Bruce551 Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 The One Bi-Partisan Issue: Jobs by Mark Braly President Obama's axing of the F-22 fighter jet suggests there could be a new day dawning for pork. While most of the bad press was directed at the pet projects that members of Congress added to the budget, this was chump change compared to the obsolete Cold War weapons systems which have larded the defense budget for decades. Obsolete Cold War weapons systems have lingered on for decades for lack of a suitable job-creating substitute. Renewable energy is it. The Cold War has been over for a long time but we?ve yet to find a suitable bi-partisan substitute for all those jobs. The Pentagon and its civilian allies in the Military-Industrial Complex had perfected a system for allocating these jobs on a state-by-state, district-by-district basis. They give members of Congress the privilege of announcing all the job-rich contracts that fall to their districts. But the bi-partisan substitute is now obvious. It?s green energy, which will need massive defense-style investments for many years to come. It offers the same bi-partisan appeal of defense spending. Who can say ?no? to national security? Even the Pentagon lists dependence on oil imported from unstable regions as a major threat to national security. And President Obama hopes that renewable energy will erase some of the nation?s trade deficit, which largely reflects the nation?s dependence on imported petroleum. But it is China that, with generous government subsidies and other support, is positioning itself to be the world?s leading exporter of renewable energy. By contrast, the U.S. Congress has never seen fit to make tax breaks for renewable energy open ended, with the result that stop-and-go U.S. supports may have hindered the industry more than helped it. But the Obama administration is determined to change this. The Energy and Treasury departments announced this month that they would give $2.3 billion in tax credits to clean energy equipment manufacturers. It?s a start. Still, as the New York Times points out, ?Many worry that Western companies may have fragile prospects when competing with Chinese companies that have cheap loans, electricity and labor, paying recent college graduates in engineering $7,000 a year. Since March, Chinese governments at the national, provincial and even local level have been competing with one another to offer solar companies ever more generous subsidies, including free land, and cash for research and development. State-owned banks are flooding the industry with loans at considerably lower interest rates than available in Europe or the United States.? A more strategic approach would be to build bi-partisan support for renewable energy based on the jobs that would be created in each and every state and district. If Democrats and Republicans can agree on anything, it?s jobs and national security. Under this bi-partisan banner, America has built the world?s mightiest military, shoveling half of the federal budget into this maw year after year. The Cold War, which was the rationale for all this military spending, is a fading memory. And yet military spending currently stands at almost half of all U.S. tax outlays, without including domestic security costs or even nuclear weapons sequestered in the Dept. of Energy budget. The justification of the spending need not change if it shifts from arms to renewable energy. It?s still national security. Hawks may argue, but we can be sure they will succumb to lure of jobs for their constituents. Obsolete Cold War weapons systems have lingered on for decades for lack of a suitable job-creating substitute. Renewable energy is it. China PV: by Staff Writers Baoding, China (SPX) Aug 31, 2009 As China boosts solar energy to meet growing power demand and reduce dependence on imported fuels, Tianwei and Oerlikon Solar announced the completion of one of the mainland China's largest thin film solar panel factories. The facility was completed ahead of schedule. This first phase of the Tianwei project produces 500,000 modules per year, which generates a total of 46 megawatts of power. Oerlikon Solar leads the thin film solar equipment sector with ten factories in production and the fastest time to market. Thin film solar offers a cost-advantage over traditional crystalline silicon, and is making strong efficiency gains. Tianwei is using Oerlikon Solar's Amorph High Performance PV technology for Phase 1. "Oerlikon Solar surpassed its promised completion time and efficiency," said Mr. Ma Wenxue, General Manager of Baoding Tianwei Solarfilms Co., Ltd. "Watching this state of-the-art fab go from an empty room to full production in six months was stunning." Thailand: Tianwei Silicon, a subsidiary of power transformer and solar cell manufacturer Baoding Tianwei Baobian Electric (600550.SH), has agreed to a three-year exclusive thin-film partnership with Thai Green Energy, In-en.com reported quoting a company announcement released September 8. Under the agreement, Thai Green Energy will purchase a minimum of 5MW of thin-film solar modules this year, at least 25MW next year and no less than 40MW in 2011 from Tianwei Silicon, according to the report. Thailand Energy Efficiency: Power bills to be cut by B100bn Writer: Bangkokpost.com Published: 9/09/2009 at 08:32 PM Business leaders and state enterprises have announced an ambitious programme aimed at cutting electricity spending by 100 billion baht by 2011. Energy Minister Wannarat Channukul said the energy-sharing scheme would cover more than 5,000 companies that are members of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) and the Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC). The Energy Ministry and the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand will collaborate with the two business groups to share information on ways to save power and improve efficiency in energy usage. A similar programme last year resulted in savings of 30 billion baht. Mr Wannarat said the ministry would offer incentives to private businesses to undertake various conservation initiatives, including tax incentives, interest-rate subsidies for loans taken to invest in energy-saving technology or financial support through the energy services company fund (Esco). The 5,000 companies registered with the FTI and the TCC in turn are linked with another 25,000 subcontractors and suppliers that could also participate in the programme, he said. "During the economic slowdown, saving on your energy bills is a good means of cutting costs, certainly better than cutting jobs or simply giving up your businesses,'' Mr Wannarat said. The ministry plans to double its funding for loans through the Esco fund to one billion baht for fiscal 2010 starting next month. The fund will also subsidise interest expenses by up to three percentage points for private bank loans taken by companies to invest in energy-conservation programmes. The Esco fund, first launched in 2005, helped 60 companies last year to achieve an estimated savings of 800 million baht in electricity expenses out of investments of 3.5 billion in new equipment and building renovations. Leaders of the FTI and the TCC agreed to help promote the state programme among private businesses, as well as communicate the advantages of adopting more energy-efficient technology. More than 12 commercial banks also joined the programme last year by providing soft loans to applicants. A total of 65.3 billion baht was provided to participating operators since the programme started early last year. Mr Wannarat said there was still much room to improve in both production processes and logistics. "Thailand's energy costs account for over 15% of gross domestic product, significantly higher than some developed countries where energy consumption is less than 8% of GDP,'' he said. Cracks are starting to appear in EGAT'S energy empire I read that energy efficiency consultants from utility companies in the USA advised the Ministry of Energy to "go around" EGAT" and implement energy efficiency projects themselves. Thumbs up for Ministry of Energy. :arrow: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusbheld Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 didn't read the article (it's long) but as far as the chinese and renewable energy goes, they've had a very simple, very inexpensive, very ingenious solar water heater for years. almost bought one for my ex gf's mom's house once, there just wasn't enough roof space so we'd have had nowhere to put it. my money's on the chinese. america doesn't make things anymore, unless you count the constant invention of loopy conspiracy theories. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eagle Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 didn't read the article (it's long) but as far as the chinese and renewable energy goes, they've had a very simple, very inexpensive, very ingenious solar water heater for years. almost bought one for my ex gf's mom's house once, there just wasn't enough roof space so we'd have had nowhere to put it. my money's on the chinese. america doesn't make things anymore, unless you count the constant invention of loopy conspiracy theories. don't forget the pyramid schemes :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeusbheld Posted September 11, 2009 Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 didn't read the article (it's long) but as far as the chinese and renewable energy goes, they've had a very simple, very inexpensive, very ingenious solar water heater for years. almost bought one for my ex gf's mom's house once, there just wasn't enough roof space so we'd have had nowhere to put it. my money's on the chinese. america doesn't make things anymore, unless you count the constant invention of loopy conspiracy theories. don't forget the pyramid schemes :wink: like most visionaries, Ponzi was treated like a criminal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce551 Posted September 11, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2009 Fact check PV USA Who's the leading thin-film PV manufacturer? First Solar, a US company. Who's one of the top two super-monocrystalline cell/module producers? SunPower, a US company. Who's the preeminent polysilicon manufacturer? Hemlock Semiconductor, a US company. Who's number one in the production of flexible amorphous-silicon laminates? ECD Uni-Solar, a US company. Who's the biggest name in multijunction III-V solar cells, with 100% installed capacity market share on Mars? Boeing Spectrolab, a US company. Who's the top dog in PV production equipment? Applied Materials, a US company. Who's one of the top gas and chemicals materials suppliers to the PV industry? Air Products, a US company. Where are the lion's share of CIGS, non-First Solar CdTe, and organic thin-film and nano whatsits PV start-ups, early stagers, and production companies located? Yup, right here in the USA. http://www.nanosolar.com/ http://www.solyndra.com/ Which leading academic research institutions in the area of solar PV research call the US home? Georgia Tech's UCEP, MIT, Caltech, University of Toledo, UC Berkeley...the list goes on. The USA is a very serious competitor in the worldwide PV business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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