2 a.m.
Steven Chu Harry ReidThe Department of energy has been teaming with Nevada legislator on the basis of almost every month to announce loan guarantees for renewable energy projects across the Silver State, which is expected to create several hundred jobs.
It has been a pretty good ride, the congressional also (Democrats, really) comment; but it is something that would soon come to an end.
This is not because the Republicans are threatening to deprive money on a program of incentive: it depends on the program is nearing its expiration date, and it is not clear if there is a politically palatable way to extend it.
Renewable energy project manager has known since the 30 billion dollars in loan guarantees as created by section 1705 of the stimulus became available, they would have to break ground on or before Sept. 30 to keep funding.
The program was meant to strengthen a fledgling industry and boj private investor confidence so that when the program expired, the markets would have to be subjected to such companies. But it is not exactly how the recession has come.
Recovery has been slower than expected, particularly in terms of liquidity in the financial markets. And having the builders tell the Government: the keep these programs, or their corresponding around for the next few years, or we'll have to go elsewhere.
"Financial markets have not been recovered yet, so, you should see a decrease in the renewable energy industry no matter where these projects comes to an end," said Kevin Smith, CEO of SolarReserve, who are building Crescent dunes 110-megawatt solar-powered storage plant in Tonopah. The project, he says, not threatened – but they are not sure whether they should be able to break the ground within the time limit of a similar facility in California, and there are other compromised and, Smith said.
The problem with that, these developers to the open market is one of price comparison. Wind power and geothermal energy – another large market for Nevada — can compete with the more conventional power production, such as coal-fired plants and natural gas. But solar's not quite it.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu has said that he believes that the price of solar energy will be able to compete with coal energy sources over the next 10 years – a figure developers say is a conservative estimate: they plan to be players in the open market much earlier. But they point out that there is a fair fight right now.
"Incumbents have been appreciated for many years," said Ian Rogoff, Executive Chairman of HelioPower, an integrated energy development company. "Oil and gas tax benefits has been renewed, meaning State aid of these industries has been renewed ... for the most part, these incentives are only letting these new technologies and new industries to compete effectively and compete against incumbents."
Rogoffs company puts equal shop in renewable energy-orientated research and development tax credits – known as the section 1603 points, which are outside the table in December – which is also necessary to shore up if Nevada to remain, as Senate majority leader Harry Reid put it, "well on the way to becoming a world leader in clean energy creation."
"We are trying to develop technologies in the United States, and we are struggling to compete against the Germans and the Chinese and the French and others who have strong Government programme," Smith said, pointing out that 5 percent interest rate that he pays for his Government loans is higher than what he pays on certain commercial loans. but the Government will lend to renewable energy projects in which others do not.
Preserve Government lifeline for these projects in this situation is likely to be up to Reid.
Government budget negotiations this week, after imploderade the Republican participants House majority leader Eric Cantor and the Senate minority whip Jon fridge, withdrew from the Group of six lawmakers who had been meeting regularly with Vice President Joe Biden to hash out a way to reduce the budget and raise the ceiling debt before August. Cantor and Cooling said they could see any way forward with the Democrats in the group insists on raising taxes they felt could never pass Congress.
It is the second part-making group to have failed — the first is the "Gang of six", which still meets as a Gang of five but fizzled after conservative Republican Tom Coburn pulled out earlier.
"It is past time for the bunch of five or six," said Reid to journalists this week. "With the cold and Cantor has done, I think it is (budget) in the hands of the speaker and the President, and, unfortunately, probably me."
It is a role that Reid has that have been used for the last few months of haggling by a tax compromise in December and barely evade a closure by the Government in April. But then he tried mainly conservation programs, not drum up new ones.
Incentive program is not popular price among Republicans. As Nevada's Republican elder Dean Heller has explained, not necessarily the Government's role is to buoy all industries, but a stimulating projects can create several hundred jobs, the number of jobs as the economy has lost during the recession is in the tens of thousands.
Democrats point out that the losses of jobs would have been much worse without the stimulus program.
But the Obama administration seems to be turning a little from the plan stimulus. President Barack Obama asked to about 200 million dollars to back up to 2 billion dollars in loan guarantees in section 1705 the budget he submitted to Congress, but it is a steep decline from the $ 2.5 billion, which was supposed to 30 billion dollars in loans two years ago. Although it may be easier for Obama, and it seems, Reid, to preserve politically also means there will be a lot less to go.
What replaces them cannot look. Obama administration seeks far more money to back a green jobs Innovation Fund, a national infrastructure bank and other initiatives to allocate money for research projects and development initiatives where sustainability is a major factor.
However, applications for new funding is not the most delicious proposal at a time when Congress seems fixated on the Government's cuts to avoid rampant debt.
Lawmakers are talking about changes in Medicare, the future of Social Security, scale down military spending and increase government revenue.
In the midst of all this, developers don't care was their State aid comes from, just as long as the case — if they are to deliver these projects.
"We have another five or six projects in late stage development that will go to commercial markets in 2012 and 2013," said Smith. "But if the American market do not step up and place the program so that we can build these projects, then we take our activities internationally."
No comments:
Post a Comment