That’s an opening that definitely needs to be explained. Let’s use the example of the great cabbage patch kid hoax at the height of consumer hysteria over that obnoxious toy: in a media announcement, would-be doll purchasers were instructed to present themselves at a certain public venue at a pre-arranged time and, when a special aircraft flew overhead, to hold up their credit cards for airborne inspection. The purchases would be duly recorded, and dolls would be promptly shipped to the desperate (and decidedly gullible) parents.

What’s the connection, I hope you’re asking, to the output of the solar industry? Simply that both are examples of products experiencing a huge surge of interest concentrated into a short period of time. In the case of the doleful-faced dolls, this may have been caused by parental fear of an unsatisfied child at Christmas; with solar installations, it’s been occasioned by the abrupt escalation in energy prices, the possible discontinuation of federal clean energy tax credits at year’s end, and—in certain states—more enlightened rebate/assistance policies for homeowners investing in solar power. The point of the illustration is to show how a sudden spike of demand over supply can lead to consumers being less diligent than they should be when evaluating suppliers. And that’s when the ‘less desirable elements’—the hoaxers and/or scam artists—can enter the picture. (more…)

We’ve also been spectators at the many rounds of the Capitol Hill egg-throwing contest that have passed for debate on this very issue for most of the 110th Congress. Perhaps it’s time, now, to put some meat on the bones of that economic study, and give our Congresspersons some focus. Or, at least, ask them some pointed questions.

Let’s take a tour of the country, and see what it will mean in real terms in just a dozen states, if the ITC is not extended.

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Once more, our senators are about to consider HR6049, the much-abused Renewable Energy and Job Creation Act of 2008.

We know that both sides want to pass this bill. They just need to be reminded to work harder on getting it into a shape that enough of them can vote for. Please send a strong message to your senators by clicking the ‘TAKE ACTION’ button below.

And thanks for being involved!

The study, the Utility Solar Assessment (USA) Study, was jointly produced by research firm Clean Edge and the non-profit organization Co-op America.  It also found that solar power is likely to reach cost parity with fossil fuel-based electricity in most of the USA within a decade.

The study, based on interviews with more than 30 solar, utility, financial and policy experts, can be downloaded at www.cleanedge.com and www.solarcatalyst.org.
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It’s worth reiterating here that our emphasis at Solar Nation is on supporting solar power development, not on disparaging other power sources.  There are plenty of groups and web sites who take that latter tack, and we’ll let them do that.  Our complaint only comes when Government policy (and subsidies) favor other sources to the detriment of solar.  With that said, let’s look at your arguments.
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Yes, there’s a lot of superheated air rising from the chamber floors these days—not an unusual occurrence in itself, but now it seems to be taking the place of real debate on issues of vital importance to our energy future. When Senate Majority Leader Reid resurrected the Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008 (HR6049) for another cloture vote last week we assumed, not unnaturally, that this would lead to some serious back-room bargaining between individuals from House and Senate, so that agreement could be reached before taking up Senate floor time with a nugatory vote.

Silly us. (more…)

Let’s start, arbitrarily, with HR6—last year’s energy bill—that eked out money for corn ethanol and improved the CAFE standards without doing more than token funding for solar power. In February of this year, those measures stripped out from HR6 resurfaced in the economic stimulus bill, HR5140, only to be pushed back down underwater; Congress must have felt the government checks to be sent to taxpayers under this bill were stimulating enough. In the same month we saw HR5351, a stand-alone bill worth some $20 billion in clean energy tax credits. The Senate shook its head.
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But we felt it was worth bringing to your attention a report in the May/June issue of EnergyBiz magazine by Pam Radtke Russell, which strongly suggests that the economic underpinnings of the pro-nuclear argument are sagging. Recent cost estimates for two separate nuclear plant proposals in Florida have shown an increase of more than 100% over industry figures that are just two years old. Combined with similar estimates from such sources as Moody’s Investor Service, these figures—attributable largely to rising costs of metals, forgings and labor—represent a significant threat to the viability of the form of power once touted as “too cheap too meter.”

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You can find the Solar Nation Action Alert here.

To recap: Congress has spent nearly a year debating how to pay for these expiring tax incentives, which make it cheaper for individuals and companies to install renewable energy systems and build energy-efficient buildings. The House doesn’t want to pass any legislation without an identified source of funding, and the Senate won’t consider raising taxes elsewhere to fund the clean energy provisions.

Call it stalemate, call it deadlock, call it a stand-off; the bottom line is, the clean energy revolution is being strangled. Every day that passes without an extension places more green jobs and investment at risk* and slows down our transition to a clean energy economy.

*Estimated at 119,000 jobs and $20 billion. The report can be seen here.
The bill now working its way through Congress is HR6049; it’s summarized here.

In brief, they’ve all been about funding: the bills either targeted oil & gas industry revenues to pay for the tax credits, or they had no source of funding at all. So they all ran into roadblocks manned, respectively, by Senate Republicans or House Democrats. To this day, no-one is willing to budge an inch from their position, even with legislation as important as this.

This week we heard something different from Capitol Hill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Speaker Nancy Pelosi are urging the House Ways & Means Committee to support a small ($6-8 billion) renewable energy tax extenders package that would include Solar and that would be funded, not from the oil & gas industry but from the reporting of credit-card transactions to the IRS.

It’s a new and potentially winning strategy, but it could still fail if House and Senate Republicans–particularly those on the Finance and Ways & Means committees–try to reject the package out of hand. If they indicate that they are leaning this way, House Democrats could very well be discouraged from moving forward with this innovative approach.

We’re targeting just ten senators on the Finance Committee and three representatives on the Ways & Means Committee*, and if you’re a constituent of one of them we urgently need you to call their Washington office and make sure they understand what’s at stake here.

CAN YOU HELP?

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