energy in the White House
Dave Edwards
Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President – January 15, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900202&contentID=254867
“Without a transformation of the energy industry, the unchecked American reliance upon fossil fuel will diminish our economy, distort our foreign policy, and further disrupt our natural environment. We can do better -- much better. The United States has the opportunity to be the world's energy innovation leader, creating a cleaner, more secure, and more prosperous future.”
Stimulus Package and Energy: Creating Green Jobs, Opportunities for All
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – Hearing – January 15, 2009
http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs/pubs?id=0062#main_content
The Committee devoted its first hearing of the 111th Congress to creating jobs and stimulating our economy through renewable energy and efficiency programs. The panel included Van Jones, founder of Green for All, an organization promoting green-collar jobs and opportunities for the disadvantaged; Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia; Trevor Houser, an expert on energy markets and climate change; and Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.
Rethinking “Energy Independence”
Pietro S. Nivola The Brookings Institution – Study -December 29, 2008, – 12 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2008/1230_energy_nivola/1230_energy_nivola.pdf
Political leaders repeatedly point out that our current addiction to foreign oil is a matter of national security. The author challenges the assumption that the less oil the U.S. buys from abroad, the more insulated our economy will be from vagaries of the international oil market.
Current Energy Security Challenges
Senate – Committee on Energy and Natural Resources – Hearing – January 8, 2009
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=a7191f17-ce69-0588-430b-afe1a28d41b8
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Energy Efficiency as Economic Stimulus
Daniel Sosland, Derek Murrow, and Samuel Krasnow Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President - December 12, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900194&contentID=254849
Energy efficiency -- a huge economic category that includes the design and installation of "green" insulation, lighting, building materials, appliances, vehicles, heating-and- cooling systems, and countless other technologies -- fits your economic-stimulus needs ideally, with important additional benefits for the health of our environment and the security of our nation.
Assessment of Achievable Potential from Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs in the U.S. (2010-2030)
Electric Power Institute - Web posted January 22, 2009 – 342 pages
http://my.epri.com/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_1630_277_848_43/http%3B/myepri10%3B80/EPRIDocumentAccess/popup.aspx/000000000001016987
Energy efficiency programs in the United States could realistically reduce the rate of growth for electricity consumption by 22 percent over the next two decades if key barriers can be addressed, according to the analysis. The potential energy savings in 2030 would be 236 billion kilowatt hours, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 14 New York Cities. However, achieving the ideal would require costly investments as well as political and regulatory support.
Measuring and Reducing Americans' Indirect Energy Use
Kenneth P. Green and Aparna Mathur
AEI Online - Energy and Environment Outlook - December 4, 2008- 6 pages
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.29020/pub_detail.asp
“The focus on direct energy use obscures the fact that Americans have many choices when it comes to reducing their energy and environmental footprint besides cutting back on the direct use of oil, natural gas, and electricity. Those who want to reduce their energy consumption but are unable or unwilling to forego the roomier house or car can cut down on discretionary medical purchases; minimize pharmaceutical waste; cut back on air travel; and replace high-energy foods (beef and refined grain products) with lower-energy foods such as poultry, legumes, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Can we both preserve consumer choice and expand options for energy conservation? Yes, we can.”
Green Affordable Housing: Within Our Reach
David M. Abromowitz Center for American Progress - December 2008 - 30 pages.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/green_housing.pdf
The incoming Obama administration is poised to join with the 111th Congress on an ambitious agenda of reducing energy consumption, curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating a viable green jobs sector. To achieve these goals, one cannot afford to ignore housing, in particular the currently existing affordable housing. Affordable housing, consisting of almost 4.75 million apartments (nearly 14 percent of the nation’s 35 million rental units), is federally assisted in some way and thus open to clearly targeted green policies.
Lowering the Cost of Play: Improving Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) - Issue Paper - November 2008 - 29 pages.
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/consoles/files/consoles.pdf
More than 40 percent of all homes in the United States contain at least one video game console. Video game consoles consumed an estimated 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year -- roughly equal to the annual electricity use of the city of San Diego. This issue paper provides recommendations for users, video game console manufacturers, component suppliers and the software companies that design games for improving the efficiency of video game consoles already in homes as well as future generations of machines.0
OIL
The Oil-Price Roller Coaster: Global Challenges for the Obama Administration
Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., and Owen Graham The Heritage Foundation – Backgrounder – December 18, 2008 – 16 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/bg_2216.pdf
The U.S. should increase pressure on OPEC and non-OPEC countries, which are failing to meet production forecasts, to open access to IOCs while authorizing oil production in ANWR, other promising Arctic areas, and the lower 48 states to expand domestic energy production. Rising oil consumption within key oil-producing states leaves less oil for export, posing a significant constraint on future supply.
Research and Development: DOE Could Enhance the Project Selection Process for Government Oil and Natural Gas Research
GAO – Report -December 29, 2008 - 37 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-186
“A recent GAO report noted important criteria for the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider in evaluating its oil and natural gas R&D efforts—including the likelihood that industry would perform the research without federal funding. The Office of Management and Budget has raised similar concerns. In this context, GAO was asked to review (1) how much U.S. industry has invested in oil and natural gas R&D over the last 10 years, and the current focus of these activities; (2) how DOE’s oil and natural gas R&D funding and activities compare with industry’s; and (3) to what extent DOE ensures that its oil and natural gas R&D would not occur without federal funding.”
Drilling in the Great Lakes: Background and Issues
Pervaze A. Sheikh and Adam Vann Congressional Research Service (CRS) - November 11, 2008 - 24 pages
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/112526.pdf (Tip: copy and paste in your browser)
Drilling for oil and gas in or under the Great Lakes has generated interest among Great Lakes stakeholders, states, and Congress. Some opposed to drilling are concerned about the potential environmental, economic, and public health consequences. They contend that drilling will raise the risks of oil spills, hazardous gas leaks, and pollution that may harm lakeside residents and the Great Lakes ecosystem. Proponents of oil and gas drilling contend that drilling will increase local and regional tax revenues and employment, increase domestic energy production, and not be an environmental problem because of new technologies that lower the risks of oil spills and other accidents.
How to Save Gas
Phil Davies FRB Minneapolis – The Region – December 2008 – 8 pages
http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/08-12/davies.pdf
Pricing mechanisms, not fuel-economy standards, offer the best hope for reducing motor fuel consumption.
COAL
The True Cost of Coal
Greenpeace – Report - Web posted December 1, 2008 -92 pages
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/true-cost-coal.pdf
According to the report, the global cost of coal was at least €360 billion last year alone. The figure arrives from CO2 damage costs, health costs and mining accidents. Coal burning has existed for centuries, and its use as a fuel has been recorded since the 1100s. It powered the Industrial Revolution, changing the course of first Britain, and then the world, in the process. In the U.S., the first coal-fired power plant opened on the shores of the lower East River in New York City in September 1882. Today, coal is used to produce nearly 40% of the world’s electricity. However, burning coal is one of the most harmful practices on the planet. 0
The Hidden Costs of Clean Coal: The Environmental and Human Disaster of Longwall Mining
Center for Public Integrity - January 13, 2009
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/longwall/
Longwall mining is a highly productive underground process employed to quickly and cheaply extract coal, but the practice comes with a steep environmental price, as documented in a year-long investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. The report turns a spotlight on a devastating mining method that most Americans outside northern Appalachia have never heard of. An estimated 10 percent of all U.S. electricity now depends on coal from longwall mining, which has grown over the years in Appalachia and in the states of Illinois, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The Clean Coal Smoke Screen
Daniel J. Weiss, Nick Kong, Sam Schiller, Alexandra Kougentakis
Center for American Progress – Analysis - December 22, 2008 – 5 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/clean_coal.html
“Despite the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity's attempts to convince Americans that “clean coal” is the solution to global warming, a CAP analysis determined that ACCCE’s companies spend relatively few dollars conducting research on carbon capture and storage, the most promising clean coal technology to reduce global warming pollution from coal-fired power plants. The coal and utility industries have spent millions of dollars to oppose mandatory reductions in global warming pollution until CCS is commercialized. Yet their paltry CCS research investment demonstrates that the ads and other public clean coal activities are merely designed to delay global warming solutions without suffering a public relations black eye.”
Producing Liquid Fuels from Coal: Prospects and Policy Issues
James T. Bartis et al. RAND Corporation – Monograph - January 2009 – 199 pages
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG754.pdf
The federal government can spark the creation of a commercially competitive coal-to-liquids industry by fostering early development of plants that would produce transportation fuels from coal, according to the study. It finds that a commercially competitive U.S. coal-to-liquids industry could produce as much as three million barrels of high-quality liquid fuels per day by 2030, an amount equivalent to 15 percent of current U.S. oil demand.
Importing Pollution: Coals’s Threat to Climate Policy in the U.S. Northeast
Union of Concerned Scientists - December 2008 – 44 pages
http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_energy/importing-pollution_report.pdf
The Northeast’s cap-and-trade system for global warming pollution will be compromised unless utilities are prevented from importing additional coal-fired electricity, according to the report. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which applies to power plants in 10 Northeastern states, does not preclude the utilities that supply electricity to Northeast homes and businesses from buying more electricity from coal-fired power plants outside the region. That could increase the carbon dioxide emissions from those plants outside the region, offsetting emissions reductions under RGGI.
NUCLEAR
Protectionism Won't Fuel a Nuclear Renaissance
Jack Spencer and Daniella Markheim The Heritage Foundation – Backgrounder – December 16, 2008 – 8 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/bg_2221.pdf
Expansion of nuclear power will result in increased demand for uranium. Growing fuel markets will create the environment that can sustain new enrichment capacity; artificially protecting domestic suppliers will not. The U.S. needs a domestic supplier of enriched uranium for national security purposes. The U.S. and Russia must continue to convert Russian weapons-grade uranium for use in peaceful power reactors.
Prime Numbers: The Nuclear Option
Charles D. Ferguson and Michelle M. Smith
Foreign Policy – Article - January/February 2009
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4586
“After a decades-long slowdown, nuclear power once again dominates global energy debate. Dozens of countries are vying to join the nuclear power club, and hundreds of new reactors are on the drawing board. But nuclear energy will not be the miracle cure for energy dependence or global warming that its proponents promise.”
Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power
Craig A. Severance
Climate Progress – Study – January 5, 2009 - 37 pages
http://climateprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/nuclear-costs-2009.pdf
Several U.S. utilities are now advancing proposals for a new generation of nuclear power plants. Though massive cost overruns and construction delays in the 1970's and 1980's caused U.S. utilities to cancel over 130 nuclear plant orders 1, the nuclear industry is now hoping to ride a wave of concern over global warming. Can new nuclear power help the U.S. electric power industry cut greenhouse gas emissions, at a reasonable cost?
America's Nuclear Waste and What to Do With It
Bill Magwood and Mark Ribbing
Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President - November 7, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900194&contentID=254827
A candid discussion is needed -- within your new administration and in the country as a whole -- about nuclear energy, a non-climate- changing power source that is actually capable of generating significant amounts of energy in the near term. The key to making nuclear energy a more viable alternative is the adoption of advanced spent-fuel recycling techniques to deal with one of nuclear power's most vexing problems -- the presence of radioactive waste material.
Creating a Nuclear-Fuel Bank
Sen. Evan Bayh Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President - December 5, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900194&contentID=254843
How do we respond to valid and growing demands for civilian nuclear energy worldwide without permitting more countries to acquire nuclear weapons? The answer, in my view, is to set up an international nuclear-fuel bank that would supply fuel to any country that agrees not to develop its own enriching and reprocessing facilities.
Demonstration of the Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Decommissioned Nuclear Power Reactor Sites
Department of Energy - Report to Congress - December 2008 – 26 pages
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/info_library/program_docs/ES_Interim_Storage_Report_120108.pdf
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s report discusses the status of the commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) inventory in the United States, at both decommissioned and operating commercial nuclear power reactor sites. It also summarizes the contractual arrangement the Government and utilities have under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (10 CFR Part 961), related litigation, and the financial liabilities resulting from the Department’s delay in performance under these contracts. Further, the report identifies legislative changes and actions that would be necessary for the Department to develop an interim storage facility and demonstration program for commercial SNF from the decommissioned reactor sites.
RENEWABLES
Toward a Just and Sustainable Solar Energy Industry
Dustin Mulvaney et al. Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition January 14, 2009 – 48 pages
http://www.etoxics.org/site/DocServer/Silicon_Valley_Toxics_Coalition_-_Toward_a_Just_and_Sust.pdf?docID=821
The report documents and analyzes the environmental and health hazards of solar panel systems in a supposed “win-win” solution to global warming. It covers the health and safety concerns as well as recommendations for building a just and sustainable solar energy industry.
Wind Energy Grows by Record 8,300 Mw in 2008
American Wind Energy Association - January 27, 2009 –
http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/wind_energy_growth2008_27Jan09.html
The U.S. wind energy industry shattered all previous records in 2008 by installing 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity, enough to serve over 2 million homes, reports the study. The massive growth in 2008 swelled the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50% and channeled an investment of some $17 billion into the economy, positioning wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in the country today along with natural gas. At year’s end, however, financing for new projects and orders for turbine components slowed to a trickle and layoffs began to hit the wind turbine manufacturing sector.
Wind Energy for a New Era
American Wind Energy Association – November 2008 – 24 pages
http://www.newwindagenda.org/documents/Wind_Agenda_Report.pdf
Developed for the new President and Congress, Wind Energy for a New Era presents the wind energy industry’s federal policy agenda. An overview of the recommendations as well as the full report are available.
ELECTRICITY
Electric Power Industry 2007: Year in Review
Energy Information Administration - January 21, 2009
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epa_sum.html
In 2007, average retail electricity prices increased 2.6 percent from 8.9 to 9.1 cents per kilowatthour (kWh) This followed a 3-year period during which average fossil fuel prices for electricity generation increased a cumulative 30.2 percent. As fuel prices increased 30.2 percent, the National average retail price of electricity increased 17.0 percent from 7.6 cents per kWh in 2004 to 8.9 cents per kWh in 2006. Fossil fuel prices increased an additional 7.0 percent in 2007, contributing to the 2.6 percent average retail electricity rate increase.
Identifying Hurdles to Renewable Electricity Transmission
Kit Batten, Kari Manlove Center for American Progress – Report - December 18, 2008 – 8pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/renewable_transmission.pdf
The electricity grid in the United States is often heralded as one of the world’s first great technological achievements in modern history. The grid pioneered national access to electricity and spurred prosperity, and it now represents a central piece of economic and societal infrastructure. But nearly a century after grid construction began, no major updates have occurred. The current grid configuration cannot handle the growth in electricity demand expected over the next few decades unless we act quickly to modernize it. Our electricity grid is an integral but often overlooked element in the shift to a low-carbon economy. This report seeks to highlight the multiple challenges and opportunities for action to vastly increase our nation’s renewable energy generation and connect this clean energy to the grid via advanced electrical transmission construction.
Affordable Home Energy
Joy Moses Center for American Progress – Report - December 2008 - 46 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/liheap.pdf
“It is imperative that Americans prioritize a policy agenda that solves the problem of unaf¬fordable home energy for low-income households—health, safety, and other relevant concerns dictate this course of action.” The author offers recommendations to help low-income households with their energy costs.
Lights Out for Thomas Edison
Sterling Burnett and Amanda Berg National Center for Policy Analysis - January 11, 2009
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba637/
Although touted by many as the smart energy choice, compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are not suitable for many common uses and should not be required by the government, according to the report. The authors argue: “For many uses, compact fluorescent bulbs may be more costly and troublesome than they’re worth.” The report concludes that despite manufacturer claims, many CFLs don’t come close to lasting the 10,000 hours they are supposed to last. In addition, CFLs also contain potentially toxic mercury, therefore, CFL disposal and breakage presents numerous health and environmental concerns.
CARBON EMISSIONS
Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap
Christopher Flavin Worldwatch Institute - January 6, 2009 – 52 pages
http://www.worldwatch.org/press/prerelease/EWP178.pdf
New technologies will permit rapid de-carbonization of the world energy economy in the next two decades, according to the report. These new energy sources will make it possible to retire hundreds of coal-fired power plants that now provide 40 percent of the world’s power by 2030, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions while creating millions of new jobs. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels will diminish the climate crisis and will also act as an agent of recovery for an ailing global economy. Rebuilding the global energy system has the potential to create thousands of new businesses and millions of new jobs.
CO2-Emission Cuts: The Economic Costs of the EPA's ANPR Regulations
David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D., and Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D. The Heritage Foundation - Center for Data Analysis – Report - 29 October 2008 – 16 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/CDA_08-10.pdf
The EPA's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) proposes an unprecedented expansion of federal ability to regulate CO2 emissions. Its limits on CO2 emissions would impose significant costs on virtually the entire American economy. Even under a fairly optimistic set of assumptions, the economic impact of the ANPR is likely to be serious for the job market, household budgets, and the economy overall.
EnergyOnLine no 8No 8 – December-January 2008
Annual Energy Outlook 2009
Energy Information Administration - December 17, 2008
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/aeo2009_presentation.pdf [21 pages].
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/pdf/appa.pdf [41 pages, Tables]
He early release report presents updated projections for U.S. energy consumption and production through 2030. For the first time in more than 20 years, the new reference case projects virtually no growth in U.S. oil consumption, reflecting the combined effect of recently enacted CAFE standards, requirements for increased use of renewable fuels, and an assumed rebound in oil prices as the world economy recovers.
The President’s Agenda on Energy & the Environment
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/energy_and_environment/
“The energy challenges our country faces are severe and have gone unaddressed for far too long. Our addiction to foreign oil doesn't just undermine our national security and wreak havoc on our environment -- it cripples our economy and strains the budgets of working families all across America. President Obama and Vice President Biden have a comprehensive plan to invest in alternative and renewable energy, end our addiction to foreign oil, address the global climate crisis and create millions of new jobs.”
Energy Independence and Global Warming: 110th Congress Final Staff Report
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – December 2008
http://globalwarming.house.gov/mediacenter/pressreleases_2008?id=0059#main_content
“Part I of the report addresses the challenges posed by the climate crisis and America’s growing energy needs. Part II provides recommendations on a series of “win-win” solutions that will bolster America’s energy security while achieving the reductions in global warming pollution needed to save the planet. Part III presents the findings and recommendations resulting from the Select Committee’s oversight activities. Part IV discusses international issues, and reviews the findings of the Select Committee Congressional delegations to Greenland and the EU, Brazil, and India.”
Investing in the Future: R&D Needs to Meet America's Energy and Climate Challenges
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming - Hearing – September 10, 2008
Investing in the Future - R&D needs to meet America's Energy and Climate Challenges
http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs/pubs?id=0053#main_content
“As we have seen here on Capitol Hill and today’s witnesses from our top universities can attest, young people today are bursting with ideas on how to bring about the green energy revolution.”
Witnesses:
Dr. Susan Hockfield, President, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Dr. Stephen Forrest, Vice President of Research, University of Michigan
Dr. Jack Fellows, Vice President, University Corporation on Atmospheric Research
Dr. Daniel Kammen, Professor, UC-Berkeley
Energy Priorities for the Next Congress
Sen. Jeff Bingaman (Senate Energy Committee)
Remarks at Center for Strategic and International Studies - November 18th, 2008
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=f9032d6a-3f9b-469c-bb64-bee84af7fb22&Month=11&Year=2008&Party=0
“We have just elected a new President, Barack Obama, who campaigned on a strong platform of energy efficiency, energy security, and renewable energy. That gives us the ability to harness his strong interest in energy to an effective bipartisan strategy in Congress. When you can get a combination of White House leadership and bipartisan Congressional engagement, chances of real progress are substantial.”
Making Domestic Energy Affordable
Ben Lieberman and Jack Spencer
The Heritage Foundation - Memo to President-elect Obama - December 8, 2008 – 4 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/obamamemo_6.pdf
“Your promise to address the nation’s high energy costs resonated soundly with the voters, and your pledge to use safe nuclear power as a key part of our energy mix makes sense. You should not let the temporary decrease in gasoline prices distract you from keeping these promises. If you persevere and follow the right steps to open and use all domestic energy sources, including nuclear power, energy will become more affordable and plentiful for all Americans, and the nation will be less reliant on hostile nations for energy.
But you should not undercut these goals by shackling energy with costly restrictions and mandates…”
Investments in Clean Energy and Natural Resources Projects and Programs to Create Green Jobs and to Stimulate the Economy
Senate – Energy Committee – Hearing – December 10, 2009
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=f950a2d8-bd94-5d1f-ec07-a93bf518e2e5
A Framework for Achieving Energy Security and Arresting Global Warming
Ken Berlin Center for American Progress – Report - December 2008 – 34 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/energy_security.pdf
Addressing energy security and arresting climate change will require a transition to a non-carbon based economy and more fuel-efficient vehicles. This will take decades, even with strong measures, so new initiatives will have to be durable enough to withstand political vicissitudes and arguments that regulations should be weakened during economic slowdowns. Because efforts to solve both issues are inextricably intertwined, they must be addressed together, and actions to solve one issue cannot compromise the ability to address the other successfully.
Renewing America: A Blueprint for Economic Recovery
Environment America – Report -November 2008 - 29 pages
http://www.environmentamerica.org/uploads/SO/o9/SOo90pehULc3juLoBFh4Yg/AME_RenewAmerica.pdf
“To revive the American dream, we need to rebuild our economy on a sound foundation—one that puts people back to work, contributes to long-term prosperity, rebuilds our communities, and protects our environment. There is one path to a renewed economy that achieves all of those goals—one that is increasingly recognized by opinion leaders, politicians, investors and workers as our best chance to work our way out of our current economic troubles, while building a stronger, more self-reliant and environmentally responsible America. It is the path to a clean energy future.”
IER’s Bold Stimulus Plan: A Roadmap to Improving the Economy and Creating Jobs, All at No Cost to the Taxpayer
Institute for Energy Research – January 27, 2009
http://www.instituteforenergyresearch.org/2009/01/27/ier-offers-economic-stimulus-plan-urges-president-obama-to-adopt-historic-change/
“IER supports government policies that encourage private investment, foster job creation, and provide American consumers access to the vast, proven, affordable energy supplies they own beneath the 2.3 billion acres of government lands not leased for responsible energy production. These enormous taxpayer-owned resources, and the American jobs they would create, have been held hostage by a decades-long government policy of saying, “No, we can’t”… IER’s plan represents the most significant change in government energy policy in more than three decades. We urge the Obama Administration to say, “Yes, we can” to our two-part plan, which begins by embracing the fundamental medical precept: First, Do No Harm.”
Putting Energy in the White House
Dave Edwards
Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President – January 15, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900202&contentID=254867
“Without a transformation of the energy industry, the unchecked American reliance upon fossil fuel will diminish our economy, distort our foreign policy, and further disrupt our natural environment. We can do better -- much better. The United States has the opportunity to be the world's energy innovation leader, creating a cleaner, more secure, and more prosperous future.”
Stimulus Package and Energy: Creating Green Jobs, Opportunities for All
Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming – Hearing – January 15, 2009
http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs/pubs?id=0062#main_content
The Committee devoted its first hearing of the 111th Congress to creating jobs and stimulating our economy through renewable energy and efficiency programs. The panel included Van Jones, founder of Green for All, an organization promoting green-collar jobs and opportunities for the disadvantaged; Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia; Trevor Houser, an expert on energy markets and climate change; and Denise Bode, CEO of the American Wind Energy Association.
Rethinking “Energy Independence”
Pietro S. Nivola The Brookings Institution – Study -December 29, 2008, – 12 pages
http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2008/1230_energy_nivola/1230_energy_nivola.pdf
Political leaders repeatedly point out that our current addiction to foreign oil is a matter of national security. The author challenges the assumption that the less oil the U.S. buys from abroad, the more insulated our economy will be from vagaries of the international oil market.
Current Energy Security Challenges
Senate – Committee on Energy and Natural Resources – Hearing – January 8, 2009
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=a7191f17-ce69-0588-430b-afe1a28d41b8
ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Energy Efficiency as Economic Stimulus
Daniel Sosland, Derek Murrow, and Samuel Krasnow Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President - December 12, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900194&contentID=254849
Energy efficiency -- a huge economic category that includes the design and installation of "green" insulation, lighting, building materials, appliances, vehicles, heating-and- cooling systems, and countless other technologies -- fits your economic-stimulus needs ideally, with important additional benefits for the health of our environment and the security of our nation.
Assessment of Achievable Potential from Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Programs in the U.S. (2010-2030)
Electric Power Institute - Web posted January 22, 2009 – 342 pages
http://my.epri.com/portal/server.pt/gateway/PTARGS_0_2_1630_277_848_43/http%3B/myepri10%3B80/EPRIDocumentAccess/popup.aspx/000000000001016987
Energy efficiency programs in the United States could realistically reduce the rate of growth for electricity consumption by 22 percent over the next two decades if key barriers can be addressed, according to the analysis. The potential energy savings in 2030 would be 236 billion kilowatt hours, equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 14 New York Cities. However, achieving the ideal would require costly investments as well as political and regulatory support.
Measuring and Reducing Americans' Indirect Energy Use
Kenneth P. Green and Aparna Mathur
AEI Online - Energy and Environment Outlook - December 4, 2008- 6 pages
http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.29020/pub_detail.asp
“The focus on direct energy use obscures the fact that Americans have many choices when it comes to reducing their energy and environmental footprint besides cutting back on the direct use of oil, natural gas, and electricity. Those who want to reduce their energy consumption but are unable or unwilling to forego the roomier house or car can cut down on discretionary medical purchases; minimize pharmaceutical waste; cut back on air travel; and replace high-energy foods (beef and refined grain products) with lower-energy foods such as poultry, legumes, and fresh fruits and vegetables. Can we both preserve consumer choice and expand options for energy conservation? Yes, we can.”
Green Affordable Housing: Within Our Reach
David M. Abromowitz Center for American Progress - December 2008 - 30 pages.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/green_housing.pdf
The incoming Obama administration is poised to join with the 111th Congress on an ambitious agenda of reducing energy consumption, curbing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating a viable green jobs sector. To achieve these goals, one cannot afford to ignore housing, in particular the currently existing affordable housing. Affordable housing, consisting of almost 4.75 million apartments (nearly 14 percent of the nation’s 35 million rental units), is federally assisted in some way and thus open to clearly targeted green policies.
Lowering the Cost of Play: Improving Energy Efficiency of Video Game Consoles
Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) - Issue Paper - November 2008 - 29 pages.
http://www.nrdc.org/energy/consoles/files/consoles.pdf
More than 40 percent of all homes in the United States contain at least one video game console. Video game consoles consumed an estimated 16 billion kilowatt-hours per year -- roughly equal to the annual electricity use of the city of San Diego. This issue paper provides recommendations for users, video game console manufacturers, component suppliers and the software companies that design games for improving the efficiency of video game consoles already in homes as well as future generations of machines.0
OIL
The Oil-Price Roller Coaster: Global Challenges for the Obama Administration
Ariel Cohen, Ph.D., and Owen Graham The Heritage Foundation – Backgrounder – December 18, 2008 – 16 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/bg_2216.pdf
The U.S. should increase pressure on OPEC and non-OPEC countries, which are failing to meet production forecasts, to open access to IOCs while authorizing oil production in ANWR, other promising Arctic areas, and the lower 48 states to expand domestic energy production. Rising oil consumption within key oil-producing states leaves less oil for export, posing a significant constraint on future supply.
Research and Development: DOE Could Enhance the Project Selection Process for Government Oil and Natural Gas Research
GAO – Report -December 29, 2008 - 37 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-186
“A recent GAO report noted important criteria for the Department of Energy (DOE) to consider in evaluating its oil and natural gas R&D efforts—including the likelihood that industry would perform the research without federal funding. The Office of Management and Budget has raised similar concerns. In this context, GAO was asked to review (1) how much U.S. industry has invested in oil and natural gas R&D over the last 10 years, and the current focus of these activities; (2) how DOE’s oil and natural gas R&D funding and activities compare with industry’s; and (3) to what extent DOE ensures that its oil and natural gas R&D would not occur without federal funding.”
Drilling in the Great Lakes: Background and Issues
Pervaze A. Sheikh and Adam Vann Congressional Research Service (CRS) - November 11, 2008 - 24 pages
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/112526.pdf (Tip: copy and paste in your browser)
Drilling for oil and gas in or under the Great Lakes has generated interest among Great Lakes stakeholders, states, and Congress. Some opposed to drilling are concerned about the potential environmental, economic, and public health consequences. They contend that drilling will raise the risks of oil spills, hazardous gas leaks, and pollution that may harm lakeside residents and the Great Lakes ecosystem. Proponents of oil and gas drilling contend that drilling will increase local and regional tax revenues and employment, increase domestic energy production, and not be an environmental problem because of new technologies that lower the risks of oil spills and other accidents.
How to Save Gas
Phil Davies FRB Minneapolis – The Region – December 2008 – 8 pages
http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/region/08-12/davies.pdf
Pricing mechanisms, not fuel-economy standards, offer the best hope for reducing motor fuel consumption.
COAL
The True Cost of Coal
Greenpeace – Report - Web posted December 1, 2008 -92 pages
http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/true-cost-coal.pdf
According to the report, the global cost of coal was at least €360 billion last year alone. The figure arrives from CO2 damage costs, health costs and mining accidents. Coal burning has existed for centuries, and its use as a fuel has been recorded since the 1100s. It powered the Industrial Revolution, changing the course of first Britain, and then the world, in the process. In the U.S., the first coal-fired power plant opened on the shores of the lower East River in New York City in September 1882. Today, coal is used to produce nearly 40% of the world’s electricity. However, burning coal is one of the most harmful practices on the planet. 0
The Hidden Costs of Clean Coal: The Environmental and Human Disaster of Longwall Mining
Center for Public Integrity - January 13, 2009
http://www.publicintegrity.org/investigations/longwall/
Longwall mining is a highly productive underground process employed to quickly and cheaply extract coal, but the practice comes with a steep environmental price, as documented in a year-long investigation by the Center for Public Integrity. The report turns a spotlight on a devastating mining method that most Americans outside northern Appalachia have never heard of. An estimated 10 percent of all U.S. electricity now depends on coal from longwall mining, which has grown over the years in Appalachia and in the states of Illinois, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
The Clean Coal Smoke Screen
Daniel J. Weiss, Nick Kong, Sam Schiller, Alexandra Kougentakis
Center for American Progress – Analysis - December 22, 2008 – 5 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/clean_coal.html
“Despite the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity's attempts to convince Americans that “clean coal” is the solution to global warming, a CAP analysis determined that ACCCE’s companies spend relatively few dollars conducting research on carbon capture and storage, the most promising clean coal technology to reduce global warming pollution from coal-fired power plants. The coal and utility industries have spent millions of dollars to oppose mandatory reductions in global warming pollution until CCS is commercialized. Yet their paltry CCS research investment demonstrates that the ads and other public clean coal activities are merely designed to delay global warming solutions without suffering a public relations black eye.”
Producing Liquid Fuels from Coal: Prospects and Policy Issues
James T. Bartis et al. RAND Corporation – Monograph - January 2009 – 199 pages
http://www.rand.org/pubs/monographs/2008/RAND_MG754.pdf
The federal government can spark the creation of a commercially competitive coal-to-liquids industry by fostering early development of plants that would produce transportation fuels from coal, according to the study. It finds that a commercially competitive U.S. coal-to-liquids industry could produce as much as three million barrels of high-quality liquid fuels per day by 2030, an amount equivalent to 15 percent of current U.S. oil demand.
Importing Pollution: Coals’s Threat to Climate Policy in the U.S. Northeast
Union of Concerned Scientists - December 2008 – 44 pages
http://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/clean_energy/importing-pollution_report.pdf
The Northeast’s cap-and-trade system for global warming pollution will be compromised unless utilities are prevented from importing additional coal-fired electricity, according to the report. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), which applies to power plants in 10 Northeastern states, does not preclude the utilities that supply electricity to Northeast homes and businesses from buying more electricity from coal-fired power plants outside the region. That could increase the carbon dioxide emissions from those plants outside the region, offsetting emissions reductions under RGGI.
NUCLEAR
Protectionism Won't Fuel a Nuclear Renaissance
Jack Spencer and Daniella Markheim The Heritage Foundation – Backgrounder – December 16, 2008 – 8 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/bg_2221.pdf
Expansion of nuclear power will result in increased demand for uranium. Growing fuel markets will create the environment that can sustain new enrichment capacity; artificially protecting domestic suppliers will not. The U.S. needs a domestic supplier of enriched uranium for national security purposes. The U.S. and Russia must continue to convert Russian weapons-grade uranium for use in peaceful power reactors.
Prime Numbers: The Nuclear Option
Charles D. Ferguson and Michelle M. Smith
Foreign Policy – Article - January/February 2009
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4586
“After a decades-long slowdown, nuclear power once again dominates global energy debate. Dozens of countries are vying to join the nuclear power club, and hundreds of new reactors are on the drawing board. But nuclear energy will not be the miracle cure for energy dependence or global warming that its proponents promise.”
Business Risks and Costs of New Nuclear Power
Craig A. Severance
Climate Progress – Study – January 5, 2009 - 37 pages
http://climateprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/nuclear-costs-2009.pdf
Several U.S. utilities are now advancing proposals for a new generation of nuclear power plants. Though massive cost overruns and construction delays in the 1970's and 1980's caused U.S. utilities to cancel over 130 nuclear plant orders 1, the nuclear industry is now hoping to ride a wave of concern over global warming. Can new nuclear power help the U.S. electric power industry cut greenhouse gas emissions, at a reasonable cost?
America's Nuclear Waste and What to Do With It
Bill Magwood and Mark Ribbing
Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President - November 7, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900194&contentID=254827
A candid discussion is needed -- within your new administration and in the country as a whole -- about nuclear energy, a non-climate- changing power source that is actually capable of generating significant amounts of energy in the near term. The key to making nuclear energy a more viable alternative is the adoption of advanced spent-fuel recycling techniques to deal with one of nuclear power's most vexing problems -- the presence of radioactive waste material.
Creating a Nuclear-Fuel Bank
Sen. Evan Bayh Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President - December 5, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900194&contentID=254843
How do we respond to valid and growing demands for civilian nuclear energy worldwide without permitting more countries to acquire nuclear weapons? The answer, in my view, is to set up an international nuclear-fuel bank that would supply fuel to any country that agrees not to develop its own enriching and reprocessing facilities.
Demonstration of the Interim Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel from Decommissioned Nuclear Power Reactor Sites
Department of Energy - Report to Congress - December 2008 – 26 pages
http://www.ocrwm.doe.gov/info_library/program_docs/ES_Interim_Storage_Report_120108.pdf
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s report discusses the status of the commercial spent nuclear fuel (SNF) inventory in the United States, at both decommissioned and operating commercial nuclear power reactor sites. It also summarizes the contractual arrangement the Government and utilities have under the Standard Contract for Disposal of Spent Nuclear Fuel and/or High-Level Radioactive Waste (10 CFR Part 961), related litigation, and the financial liabilities resulting from the Department’s delay in performance under these contracts. Further, the report identifies legislative changes and actions that would be necessary for the Department to develop an interim storage facility and demonstration program for commercial SNF from the decommissioned reactor sites.
RENEWABLES
Toward a Just and Sustainable Solar Energy Industry
Dustin Mulvaney et al. Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition January 14, 2009 – 48 pages
http://www.etoxics.org/site/DocServer/Silicon_Valley_Toxics_Coalition_-_Toward_a_Just_and_Sust.pdf?docID=821
The report documents and analyzes the environmental and health hazards of solar panel systems in a supposed “win-win” solution to global warming. It covers the health and safety concerns as well as recommendations for building a just and sustainable solar energy industry.
Wind Energy Grows by Record 8,300 Mw in 2008
American Wind Energy Association - January 27, 2009 –
http://www.awea.org/newsroom/releases/wind_energy_growth2008_27Jan09.html
The U.S. wind energy industry shattered all previous records in 2008 by installing 8,358 megawatts (MW) of new generating capacity, enough to serve over 2 million homes, reports the study. The massive growth in 2008 swelled the nation’s total wind power generating capacity by 50% and channeled an investment of some $17 billion into the economy, positioning wind power as one of the leading sources of new power generation in the country today along with natural gas. At year’s end, however, financing for new projects and orders for turbine components slowed to a trickle and layoffs began to hit the wind turbine manufacturing sector.
Wind Energy for a New Era
American Wind Energy Association – November 2008 – 24 pages
http://www.newwindagenda.org/documents/Wind_Agenda_Report.pdf
Developed for the new President and Congress, Wind Energy for a New Era presents the wind energy industry’s federal policy agenda. An overview of the recommendations as well as the full report are available.
ELECTRICITY
Electric Power Industry 2007: Year in Review
Energy Information Administration - January 21, 2009
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epa_sum.html
In 2007, average retail electricity prices increased 2.6 percent from 8.9 to 9.1 cents per kilowatthour (kWh) This followed a 3-year period during which average fossil fuel prices for electricity generation increased a cumulative 30.2 percent. As fuel prices increased 30.2 percent, the National average retail price of electricity increased 17.0 percent from 7.6 cents per kWh in 2004 to 8.9 cents per kWh in 2006. Fossil fuel prices increased an additional 7.0 percent in 2007, contributing to the 2.6 percent average retail electricity rate increase.
Identifying Hurdles to Renewable Electricity Transmission
Kit Batten, Kari Manlove Center for American Progress – Report - December 18, 2008 – 8pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/renewable_transmission.pdf
The electricity grid in the United States is often heralded as one of the world’s first great technological achievements in modern history. The grid pioneered national access to electricity and spurred prosperity, and it now represents a central piece of economic and societal infrastructure. But nearly a century after grid construction began, no major updates have occurred. The current grid configuration cannot handle the growth in electricity demand expected over the next few decades unless we act quickly to modernize it. Our electricity grid is an integral but often overlooked element in the shift to a low-carbon economy. This report seeks to highlight the multiple challenges and opportunities for action to vastly increase our nation’s renewable energy generation and connect this clean energy to the grid via advanced electrical transmission construction.
Affordable Home Energy
Joy Moses Center for American Progress – Report - December 2008 - 46 pages
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/12/pdf/liheap.pdf
“It is imperative that Americans prioritize a policy agenda that solves the problem of unaf¬fordable home energy for low-income households—health, safety, and other relevant concerns dictate this course of action.” The author offers recommendations to help low-income households with their energy costs.
Lights Out for Thomas Edison
Sterling Burnett and Amanda Berg National Center for Policy Analysis - January 11, 2009
http://www.ncpa.org/pub/ba/ba637/
Although touted by many as the smart energy choice, compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs are not suitable for many common uses and should not be required by the government, according to the report. The authors argue: “For many uses, compact fluorescent bulbs may be more costly and troublesome than they’re worth.” The report concludes that despite manufacturer claims, many CFLs don’t come close to lasting the 10,000 hours they are supposed to last. In addition, CFLs also contain potentially toxic mercury, therefore, CFL disposal and breakage presents numerous health and environmental concerns.
CARBON EMISSIONS
Low-Carbon Energy: A Roadmap
Christopher Flavin Worldwatch Institute - January 6, 2009 – 52 pages
http://www.worldwatch.org/press/prerelease/EWP178.pdf
New technologies will permit rapid de-carbonization of the world energy economy in the next two decades, according to the report. These new energy sources will make it possible to retire hundreds of coal-fired power plants that now provide 40 percent of the world’s power by 2030, eliminating up to one-third of global carbon dioxide emissions while creating millions of new jobs. Reducing dependence on fossil fuels will diminish the climate crisis and will also act as an agent of recovery for an ailing global economy. Rebuilding the global energy system has the potential to create thousands of new businesses and millions of new jobs.
CO2-Emission Cuts: The Economic Costs of the EPA's ANPR Regulations
David W. Kreutzer, Ph.D., and Karen A. Campbell, Ph.D. The Heritage Foundation - Center for Data Analysis – Report - 29 October 2008 – 16 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/CDA_08-10.pdf
The EPA's Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) proposes an unprecedented expansion of federal ability to regulate CO2 emissions. Its limits on CO2 emissions would impose significant costs on virtually the entire American economy. Even under a fairly optimistic set of assumptions, the economic impact of the ANPR is likely to be serious for the job market, household budgets, and the economy overall.
AGRICULTURE - FOOD USA
Source: http://france.usembassy.gov
Million-Dollar Farms in the New Century
Robert A. Hoppe et al. U.S. Department of Agriculture - Web posted January 1, 2009 – 47 pages http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib42/eib42.pdf
Million-dollar farms, those with annual sales of at least $1 million, accounted for about half of U.S. farm sales in 2002, up from a fourth in 1982, with sales measured in constant 2002 dollars. By 2006, million-dollar farms, accounting for 2 percent of all U.S. farms, dominated U.S. production of high-value crops, milk, hogs, poultry, and beef. The shift to million-dollar farms is likely to continue because they tend to be more profitable than smaller farms, giving them a competitive advantage. Most million-dollar farms, 84 percent, are family farms, that is, the farm operator and relatives of the operator own the business.
Organic Agriculture in the United States: Program and Policy Issues
Renée Johnson Congressional Research Service (CRS) - November 25, 2008 - 13 pages http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/113547.pdf
Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 as part of a larger law governing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs from 1990 through 1996 (P.L. 101-624, the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990). The act authorized the creation of a National Organic Program (NOP) within USDA to establish standards for producers and processors of organic foods, and permit such operations to label their products with a “USDA Organic” seal after being officially certified by USDA-accredited agents. The new omnibus law that will govern USDA programs and policies through FY2012 (P.L. 110-246; the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) contains several provisions affecting organic agriculture and the NOP.
Fisheries Economics of the United States 2006
Rita Curtis et al. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine Fisheries Service – Report - January 6, 2009 – 166 pages
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st5/publication/econ/EconomicsReport_ALL.pdf
The United States commercial and recreational fishing generated more than $185 billion in sales and supported more than two million jobs in 2006, according to the study.
Report to Congress Pursuant to Section 403(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - January 2009 – 146 pages
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007/docs/biennial_report011309.pdf
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has produced the first ever report to Congress identifying six nations, France, Italy, Libya, Panama, People's Republic of China, Tunisia , whose fishing vessels were engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2007 or 2008. Annual global economic losses due to IUU fishing are estimated to be about $9 billion, according to an international task force on IUU fishing.
A Comparison of Household Food Security in Canada and the United States
Mark Nord and Heather Hopwood Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Web posted January 9, 2009 – 50 pages
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR67/ERR67.pdf
Food security, consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, is essential for health and good nutrition. The extent to which a nation’s population achieves food security is an indication of its material and social well-being. Differences in the prevalence of household-level food insecurity between Canada and the United States are described at the national level and for selected economic and demographic subpopulations.
Agricultural Markets and Food Price Inflation — A conference summary FRB Chicago - Chicago Fed Letter - January 2009 – 4 pages
http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/cfljanuary2009_258a.pdf
On October 2, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held a conference that focused on the economic impacts of volatile agricultural prices and food policy, especially their intersection with the macroeconomy through food price inflation.
Million-Dollar Farms in the New Century
Robert A. Hoppe et al. U.S. Department of Agriculture - Web posted January 1, 2009 – 47 pages http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/eib42/eib42.pdf
Million-dollar farms, those with annual sales of at least $1 million, accounted for about half of U.S. farm sales in 2002, up from a fourth in 1982, with sales measured in constant 2002 dollars. By 2006, million-dollar farms, accounting for 2 percent of all U.S. farms, dominated U.S. production of high-value crops, milk, hogs, poultry, and beef. The shift to million-dollar farms is likely to continue because they tend to be more profitable than smaller farms, giving them a competitive advantage. Most million-dollar farms, 84 percent, are family farms, that is, the farm operator and relatives of the operator own the business.
Organic Agriculture in the United States: Program and Policy Issues
Renée Johnson Congressional Research Service (CRS) - November 25, 2008 - 13 pages http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/113547.pdf
Congress passed the Organic Foods Production Act (OFPA) in 1990 as part of a larger law governing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) programs from 1990 through 1996 (P.L. 101-624, the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990). The act authorized the creation of a National Organic Program (NOP) within USDA to establish standards for producers and processors of organic foods, and permit such operations to label their products with a “USDA Organic” seal after being officially certified by USDA-accredited agents. The new omnibus law that will govern USDA programs and policies through FY2012 (P.L. 110-246; the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008) contains several provisions affecting organic agriculture and the NOP.
Fisheries Economics of the United States 2006
Rita Curtis et al. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Marine Fisheries Service – Report - January 6, 2009 – 166 pages
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st5/publication/econ/EconomicsReport_ALL.pdf
The United States commercial and recreational fishing generated more than $185 billion in sales and supported more than two million jobs in 2006, according to the study.
Report to Congress Pursuant to Section 403(A) of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - January 2009 – 146 pages
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007/docs/biennial_report011309.pdf
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has produced the first ever report to Congress identifying six nations, France, Italy, Libya, Panama, People's Republic of China, Tunisia , whose fishing vessels were engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2007 or 2008. Annual global economic losses due to IUU fishing are estimated to be about $9 billion, according to an international task force on IUU fishing.
A Comparison of Household Food Security in Canada and the United States
Mark Nord and Heather Hopwood Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Web posted January 9, 2009 – 50 pages
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR67/ERR67.pdf
Food security, consistent access to enough food for an active, healthy life, is essential for health and good nutrition. The extent to which a nation’s population achieves food security is an indication of its material and social well-being. Differences in the prevalence of household-level food insecurity between Canada and the United States are described at the national level and for selected economic and demographic subpopulations.
Agricultural Markets and Food Price Inflation — A conference summary FRB Chicago - Chicago Fed Letter - January 2009 – 4 pages
http://www.chicagofed.org/publications/fedletter/cfljanuary2009_258a.pdf
On October 2, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago held a conference that focused on the economic impacts of volatile agricultural prices and food policy, especially their intersection with the macroeconomy through food price inflation.
TRANSORTS USA
Source: http://france.usembassy.gov
Making America the World's Clean-Car Leader
Jan Mazurek Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President – January 15, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900202&contentID=254868
Passenger cars, light trucks, and SUVs account for nearly one-half of the 20 million barrels of oil consumed in the U.S. each day. If we are to sustain a car-centered national lifestyle, we must usher in a new era of clean, energy-efficient cars and trucks… You should therefore phase out CAFE and replace it with a new policy that focuses on cutting carbon emissions from cars and trucks.
Cash for Clunkers Center for American Progress and Smart Transportation.org – November 2008 – 5 pages
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/pdf/cash_for_clunkers.pdf
“Cars which are 13 years or older account for only 25 percent of total miles driven in the US, but they produce 75 percent of all pollution from automobiles. ..An effective “Cash for Clunkers” program would target Americans who own older, inefficient vehicles, often those of more limited means who would benefit most from upgrading to a more economical model. The program would offer a premium rate for these vehicles, which would be subsequently scrapped, with the owner agreeing to acquire a more efficient vehicle or use the voucher for mass transit.”
Putting America's Transportation System on Track
Paul Weinstein Jr. Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President – January 15, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900200&contentID=254865
“If we choose to live in the past, America's transportation system will just keep creaking along. But if we take a regional approach, high-speed trains and traditional rail can serve an important transportation role in the 21st century. Such a breakthrough will not come cheap, and choosing five corridors to start the process will take political courage. However, the economic, environmental, and transportation benefits of high-speed rail are clearly worth the expense and the effort.”
Freight and Passenger Rail: Present and Future Roles, Performance, Benefits, and Needs
House – Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – January 28, 2009
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=800
Background on on the roles of freight and passenger railroads in the U.S. economy; the impact of the current economic crisis on the railroad industry, its suppliers, and employees; the benefits of freight and passenger rail; and freight and passenger rail investment needs.
Making America the World's Clean-Car Leader
Jan Mazurek Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President – January 15, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900202&contentID=254868
Passenger cars, light trucks, and SUVs account for nearly one-half of the 20 million barrels of oil consumed in the U.S. each day. If we are to sustain a car-centered national lifestyle, we must usher in a new era of clean, energy-efficient cars and trucks… You should therefore phase out CAFE and replace it with a new policy that focuses on cutting carbon emissions from cars and trucks.
Cash for Clunkers Center for American Progress and Smart Transportation.org – November 2008 – 5 pages
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2008/pdf/cash_for_clunkers.pdf
“Cars which are 13 years or older account for only 25 percent of total miles driven in the US, but they produce 75 percent of all pollution from automobiles. ..An effective “Cash for Clunkers” program would target Americans who own older, inefficient vehicles, often those of more limited means who would benefit most from upgrading to a more economical model. The program would offer a premium rate for these vehicles, which would be subsequently scrapped, with the owner agreeing to acquire a more efficient vehicle or use the voucher for mass transit.”
Putting America's Transportation System on Track
Paul Weinstein Jr. Progressive Policy Institute - Memo to the Next President – January 15, 2008
http://www.ppionline.org/ppi_ci.cfm?knlgAreaID=450020&subsecID=900200&contentID=254865
“If we choose to live in the past, America's transportation system will just keep creaking along. But if we take a regional approach, high-speed trains and traditional rail can serve an important transportation role in the 21st century. Such a breakthrough will not come cheap, and choosing five corridors to start the process will take political courage. However, the economic, environmental, and transportation benefits of high-speed rail are clearly worth the expense and the effort.”
Freight and Passenger Rail: Present and Future Roles, Performance, Benefits, and Needs
House – Transportation and Infrastructure Committee – January 28, 2009
http://transportation.house.gov/hearings/hearingDetail.aspx?NewsID=800
Background on on the roles of freight and passenger railroads in the U.S. economy; the impact of the current economic crisis on the railroad industry, its suppliers, and employees; the benefits of freight and passenger rail; and freight and passenger rail investment needs.
vendredi 13 juin 2008
LE MARCHE DES MATIERES PREMIERES VU PAR LE FMI
Vague porteuse
Thomas Helbling, Valerie Mercer–Blackman et Kevin Cheng
Les consommateurs et les pays importateurs de matières premières commencent à souffrir de la hausse des cours des matières premières, et on s’inquiète des répercussions sur les pauvres dans les pays émergents et les pays en développement. L’envolée des cours pourrait avoir des effets durables.
(936 kb fichier pdf)
Voir Mineraux sur Internet
Thomas Helbling, Valerie Mercer–Blackman et Kevin Cheng
Les consommateurs et les pays importateurs de matières premières commencent à souffrir de la hausse des cours des matières premières, et on s’inquiète des répercussions sur les pauvres dans les pays émergents et les pays en développement. L’envolée des cours pourrait avoir des effets durables.
(936 kb fichier pdf)
Voir Mineraux sur Internet
mercredi 4 juin 2008
vendredi 8 février 2008
USA ENERGY
PUBLIC AFFAIRS - American Embassy
Sylvie VACHERET
Tel: 01 43 12 29 28
E Mail: vacheretsr@state.gov
U.S. ENERGY ONLINE
A SELECTION OF DOCUMENTS RECENTLY PUBLISHED ON THE WEB
No 2 – September/October 2007
ENERGY POLICY
Cutler J. Cleveland and Robert K. Kaufmann
The Bush Energy Policy
Center for Energy and Environmental Studies - Boston University – 14 pages
http://www.bu.edu/cees/research/workingp/pdfs/Bush_Policy0102.pdf
“Like his four predecessors, President Bush has identified dependence on imported oil as an urgent energy, economic, and national security concern. To close the 'oil supply gap' the President promotes the development of domestic resources of oil and natural gas. Will this policy succeed? This project assesses the economic, energy security and environmental issues surrounding the Bush Energy plan.”
Gregory J. Lengyel
Department of Defense Energy Strategy
The Brookings Institution - Paper - August 2007
http://www.brookings.edu/views/papers/lengyel20070815.htm
“The United States has a National Security problem, energy security, in which the Department of Defense has a unique interest. The United States imports 26% of its total energy supply and 56% of the oil it consumes. The DOD is the largest single consumer of energy in the United States and energy is the key enabler of US military combat power. Huge energy consumption, increased competition for limited energy supplies, ever increasing energy costs, and no comprehensive Energy Strategy or oversight of energy issues in the DOD have created vulnerabilities.”
Federal Electricity Subsidies: Information on Research Funding, Tax Expenditures, and Other Activities That Support Electricity Production
US Government Accountability Office – October 26, 2007 – 67 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-102
“Because of electricity’s importance to producers, consumers, and businesses, the federal government has undertaken a wide range of programs to develop the electricity sector, which includes fuel suppliers, electric utilities, and others in the electricity industry. These programs have sought to, among other things, develop the nation’s electrical infrastructure, influence the types of fuels used to produce electricity, increase the use of renewable energy, and limit the harmful effects of electricity production.”
Reaping the Rewards: How State Renewable Electricity Standards Are Cutting Pollution, Saving Money, Creating Jobs And Fueling A Clean Energy Boom
Federation of States PIRGs – September 17, 2007 – 64 pages
http://www.uspirg.org/uploads/n9/pG/n9pGh-1aBbt5IAFiNOvCQQ/Reaping-the-Rewards-USPIRG.pdf
“America now generates twice as much electricity from the wind and the sun as it did just four years ago. RES policies have been among the most important factors in encouraging the development of renewable energy. This report documents the benefits that have already been achieved by states that have adopted renewable electricity standards.”
Energy Efficiency: Opportunities Exist for Federal Agencies to Better Inform Household Consumers.
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate – Report to the Chairman - September 26, 2007
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1162
“Overall, opportunities exist for the EnergyGuide program to improve how it provides information that could help consumers improve their households’ energy efficiency and decrease energy consumption nationally.”
Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Trends in Energy Derivatives Markets Raise Questions about CFTC's Oversight
United States Government Accountability Office - Testimony Before the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities and Risk Management - Committee on Agriculture - House of Representatives - October 24 – 25 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-174T
“Energy prices for crude oil, heating oil, unleaded gasoline, and natural gas have risen substantially since 2002, generating questions about the role derivatives markets have played and the scope of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) authority. This testimony focuses on (1) trends and patterns in the futures and physical energy markets and their effects on energy prices, (2) the scope of CFTC’s regulatory authority, and (3) the effectiveness of CFTC’s monitoring and detection of abuses in energy markets.”
Energy Market and Economic Impacts Of S.280, the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007
Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of Energy - July 2007 – 92 pages
http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/servicerpt/csia/pdf/sroiaf(2007)04.pdf
“This report provides estimates of the economic impact of Senate Bill S.280, the Climate Stewardship and Innovation Act of 2007. This bill would establish a series of caps on greenhouse gases starting in 2012 and continuing to 2050. The report provides estimates of the effects on energy markets and the economy through 2030.”
TAXES
Kevin A. Hassett and Gilbert E. Metcalf
An Energy Tax Policy for the Twenty-First Century
American Enterprise Institute Online - August 9, 2007 – 5 pages
http://www.aei.org/publications/filter.all,pubID.26625/pub_detail.asp
“The United States' energy tax policy is rooted in a twentieth-century objective to encourage the development of the domestic energy sector. With the new geopolitical realities of the twenty-first century, it is an opportune time to revisit our policies.”
Eric Toder
Eliminating Tax Expenditures with Adverse Environmental Effects
WRI and Brookings - Policy brief - June 2007 - 12 pages
http://pdf.wri.org/Brookings-WRI_TaxExpenditures.pdf
“This policy brief examines four tax expenditures listed by the Joint Committee on Taxation—each with an annual revenue loss of over $1 billion—that increase consumption of fossil fuels. The first three—expensing of exploration and development costs, percentage depletion, and the alternative fuel production credit—encourage domestic production of fossil fuels. The fourth—exemption of qualified parking expenses—encourages commuting by automobile.”
Gilbert E. Metcalf
A Green Employment Tax Swap: Using a Carbon Tax to Finance Payroll Tax Relief
The Brookings Institution and World Resource Institute – Policy Brief – June 2007 - 8 pages
http://pdf.wri.org/Brookings-WRI_GreenTaxSwap.pdf
“A carbon tax is another way to limit emissions. This policy brief describes how a carbon tax could be implemented and presents an analysis of a Green Employment Tax Swap (GETS). Under this proposal, a national tax on carbon emissions is paired with a reduction in the payroll tax. In particular, the brief assesses the impact of a tax of $15 per metric ton of carbon dioxide (CO2), which is used to rebate the federal payroll tax on the first $3,660 of earnings per worker. This reform is both revenue-neutral and distributionally neutral.”
BILATERAL AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
Frank Verrastro and Sarah Ladislaw
Providing Energy Security in an Interdependent World
The Washington Quarterly – Autumn 2007 – 10 pages
http://www.twq.com/07autumn/docs/07autumn_verrastro.pdf
“Concern over the continued ability to secure energy supplies from an increasing list of inaccessible, high-risk, or less than reliable parts of the world has prompted policymakers to once again raise the issues of the desirability and achievability of energy independence. Yet, focusing on energy independence, although politically attractive, is a misguided quest that can actually distract from the more important objective of managing the transition to a more sustainable and secure energy future.”
Zha Daojiong and Hu Weixing
Promoting Energy Partnership in Beijing and Washington
The Washington Quarterly – Autumn 2007 – 11 pages
http://www.twq.com/07autumn/docs/07autumn_zha-hu.pdf
“In an age of global interdependence, Beijing and Washington should seek to ameliorate differences on tense energy issues. Although dialogues on energy security conceptualizations and policy preferences are positive, they must move beyond talking toward a true partnership that can confront the common challenges they face as importers.”
Mark P. Sullivan, Clare M. Ribando, and Nelson Olhero
Latin America: Energy Supply, Political Developments, and U.S. Policy Approaches.
Congressional Research Service (CRS), Library of Congress - Updated May 8, 2007 – 23 pages
http://ncseonline.org/NLE/CRSreports/07Jun/RL33693.pdf
“Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela supply the U.S. with almost 50% of its imported oil and petroleum products. The oil reserves in the Western Hemisphere are approximately 24% of worldwide reserves. The U.S. has the largest proven reserves of natural gas in the hemisphere—approximately 37%. However, most Latin American and Caribbean countries are net energy importers. This report examines the current political environment in Latin America and its effect on energy production in the region. The report also discusses efforts to help Latin American and Caribbean countries that are dependent on energy imports. Lastly, it examines proposed policies for increased hemispheric energy cooperation and security.”
Zeyno Baran
EU Energy Security: Time to End Russian Leverage
The Washington Quarterly – Autumn 2007 – 14 pages
http://www.twq.com/07autumn/docs/07autumn_baran.pdf
“Questions regarding the security and sustainability of energy supply have mostly been left to individual EU member states and to the invisible hand of the market. Many European leaders preferred not to discuss the geopolitics of energy, instead delegating this portfolio to their economic ministries. Russia, the European Union’s primary oil and gas provider, has deliberately taken advantage of this lack of cohesion to gain favorable energy deals and heighten European dependence on Russian supplies. Moscow is pursuing a divide and conquer strategy of amassing bilateral deals with member states..”
Erica S. Downs
The Fact and Fiction of Sino-African Energy Relations
The Brookings Institution - China Security - Summer 2007 – 27 pages
http://www3.brookings.edu/views/articles/fellows/downs20070913.pdf
“The expanding footprint in Africa of China's national oil companies (NOCs) lies at the heart of concerns of many policy-makers and pundits in the United States and Europe. China's deepening engagement with Africa is viewed as an erosion of their own interests and influence on the continent…This article examines a number of widely accepted "facts" about the growing involvement of China's NOCs in Africa. While some of these have some validity, others simply do not. Contrary to public opinion, China's NOCs are not "locking up" the lion's share of African oil as part of a centralized quest for energy.”
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
Fred Sissine
Renewable Energy: Background and Issues for the 110th Congress
Congressional Research Service (CRS) - September 6, 2007 - 37 pages
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/92953.pdf
“Renewable energy can be used to produce liquid fuels and electricity. A variety of funding, tax incentives, and regulatory policies have been enacted to support renewables as a means for addressing concerns about energy security, air pollution, international competitiveness, and climate change. This report reviews the background for renewables and describes the current congressional debate.”
Brent D. Yacobucci
Biofuels Provisions in H.R. 3221 and H.R. 6: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Congressional Research Service (CRS) - August 21, 2007 - 35 pages
http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/92963.pdf
“With recent high energy prices, concerns over energy security, and the desire to reduce air pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions, there is ongoing congressional interest in promoting greater use of alternatives to petroleum fuels. Biofuels — transportation fuels produced from plants and other organic materials — have attracted particular interest. Ethanol and biodiesel, the two most widely used biofuels, receive significant federal support in the form of tax incentives, loan and grant programs, and regulatory programs.”
National Geothermal Initiative
Senate Energy Committee - Hearing - September 26, 2007
http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Hearings.Hearing&Hearing_ID=1656
“The purpose of the hearing is to receive testimony on S. 1543, a bill to establish a national geothermal initiative to encourage increased production of energy from geothermal resources by creating a program of geothermal research, development, demonstration and commercial application to support the achievement of a national geothermal energy goal.”
Witnesses: President of Icelqnd Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, Alexander Karsner, U.S. Department of Energy, Dr. Mark Myers, Director, USGS, Susan Petty, AltaRock Energy; Dr. Lisa Shevenell, University of Nevada; Dr. David R. Wunsch, New Hampshire Geological Survey; Dr. Kenneth H. Williamson, Geothermal Consultant
GAS AND OIL
Josef Braml
Can the United States Shed Its Oil Addiction?
The Washington Quarterly – Autumn 2007 – 14 pages
http://www.twq.com/07autumn/docs/07autumn_braml.pdf
“Since the 1950s, U.S. energy consumption, mainly driven by the transportation sector and fed by oil, has almost tripled. Because the cultivation of domestic resources has not been able to keep up with demand, the United States has become increasingly dependent on energy supplies from unstable regions of the world. The costs and risks to national security provide the first major incentive for a readjustment of U.S. energy policy. U.S. dependency on foreign energy creates immense economic challenges and vulnerabilities as well.”
Facing the Hard Truths about Energy: A Comprehensive View To 2030 Of Global Oil And Natural Gas: Draft Report
NPC Global Oil and Gas Study - National Petroleum Council (NPC) - July 18, 2007 – 422 pages
http://www.npc.org/Facing_Hard_Truths-71807.pdf
“This study found that global energy demand is projected to grow by 50-60 percent by 2030. At the same time, there are risks to the supply of reliable, affordable energy. The risks, as outlined in this report, are political, infrastructure requirements, and lack of a trained workforce. The report concludes with strategies to meet these challenges.”
Joseph G. Haubrich and Brent Meyer
Peak Oil
The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland – Economic Commentary – August 15, 2007 – 4 pages
http://www.clevelandfed.org/research/Commentary/2007/0815.pdf
“When will the world’s production of oil peak, and what will the economic consequences be?
Calculating when turns out not to be so straightforward as it seems, but predicting the likely
economic consequences is—and they’re not as bleak as many fear.”
Toni Johnson
Non-OPEC Oil Production
Council on Foreign Relations – October 19, 2007
http://www.cfr.org/publication/14554/
“Oil producers operating outside the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are responsible for producing 60 percent of the world’s oil and face increasing production hurdles. Experts say many of the non-OPEC producers have older, less productive wells, rising costs for new projects, and in some cases rising demand at home that may cut into exports.”
Federal Trade Commission Report On Spring/Summer 2006 Nationwide Gasoline Price Increases
Federal Trade Commission – August 2007 - 27 pages
http://www.ftc.gov/reports/gasprices06/P040101Gas06increase.pdf
“In response to the President’s April 2006 directive, staff of the Commission conducted an economic analysis and investigation of the national average gasoline price increases that began during the spring of 2006 and continued through the summer. Using this information, staff identified six factors that appear to explain the national average price increases that occurred during the spring and summer of 2006, and then quantified the price impact of each of those six factors.”
NUCLEAR AND FUSION ENERGY
Jack Spencer
The Nuclear Renaissance: Ten Principles to Guide U.S. Policy
The Heritage Foundation – WebMemo #1640 – September 26, 2007 – 4 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/wm_1640.pdf
“Nuclear power has many advantages over other power sources, but a global expansion of peaceful nuclear technology could present risks if not managed properly. To reap the benefits of nuclear power, while minimizing the risks, the United States must commit to reestablishing itself as a technology leader in commercial nuclear power, avoid unwanted foreign dependencies, modernize its approach to waste disposal, promote marketplace freedom, and modify its approach to nonproliferation. The 10 straightforward principles laid out in this paper should guide Congress and the Administration's actions.”
Mark E. Gaffigan
Nuclear Energy: NRC Has Made Progress in Implementing Its Reactor Oversight and Licensing Processes but Continues to Face Challenges
Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, Committee on Environment and Public Works – U.S. Senate - October 3, 2007 – 17 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-114T
“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is responsible for overseeing the nation’s 104 commercial nuclear power reactors to ensure they are operated safely. This testimony is based on GAO reports that reviewed (1) how NRC implements the ROP, (2) the results of the ROP over several years, (3) the status of NRC’s efforts to improve the ROP, (4) NRC’s efforts to prepare its workforce and manage its workload for new reactor licensing, and (5) NRC’s efforts to develop its regulatory framework and review processes for new reactor activities.”
Nuclear Energy: NRC's Workforce and Processes for New Reactor Licensing Are Generally in Place, but Uncertainties Remain as Industry Begins to Submit Applications
United States Government Accountability Office – Report to Congressional Committees – September 2007 – 41 pages
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d071129.pdf
“Nearly three decades after the last order for a new nuclear power reactor in the United States, electric power companies plan to submit 20 applications in the next 18 months to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) for licenses to build and operate new reactors. Since 1989, NRC has developed a new license review process that allows a power company to obtain a construction permit and an operating license through a single combined license (COL) based on one of a number of standard reactor designs. NRC expects its new process to enhance the efficiency and predictability of its reviews. GAO reviewed NRC’s readiness to evaluate these applications by examining the steps NRC has taken to (1) prepare its workforce and manage its workload and (2) develop its regulatory framework and review process for new reactor activities.”
Jack Spencer
Congress Must Implement CSC Treaty to Reinvigorate U.S. Nuclear Industry
The Heritage Foundation – Web Memo #1658 – October 9, 2007 – 2 pages
http://www.heritage.org/Research/EnergyandEnvironment/upload/wm_1658.pdf
“September 29 marked the 10-year anniversary of the United States signing the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC). The House of Representatives has failed to pass legislation to implement the treaty. As it stands, U.S. firms are exposed to unlimited liability in U.S. courts, virtually barring them from competing for nuclear energy projects abroad.
Participating in the CSC will better enable U.S. companies to engage in peaceful international nuclear commerce. Congress should quickly adopt implementing legislation that will increase American competitiveness, demonstrate American leadership, and come at no cost to taxpayers.”
Fusion Energy: Definitive Cost Estimates for U.S. Contributions to an International Experimental Reactor and Better Coordinated DOE Research Are Needed
United States Government Accountability Office – Report to Congressional Committees - October 26 – 38 pages
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-30
“The United States is pursuing two paths to fusion energy—magnetic and inertial. On November 21, 2006, the United States signed an agreement with five countries and the European Union to build and operate the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) in Cadarache, France, to demonstrate the feasibility of magnetic fusion energy. The United States also built and operates facilities to pursue inertial fusion energy research. This report discusses (1) U.S. contributions to ITER and the challenges, if any, in managing this international fusion program and (2) the Department of Energy’s (DOE) management of alternative fusion research activities, including National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) initiatives.”
MISCELLANEOUS
Lisa Margonelli
Start-Up U
New America Foundation – California – September/October 2007
http://newamerica.net/publications/articles/2007/start_u_5890
“With global warming breathing down our necks, energy is hot. And Berkeley, where brainpower is mingling with government power-brokers to implement the state’s greenhouse gas legislation, is even hotter. Having just announced a $500 million ten-year deal with oil giant BP to found a new Energy Biosciences Institute on campus, Steven Chu, the Nobel Prize winner and head of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), made a pitch for more: “We are seeking industry partnerships ... We seek solutions. We don’t seek, dare I say, science papers anymore.””
Rajeev Dhawan and Karsten Jeske
What Determines the Output Drop after an Energy Price Increase: Household or Firm Energy Share?
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta - Working Paper 2007-20 – August 2007 – 12 pages
http://www.frbatlanta.org/filelegacydocs/wp0720.pdf
“During the past thirty-five years, energy use as a fraction of output has dropped significantly at both the household and the firm levels. Therefore, we investigate a dynamic stochastic generalized equilibrium model economy’s response to an energy price hike for different firm and household energy shares. Simulation results indicate that the economy’s output response is mainly determined by the firm energy share. Increasing the household energy share while keeping firm energy share constant actually decreases the output response.”
Green Energy News
http://www.green-energy-news.com/index.html
“Bruce Mulliken has been covering news and commentary on the world of clean, efficient, and renewable energy since 1996. His Green Energy News site is geared towards a broad audience that includes the general public, industry professionals, and government officials. First-time visitors will want to look at the "News Stories" on the front page which in recent editions have included pieces on the growing hydrogen economy, the potential of parking lots as a form of solar power, and the possibility of a zero emission electric vehicle with two wheels. Those looking for previous news features can browse the "Archives and Resources" area, which dates back to April 1996. Those looking for "green" events should browse over to the "Events Calendar" section, which provides links to upcoming events such as renewable energy conferences.”
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