After failed efforts to pass the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, Senate Democrats have put together an energy bill that aims to reform offshore drilling measures, convert trucks to run on natural gas and cars on electricity, and improve land and water conservation to increase home energy efficiency.
Put in place after the Exxon-Valdez disaster, the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which forces responsible companies to pay for the damage done by oil spills, is currently capped at $75 million; this legislation looks to increase that cap to $10 billion. How can they fund this? Analyst Whitney Stanco believes that “one possibility would be to raise the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund tax from 8 cents per barrel to 49 cents per barrel, which would raise approximately $18 billion.” Additionally, incentives that would convert trucks to run on natural gas and switch cars to electricity could cost the government $4.1 billion, but it would be possible to fund both this measure and the liability cap by raising taxes on oil and gas.
Republicans launched their own, less drastic energy bill on Friday, so bipartisan for either bill does not look promising. With both bills expected to hit the Senate floor this week, senators do not have much time until their recess on August 6th. Environmentalists will be on their toes in hopes that something gets done to reform renewable energy, for China could surpass the US in alternative energy if no changes are made to current policy.
As you probably know, the Home Star Energy Retrofit Act of 2010 passed the House of Representatives in May and needs to go through the Senate before President Obama signs it into law. While many supporters of the bill predicted it would be passed this summer, recent events show that it might not hit the Senate floor until fall.
Many hope that Home Star will be added to the Small Business Jobs Bill that is currently pending in the Senate Finance Committee. That vital decision will be made tomorrow. If added, the future looks promising for energy efficiency and construction industries. If it’s not included, then the fate of those industries will be teetering in the Senate for a few more months.
Assuming Home Star is added to the Small Business Jobs Bill, homeowners will be eligible for 13 types of retrofits and rebates. To view a detailed list of these retrofits and a more comprehensive review of the Home Star program, make sure you take a look at Software Advice’s Construction Blog.
A new report issued by the United Nations Environment Programme and the Renewable Energy Policy Network has announced that, for the second year in a row, the amount of energy being produced in Europe and the United States is coming more from renewable sources than non-renewable sources.
The report noted that renewables accounted for 60% of the new energy in Europe and over 50% in the United States. Experts predict that the world, as a whole, will add more capacity to the electricity supply from renewable energy than non-renewable sources within the next two years.
According to the press release, investment in core clean energy (new renewables, biofuels and energy efficiency) decreased by 7% in 2009 to the value of $162 billion; however, there was record investment in wind power, which accounted for 56% of new investment in all sustainable energy.
The report also found that China surpassed the United States as the country with the greatest investment in clean energy. China now produces 40 percent of all solar photo-voltaic products and 77 percent of all solar hot water collectors. However, China isn’t the only country that is increasing its investment in renewable energy. The press release noted that the number of countries implementing energy policies has doubled from 55 in 2005 to more than 100 in 2009—and over half of them are in the developing world.
To view the entire press release, visit UNEP’s website here.
So you’ve probably heard of PACE financing in the past and, like many, thought it was too good to be true. Well, recent events show that it might just be.
While President Obama and the Department of Energy may have supported PACE with a $100 million stimulus package, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently issued letters that indicated they would not purchase mortgages with a PACE lien.
The way PACE programs are set up, they become the primary lien (a legal claim or hold on a piece of property) to existing first mortgages. Lenders are concerned that loans previously secured by mortgages will not be readily sellable in the secondary market because they are primed by the liens from PACE property tax assessments. Additionally, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac insist that they are the primary lien on any mortgage that they acquire, so they will refuse to buy a mortgage that inhibits them from being so.
Despite support from the Obama administration, the future of PACE looks uncertain. Yesterday, The Federal Housing Finance Agency endorsed Mae and Mac’s negative view of PACE and seemed to reject state and federal arguments that supported the program. PACE advocates are now trying everything they can to change the mind of the FHFA, but if they fail, PACE could have no future at all. Stay tuned for up-to-date information on this energy issue.
During his weekly national address, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy would be awarding $2 billion to two solar energy companies in hopes of creating jobs and stimulating solar technology production in the United States.
One of the firms that will be given the loan is Abenoga Solar, which will be awarded $1.45 billion in order to create the largest solar energy plant in the world. The plant will be built in Arizona and is estimated to supply more than 70,000 homes with clean energy, preventing the emission of 475,000 tons of carbon dioxide per year. Abound Solar Manufacturing will be given the remaining money and plans to build two separate solar arrays in Colorado and Indiana. Together, the projects will create more than 3,600 construction jobs and over 1,500 permanent jobs.
San Diego native Bill Walton has come a long way since his days shooting hoops in the Helix High School gym. After an illustrious career at UCLA, in the NBA and as a sports commentator, Walton is now getting involved in local business ventures.
Bill Walton is standing in front of a basketball hoop in the gym at Helix Charter High School in La Mesa, and he’s talking about the journey of Bill Walton in the same voice he used for more than a decade as a basketball commentator on television. He speaks deliberately, often pausing between words for effect.
“Sometimes the light’s all shining on me. Other times, I can barely see,” he is saying, using an old Grateful Dead lyric. “But to be … back in the game of life at such a dynamic time… is really the greatest opportunity … and the greatest challenge.”
Forty years since he played at Helix, Walton has turned his sights back home to San Diego. The La Mesa native is starting over after 14 years in the NBA and 19 years as a broadcaster — this time as a businessman. Just since the year started, he’s emerged as a leading figure in three local business ventures.
Walton is the executive chairman of SD Sport Innovators, a trade group that mentors sports companies and is part of the nonprofit high-tech trade organization Connect. He’s also working as a spokesman for NuVasive, a local medical device company that developed a spinal procedure Walton underwent last year. And he’s a spokesman for Greener Dawn, a Solana Beach based-firm that specializes in energy efficiency consulting and helping young clean technology companies find investors.
A lot has changed for the two-time NBA champion. He won’t say why he left broadcasting last fall — only that “broadcasting left me.” Since then, Walton has focused on figuring out what he wants to do here, at home.
“I left here in 1970 to chase my dream. A lot of those dreams came true,” Walton says. “I’ve always lived here but I’m guilty of not being involved in all aspects of our great city. Now it’s time for me to help other people with their dreams.”
Most of all, he says he feels very lucky, like he’s been given his life back. For the better part of the last two-and-half years, Walton found himself in pain so excruciating he was unable to work. He hurt his back while playing basketball at University of California, Los Angeles in the early 1970s and the pain continued on and off for years, worsening recently.
“I had a life that was not worth living,” Walton says. “The pain … the limitations … imagine yourself being submerged in a vat of boiling acid with an electrifying current running through that liquid and that does not even come remotely close to how bad it was.”
It got so bad he was forced to have spinal surgery about 13 months ago. Doctors inserted four four-inch bolts, two titanium rods, and spacers in between his vertebrae to hold his spine together, he says. Walton’s no stranger to surgery — he was plagued by foot injuries in his playing days that paved the way for his move into broadcasting in the early 1990s. His latest surgery has required regular early morning visits to a pool at a Mission Valley YMCA facility for more than two hours of physical therapy and then weight training at home in his garage near Balboa Park.
Then he gets to work. His involvement with these projects is still in the early stages so Walton says he spends a lot of time in meetings. He’s been talking with local companies and individuals who might be interested in investing in SD Sport Innovators so the organization can become independent of Connect, says Garrett Hale, Walton’s assistant at SD Sport Innovators. With Greener Dawn, Walton is often on the phone brainstorming ways to develop business for the company, says Courtland Weisleder, its president.
The themes of those projects — innovation, technology, mentoring — fit into Walton’s vision for improving the world. When he was younger, Walton was an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War and Richard Nixon, says his older brother, Bruce Walton. Their parents instilled in them the importance of leaving the world better than they found it.
They emphasized that “if the way to do that was through change, to not be afraid to go down that path,” Bruce Walton says. “Bill has been very fortunate that he’s always been able to do something he’s been passionate about.”
That includes this current phase of Walton’s life, or as Bruce calls it, “the next reinvention of Bill Walton.”
Giving back is an important part of that, Bill Walton says. “Our responsibility to the next generation … our duty to leave this world a better place for our children and theirs. And that means … a sustainable environment and economy … so that they can have their dreams come true as ours have.”
The Connect organization, SD Sport Innovators, started in 2007 as a way to provide local sports companies with guidance on business and marketing plans. There are now more than 600 sports companies in San Diego, from surfboard foam manufacturers to sneaker fabric designers. But SD Sport Innovators struggled without someone dedicating attention to it on a full-time basis, says Marco Thompson, one of the group’s co-founders and current board member.
When Connect’s CEO Duane Roth met with Walton about the job, Roth says he came away impressed.
“I thought Bill interviewed me more than I interviewed him,” Roth says. “He has to be very articulate on these issues.”
Weisleder has noticed the impact too. Since Walton joined Greener Dawn as a spokesman, more companies have started paying attention to the year-old firm, Weisleder says.
Walton hopes to raise San Diego’s profile as well. After spending the last 40 years on the road, he says he can’t stop smiling when he comes home.
“Loyalty!” his voice booms in the gym. “A human attribute … that enables people to achieve … extraordinary feats because they care.” He pauses.”I care about Helix. I care about San Diego. That’s why I’m involved.” The bell in the gym rings loudly, drowning him out.
“Ah! The bells,” he says.
Later, when Walton stands up to walk out of the gym at Helix, a group of students filing into the gym suddenly take notice of the 6-foot-11-inch man in white sneakers walking toward them.
“Oh my God, it’s Bill Walton!” one student exclaims. Heads turn, jaws drop and the students’ chatter spikes in volume.
Walton raises his long arms, grinning. “Helix, baby!” he says in his booming voice. He’s home.
Solana Beach, CA (November 9th, 2009) – Greener Dawn Residential, specializing in energy efficiency for residential properties, announces a partnership with the City of Victorville to launch a Home Energy Audit, Training and Retrofit Program. This program, the first of its kind in the state of California, will integrate the “energy efficiency whole house approach” into Victorville’s Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP).
The program will include:
Energy efficiency training for housing and building inspectors
Audits and energy smart rehabilitation plans on acquired properties
Building performance training for local contractors
The benefits of Greener Dawn’s turnkey program include improving the continued affordability of the homes by lowering utility bills for homeowners, establishing a foundation for local green jobs and economic growth and positioning the city to receive additional federal and state grants.
“Existing programs within cities frequently address rehabilitations for homes, but often overlook the opportunity to incorporate a whole house energy approach,” Doug Donovan, Director at Greener Dawn, states. “Through this partnership, Victorville is taking a critical step for the environment and making a savvy move for their local economy.” Homes that are included in the program will save an average of $75 per month and offer substantial ancillary benefits to residents.
Going beyond the typical product approach to energy efficiency, the program will include a HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating, the national recognized residential energy scoring tool, for each home audited. The Energy Smart Rehabilitation Plan component will promote a whole house approach to all retrofit work and prepare the community for the future of the building performance industry.
“We’re excited about our partnership with Greener Dawn”, said Tamara Torres, Redevelopment Housing Manager. “By embedding the energy-efficiency component into our current NSP, we can fuel a new engine for local economic growth, job creation and neighborhood stability. It’s exciting to use environmental solutions to meet economic challenges.”
About Greener Dawn
Greener Dawn Inc. focuses on energy and water efficiency, LEED consulting, energy audits, and carbon strategies for Residential and Commercial real estate. Taking a holistic approach to making an asset more sustainable maximizes lower operating expenses, green collar jobs creation, and carbon footprint reduction. Homeowners, municipalities, asset managers, and building owners are their clients. For more information, visit www.greenerdawn.com.
About Victorville
The City of Victorville is situated approximately 97 miles Northeast of Los Angeles and 35 miles northeast of San Bernardino with convenient access to major interstates, railways, trucking routes and international airports, making it one of Southern California’s most significant logistics hubs. The City has a growing residential population of over 100,000. Victorville is a pro-business community offering many incentives, which has helped to attract corporate relocations from notable companies including, Newell Rubbermaid, GE Transportation, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, M&M/Mars and Dr Pepper Snapple Group. For more information, visit w ww.victorvillecity.com.
