Some Good News and Some Bad News

The Good News:

Post Examines How Solar Energy Aids Grid, Economy, Manufacturing
The Washington Post today took an extensive look at how the solar power industry is growing, touching on how it is aiding the economy, the steel manufacturing industry, and the power sector. Lee Edwards, CEO of BP Solar, was quoted as saying: "The demand for solar energy is so strong, not only in the United States but around the world, that we have to keep up." Wrote the Post: "Many boosters of solar, wind and biofuels have tried to sell them as pieces of a new American economy, but these nascent industries rely on many of the same skills and materials as the old American economy - and that's good for people looking for jobs."

The Post pointed out that wind turbines set up by Madison Gas and Electric were on massive steel towers built in Shreveport, La., with components such as gearboxes, rotors, control systems, disc brakes, yaw motors, drives, and bearings, manufactured in the U.S. by other segments of the hard manufacturing sector that are considered endangered due to international competition. Marco Trbovich, communications director for the United Steelworkers of America, was quoted by the Post as saying: "What we need are policies that advance the climate for investment in these products."

For the power sector, the Post points out that one pioneer – Whole Foods – installed solar panels in January 2004 bringing power costs down 1 percent below commercial utility rates. Added the Post: "But rates have since soared and now the store's power costs about 20 percent less than the electricity sold by the local utility, a bonus for its effort to promote an environmentalist image. If utilities start charging customers more for electricity during peak-usage periods - around midday and early afternoon, when solar power is most available, the solar business could get another boost."

Wrote the Post: "Capacity has doubled over the past three years, but costs haven't dropped as much as expected because of a silicon shortage. Eventually, though, Edwards said that 'if we can keep driving costs lower, we will reach a point where solar is the same price as grid power'."
Washington Post , Nov. 20.


The kinda good news:

Sen. Warner Eyes Top GOP Slot on Senate Environment Committee
Sen. John Warner, R-Va., has decided to seek the ranking Republican position on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Congressional Quarterly Today reported. Warner, who is the outgoing chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, had given up the right to be the top Republican on the panel when he assumed the Armed Services role, giving the gavel over to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla. Now, with the GOP in the minority, Warner has indicated that he wants to recapture his seniority rights and lead the Republican minority on the Environment panel.

While Inhofe's role on the committee has been politically charged and partisan, Warner is considered more conciliatory. Wrote CQ Today: "Warner's voting record is more moderate [than Inhofe's]. In 2005, he voted with 52 other senators for a resolution saying that global warming is a man-made problem that requires economy-wide regulations. But Warner also has voted twice against legislation by McCain and Connecticut Democrat Joseph I. Lieberman to create a market-based system to restrict greenhouse gas emissions."

The newsmagazine said Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute called Warner "a disaster for us," while Frank O'Donnell, president of Clean Air Watch, said the move "would be exchanging a partisan and an environmental extremist for a lawmaker of a more pragmatic disposition, who might be willing to seek bipartisan compromise."
Congressional Quarterly Today , Nov. 17.

And, the bad news. HoJo is no friend of the environment:

Sen. Boxer Sets Up Two Subcommittees to Deal With Climate Change
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., the incoming chairwoman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, established a new subcommittee on climate change – and named herself chair, National Journal's Congress Daily reported. The panel will be called the Public Sector Solutions to Global Warming, Oversight, Children's Health Protection and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee. Sen. Joseph Lieberman, ID-Conn., was named chairman of the Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection Subcommittee.

The Clean Air subcommittee has morphed into the Clean Air, Nuclear Plant Security, and Community Development Subcommittee, and still will be headed by Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del. The panel loses all jurisdiction over climate change issues.
National Journal's Congress Daily , Nov. 17.

Source: EEI newsletter