Energy

Energy

TEACHER FEEDBACK: PLEASE DO A MORE THOROUGH ANALYSIS OF THE SOURCES. IT IS NOT IMMEDIATELY CLEAR EXACTLY WHAT YOUR SOURCES ARE. SOME OF THE INFORMATION IS A BIT TECHNICAL. WHAT IS ALL THIS STUFF ABOUAT CLOSED LOOP BIOMASS. I COULD USE SOME HELP UNDERSTANDING THAT PIECE. . . CURRENT GRADE 7 OF 10. [|How Will The Stimulus Package Apply To Energy?]

__**How the package applies to energy...**__

An article from RenewableEnergyWorld.com helps to show how the stimulus package will effect the overall topic of energy. The article itself may be a little slanted, their source came from the credible and reliable Confrenence Bill from Congress. The link for the article these facts are pulled from is ([|http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news/article/2009/02/renewable-energy-industry-reacts-to-stimulus-packa][|ge]). "RenewableEnergyWorld.com was started in 1998 by a group of Renewable Energy professionals who wanted their work to relate to their passion for renewable energy. With this passion and the desire to create a long term sustainable business, we have created perhaps the single most recognized and trusted source for Renewable Energy News and Information on the Internet." This quotation was pulled from the Renewable Energy website and most of the information is accurate and honest but some opinions seem to lean to the liberal side.

The bill will extend the placed-in-service date for wind facilities, closed-loop biomass (Any organic matter from a plant which is planted for the exclusive purpose of being used to produce energy), open-loop biomass, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, waste-to-energy, and marine renewable facilities for three years (through December 31, 2012). It will also help risk taker entreprenuers who are looking for business in these areas, by allowing facilities to elect to claim the investment tax credit in lieu of the production tax credit (making it easier to start theses businesses).

The bill also gives money to finance facilities that generate electricity from the following resources: Wind, closed-loop biomass, open-loop biomasses, geothermal, small irrigation, hydropower, landfill gas, marine renewables and trash combustion facilities. The bill puts forth $49.7 billion alone towards energy, being one of the smallest funded portions set out in the bill.

(The information was found at the very credible and very reliable source: [] )
 * The following is a list of where specific amounts of money reguarding energy, will be going...**

Extend production tax credit for wind energy facilities through 2012 and other renewable energy facilities through 2013. Allow renewable facilities to claim investment tax credit instead of production tax credit. Remove cap on investment tax credit for small wind property. Allow renewable energy producers to claim a 30 percent cash grant from the Treasury Department in lieu of the 30 percent investment tax credit. || $14.0 billion || Make the electric grid "smarter," by improving communication so electricity can be distributed and used more efficiently. || $11.0 billion || Guarantee loans for renewable energy or electricity transmission projects that "avoid, reduce, or sequester air pollutants or anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases," according to the program's Web site. || $6.0 billion || Help low-income families make their homes more energy efficient, through projects like adding insulation. || $5.0 billion || Includes money for near-zero emissions power plants, clean coal technology and carbon capture. || $3.4 billion || Increase tax credits for purchases to make homes energy efficient, such as new furnaces or insulation, to 30 percent through 2010, for up to $1,500. || $2.0 billion || Increase the tax credit for purchasing plug-in hybrid vehicles to $7,500. || $2.0 billion || Includes $400 million for rapid development of clean energy technology. || $2.0 billion || Provide grants to manufacturers of advanced battery systems and car batteries in the United States. || $2.0 billion || Establish a new 30 percent investment tax credit for manufacturers of advanced energy property, which may include technology for the production of renewable energy, energy storage, energy conservation, efficient transmission and distribution of electricity, and carbon capture and sequestration. || $1.6 billion || Authorize an additional $1.6 billion in renewable energy bonds and $2.4 billion in energy conservation bonds to finance state and local government projects. || $1.4 billion || Half of the money will be distributed by formula and half will be competitively awarded to projects that can be started quickly. || $510 million || Includes $300 million to help state and local governments purchase hybrid vehicles and $400 million to start electrical infrastructure projects that encourage the use of electric vehicles. || $400 million || Remove dollar caps on the 30 percent residential credit for solar thermal, geothermal and small wind property. || $268 million || Increase tax credits for gas stations and other businesses that install non-hydrogen, alternative fuel pumps to 50 percent through 2010, for up to $50,000. || $54 million ||
 * || Expand tax incentives for renewable energy facilities
 * || Modernize the electric grid
 * || Provide grants to cities, counties and states to increase energy efficiency || $6.3 billion ||
 * || Provide additional financing for Innovative Energy Loan Guarantee program
 * || Increase financing for home weatherization program
 * || Increase energy efficiency in federal buildings || $4.4 billion ||
 * || Repair and modernize public housing units || $4.0 billion ||
 * || Invest in fossil energy
 * || Conduct energy efficiency and renewable energy research || $2.5 billion ||
 * || Increase tax credits for residential energy efficiency improvements
 * || Incentive for alternative vehicle
 * || Provide additional financing for science and research at the Department of Energy
 * || Support battery manufacturing
 * || Incentive for advanced energy investment
 * || Authorize more state and local bonds for energy-related purposes
 * || Repair and modernize about 4,200 Native American housing units
 * || Train workers for careers in energy efficiency and renewable energy fields || $500 million ||
 * || Provide grants to states for energy-efficient vehicles and infrastructure
 * || Replace older vehicles owned by the federal government with hybrid and electric cars || $300 million ||
 * || Provide consumers rebates for energy-efficient appliances || $300 million ||
 * || Expand tax incentives for residential renewable energy properties
 * || Improve energy efficiency in government-subsidized apartment buildings || $250 million ||
 * || Incentive for alternative fuel pumps
 * WHAT PORTION OF THE MONEY IS CO. GETTING:

DENVER --** The Colorado energy office is getting $9.6 million of the $42.6 million in federal stimulus money headed to Colorado to help reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and to improve energy efficiency. The money is from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program. Twenty cities and 10 counties in Colorado also are getting money from the program.The department said Thursday that the Southern Ute Indian Tribe of the Southern Ute Reservation and the Ute Mountain Tribe of the Ute Mountain Reservation in the Four Corners area also will receive money. -Source: This information was found on 7 news website, but was posted by [|The Associated Press] in March 26 of 2009. This is a fact that was given by The Associated Press and can be researched on their page.

ENERGY: The article i have found was talking about how we are trying to make the energy distribution more efficient. We are trying to make it so we drop using oil resources for a way for energy. One of the ways it was saying this would be done was by "smart grid technologies." Smart girds are just alternatives to handle how we use energy. Power companies are in on this as well. They are trying to have windmills and water to be used for our energy source. Auto makers are trying to make better things happen for more efficient energy too. The article mentioned Tesla Motors. They are coming out with cars that run off of better types of bio-fuel instead of the gas we use today. Cars are running off of food oils, water, and other things that make it better for the environment. Another group that is trying to make alternatives for energy is battery makers. Battery makers are talking about how they are going to make it so they are used better and are going to be better to be disposed of. It's so bad for the enviornment how batteries are being disposed of today. The article was talking about how if we make the source of energy windpowered then we are going to have to change things such as building new types of power lines to bring electricity from windy and sunny areas to more populated regions. Bramaer's Costello said an industry association estimated that the stimulus act spending could lead to 3,000 new miles of transmission lines. Bias in favor of Green Technologies and therefore in favor of the stimulus plan. The person who wrote this article was Martin LaMonica who is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication //InfoWorld//. This article was found on cnet news which is owned by CBS news which is a reputable news organization. It was under Green Tech Blog.

Energy Bills Getting Signed: The renewable-energy sector got a lift from the economic stimulus package signed Tuesday, with a fix to a crucial tax issue that had stalled projects nationwide.

Solar and wind companies said it could take several months for the legislation to get portions of the industry moving again. But some players are already gearing up for growth. SolarCity, a Foster City, Calif., company that's one of the nation's largest residential solar firms, will end a hiring freeze in place since December and begin seeking more installers immediately, said Chief Executive Lyndon Rive. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will invest nearly $79 billion in renewable energy, energy efficiency and green transportation, according to a final tally of the legislation by the nonprofit Environment California.

Rive and others are hailing a piece of the recovery legislation that allows developers of renewable-energy projects to swap their existing tax credits for cash grants from the Department of Energy. The switch means little to taxpayers, because the cost to the government is about the same. But it removes a huge financing obstacle that has stymied the sector.

That's because solar and wind projects are driven as much by tax policy as they are by the weather.

Renewable-energy companies historically have relied on tax credits to help them generate competitive returns and attract investors, a process that has been short-circuited by the U.S. financial meltdown.

The workings of these tax breaks are complicated. But in essence, because they're used to offset tax liability, a project developer needs to be making a big profit to take full advantage. Many clean-energy firms don't have a tax bill that large, so they partner with financial institutions or other investors that do.

This tax-driven financing system worked well until the nation's banking system got slammed by the subprime mortgage crisis. Large commercial banks and investment houses that had bankrolled billions in wind and solar deals suddenly were bleeding red ink. Major financiers no longer had a so-called tax appetite for renewable-energy deals. Notable provisions of the recovery act include $5 billion for weatherization of more than 1 million homes, $8 billion for new high-speed rail systems, $4.5 billion for energy upgrades to federal buildings and $4.5 billion in federal matching funds to upgrade the nation's rickety energy grid.

The legislation did not include a national "renewable portfolio standard" sought by many environmentalists, which would have forced utilities nationwide to boost their use of clean energy. California is one of several states to adopt such measures. But the mandates are opposed by legislators from states that are heavily dependent on low-cost coal. Though the stimulus package fell short of what some green advocates wanted, others were heartened. Speaking Monday in Los Angeles, former President Bill Clinton said it represented a breakthrough in U.S. energy policy. This will help make the planet a more green place and the money that goes into the bills will also help make machines that produce energy less poluted. Also the resources that money will buy will help make this world a more healthy enviroment to live. Less polution and more healthy energy.