Now an independent foundation released a report stating that Texas’s renewable energy future could include almost 23,000 jobs a year and $2.7 billion in local and state tax revenues.  Could clean tech follow high tech and biotech as Texas giants?

The report, announced earlier this week at the State Capitol in Austin, is the work of the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.  In sum, the study proposes the state could become a catalyst for the renewable energy industry, and envisions three scenarios:

• For an approximate $13 increase in residential energy bills, the state could gain a 20% growth in its renewable energy capacity, which in turn would create the best possible scenario, the presumed 22,900 additional clean energy jobs added annually.  State revenues would also reach the aforementioned $2.7 billion mark.  Many residents would probably balk at this—or would the “price of a postage stamp” daily argument work?
• In a baseline scenario, a statewide $4 utility bill increase would create about 6000 new jobs annually, and net a 15% percent increase in Texas’s renewable energy capacity.  Texas would also gain close to $1 billion in revenues, with the state and municipalities splitting that gain about 80-20%.
• If Texas stays the course, there would be some modest growth in job creation, economic growth and tax revenues, but nothing approaching the baseline or best-possible scenarios

Read the rest here:  http://tinyurl.com/2ubknlr 

$6 billion Homestar energy-efficiency proposal gets over one legislative hurdle The bill for the Obama administration’s $6 billion Homestar energy-efficiency program, or cash for caulkers, was approved by the House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment this week. Under the Homestar proposal, homeowners would receive a 50 percent rebate up to $3,000 for a specific energy-efficiency improvement—adding insulation; sealing ducts; installing efficient windows, roofing, or heating or cooling equipment—and a 20 percent rebate up to $3,000 for a whole-house energy-efficiency upgrade. Much of the subcommittee discussion on Homestar centered on spending. Republicans wanted to set a $1 billion cap, which “would be adequate to see how this program performs,” Representative Parker Griffith, an Alabama Republican, told E&E News. The subcommittee agreed to a $6 billion cap for cash for caulkers, though Republicans did succeed in adding an amendment to grant rebates for geothermal heat pumps and tankless water heaters. —Daniel DiClerico

Until Dec. 31, 2010, homeowners can take advantage of a national tax credit on a variety of energy-saving products. Here’s a basic explanation of how the tax credit works, with help from the Internal Revenue Service.

There appears to be a cauldron of federal stimulus money going to waste these days because large numbers of Americans are more concerned about saving their houses than improving them.

This isn’t setting too well with the remodeling industry, especially home-center chains such as Home Depot, which has sent out a reminder that, earlier this year, Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Meaning that, until Dec. 31, 2010, homeowners can take advantage of a national tax credit of 30 percent of the cost, up to $1,500, on a variety of energy-saving products. Insulation, windows and doors, roofing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, tankless water heaters and alternative energy programs, such as solar panels and wind turbines, are covered.

Here’s a basic explanation of how the tax credit works, with help from the Internal Revenue Service.

What the law means: First, the provision that covers this is the Residential Energy Property Credit (Section 1121 of the act), which increases the energy tax credit for homeowners who make energy-efficient improvements to their existing homes. The law increases the credit rate to 30 percent of the cost of all qualifying improvements and raises the maximum credit limit to $1,500 for improvements placed in service in 2009 and 2010.

Didn’t we have this before? A similar credit was available for 2007. Standards for products that qualify for the credit are higher than the ones allowed in the 2007 law. To be helpful, the IRS is advising manufacturers on how they can certify that their products meet these new standards for the credit. Homeowners may continue to rely on manufacturers’ certifications under the 2007 law, such as EnergyStar labels, to see if products they bought before June 1 are eligible.

Here comes the sun: Then there is the Residential Energy-Efficient Property Credit, or Section 1122, of the Recovery Act. This is a nonrefundable energy tax credit designed to help individual taxpayers pay for qualified residential alternative energy equipment, such as solar hot water heaters, geothermal heat pumps, and wind turbines.

What’s new here: The new law removes some of the maximum amounts previously allowed, and permits a credit equal to 30 percent of the cost of qualified products.

So what should I look for? For insulation to qualify, its primary purpose must be to insulate (example: insulated siding does not qualify).

Windows, doors, and skylights: Starting Oct. 1, you’ll see a red or black label, in combination with EnergyStar designations, on these products. The label identifies high-efficiency products that now qualify as EnergyStar but don’t meet the stricter requirements effective April 1, 2010. Windows, doors, and skylights purchased on or after June 1, 2009, must have U-factor and Solar Heat Gain Coefficient (SHGC) ratings of 0.30 or less. These ratings must be certified by the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC). Look for the NFRC label.

Storm windows and doors: There is a tax credit. The best way to find ones that qualify for it is to ask your retailer for the Manufacturer’s Certification Statement for them.

Roofs? “Metal roofs with appropriate pigmented coatings” and “asphalt roofs with appropriate cooling granules” that also meet EnergyStar credits are eligible — just the materials’ cost, not the labor or roof coatings.

Alternative energy: Tax credits are available at 30 percent of the cost, with no upper limit through 2016, for existing homes and new construction, for geothermal heat pumps (they use about 30 percent less energy than a standard heat pump); solar energy systems — both solar hot water heating and photovoltaic power generating; residential small wind turbines with a capacity of not more than 100 kilowatts; residential fuel cell and microturbine systems with at least 30 percent efficiency, and hybrid gasoline-electric, diesel, battery-electric, alternative fuel, and fuel cell vehicles and electric cars.

Ask your tax accountant for details.

China currently receives only a tiny fraction of its electric power from renewable sources (other than hydroelectric). They will try to double their renewable energy production each year for the foreseeable future. It will take many years of doubling to reach an equilibrium point with an economy growing 10% per year. They talk about reducing the carbon output for each unit of production.

Why are the Chinese using this approach? Cap and trade just doesn’t work for them. They can’t put carbon limits on an economy that is growing 10% per year. If the caps really worked, their growth rate would decline substantially. They are not willing to give up the growth which provides jobs for the hundreds of millions of Chinese looking for work to move out of poverty.

To implement this policy of displacement, the Chinese government had decreed that power companies must buy all of the renewable energy produced even if the price of that energy is higher than the price of energy produced from fossil fuels. Note that the price renewable energy producers can charge is regulated by the government but is typically set at a price that provides a decent return for the company. China will also provide fast approval for renewable projects and will work to build out their electric grid to connect new power sources.

The First Solar deal with China to build 20 GigaWatts of solar collectors by the year 2020 is a good example of this policy at work. China guaranteed First Solar a rate tariff on the electricity produced that would make them a profit if they would build a factory in China to produce the panels. China will build the transmission lines to get the power to market for them. In 2020 China will have 20 GigaWatts for solar power which will mean they will product 20 GigaWatts less power from fossil fuels when the sun shines.

The displacement policy means Chinese wind and solar system producers are gearing up to increase production dramatically. This high consistent demand is allowing them to use scale to drive down manufacturing costs. One day renewable may become cost effective as a power source compared to fossil fuels and China won’t have to subsidize their production. In the mean time China creates whole new industries with tremendous export potential and thousands (millions?) of new jobs. They also don’t have to be heavy handed with energy consumers. Consumers will pay a slightly higher price for electricity as the utility companies pass through the higher prices they pay for renewable power.

Read more at Examiner.com:  http://tinyurl.com/y85gcks

 You probably know that this summer, the City of Austin made Energy Audits mandatory in conjunction with home sales.  You may not know that the feedback coming from those inspections is coming in, and homes are consistently rating most poorly in areas of insulation and damaged ductwork.  With much of our local construction style involving dark roofs with AC ducting in uninsulated attics where the summer temps can rise to 125 degrees, it’s no wonder these poor, baked ducts are commonly showing leakage rates of 30-40%.  You can save a lot of money when you aren’t air conditioning the great outdoors! 

There are some fabulous, and relatively untapped, sources of federal tax rebates to reimburse you for having energy retrofit work done, so you can get paid in rebates and save with lower bills.  Earlier this year, Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Until Dec. 31, 2010, homeowners can take advantage of a national tax credit of 30% of the cost, up to $1,500, on a variety of energy-saving products. Insulation, windows and doors, roofing, heating, ventilating and air conditioning systems, tankless water heaters and alternative energy programs, such as solar panels and wind turbines.   Check the Green Living Library for a pdf that outlines these rebates and how to use them.  Stanberry’s Green Team has also assembled some notable discounts through local contractors to enhance your savings even further, also available on our Green Living site. 

If you are considering purchasing a more energy efficient home, we can help you save money on that as well.  New Energy Efficient Mortgages allow you to identify a home to buy, have a HERS rating inspection done (Home Energy Rating System), then borrow an additional amount to cover energy upgrades that will be done at closing.  The title company escrows money to pay contractors, and you can count the monthly savings you will experience as part of your income qualification!  So you can afford more, expect lower energy bills, and on top of that, get money back from the Federal Government for the improvements! 

 The process is made simple by using professionals that understand the processes, and that starts with an informed REALTOR, who is at the center fitting the pieces together for you.  Please let us know how we can assist you; we know the inventory, the processes, and can help make the way smooth through the entire process.  You just can’t say ‘mean green’ anymore, because green is makin’ the livin’ easy!

“I think it’s just basic economics,” said Tom Gladstone, Florida Association of Home Builders regional vice president. “People are just more concerned about how they are spending their money.”

Gladstone owns Tom Gladstone Homes in Panama City and is a certified green professional. People looking to buy a new home want one with lower utility bills, he said. Homes using energy-efficient materials save about 25 percent to 30 percent a month on utilities for homeowners, he said.

A McGraw-Hill Construction report released in March shows green construction is up nationwide, said Arlene Stewart, AZS Consulting president. Construction is down about 40 percent compared to this time last year, according to another McGraw report, but what is being built must be eco-friendly to sell, Stewart said. The company is certified to inspect houses for green construction, according to its Web site.

“All reports indicate if you want to sell, it’s going to have to be green in more than one way,” Stewart said. “It’s a choice between either selling your projects or not selling your projects.”

Gladstone said between more energy-efficient technology and federal tax credits to encourage efficiency, more builders are building greener homes in the past couple of years. The National Association of Home Builders has seen about 25 homes per week since it began its certification program last year. Four homes are U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED-certified. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a standard for determining how eco-friendly a home is.

An unusual alliance of business, trade association and environmental groups are calling on President Barack Obama, Congress and the Senate to implement a tax credit incentive for companies that add a renewable energy fund to employee 401(k) plans. The new legislation could be added to the near completed economic stimulus bill or follow quickly after.

According to the Renewable Energy Task Force of the South Denver Chamber of Commerce, the Renewable Energy 401(k) Tax Credit will be a high yield federal investment.

• Government cost of $7 to $8 billion dollars will generate $60 to $100 billion investment in renewable energy.
• Allow 50 million Americans to invest a projected 5% of their 401(k) plans to clean energy production.
• Create 500,000 or m ore clean energy jobs over three years.
• Create an annual increase of 20,000 MW of new wind, solar and geothermal electrical generation by 2012.
• Help renewable energy meet 100% of new national electricity demand in three years.

“Last year almost half of all new US electricity was generated from renewable energy,” says Jim Welch, CEO of Bella Energy, a Colorado based solar energy firm, “The Renewable Energy 401(k) Tax Credit will rapidly allow all new US electricity to be generated from renewable sources.”

American Wind Association data released last week indicates that more than 8,000 MW of new wind production was built in 2008 with investment in the wind energy sector passing the $17 billion mark. Totaling 42% of all new US generation capacity added in 2008, the newly added wind farms produce enough electricity for 2 million homes. These numbers are up from wind providing 30% of all new US electrical generation in 2007.

The additional annual $20 to $30 billion of new investment generated by the Renewable Energy 401(k) Tax Credit will help to more than double the number of new clean energy megawatts installed each year. With swift passage of the proposed tax credit bill, by 2012 one hundred percent of new US electrical demand can be provided by renewable energy. This is consistent with President Obama’s target to double renewable energy production over the next three years.

“In 2007, investment in the American renewable energy sector, including both wind and solar, was $19 billion dollars with employment of 116,000 people. More than 50,000 new renewable jobs were created in 2008 – that’s an impressive annual growth rate of 45%,” continues Jim Welch, “Congress and the Senate need to support the Renewable Energy 401(k) Tax Credit which will create $100 billion in clean energy investment and 500,000 new green jobs over the next three years.”

Reflecting the national trend, Colorado’s renewable energy sector has been experiencing rapid-fire employment growth. In 2008, AVA Solar added 550 new manufacturing and engineering jobs in Ft. Collins and Longmont. The new AVA manufacturing plant produces thin film solar panels at 30% of the cost of existing solar technology. Vestas built a new wind turbine manufacturing facility near Denver that employs 1,350 Coloradoans and uses 200,000 tons of steel annually to produce enough wind turbines to power more than half a million homes per year. Nationally, wind turbine and turbine component manufacturers announced, added or expanded 55 new facilities in 2008.

As renewable energy production rises faster than demand for electricity, surplus clean generation capacity will be used to retire aging conventional power plants over a 10 to 30 year period leading to significant reductions in climate change causing emissions.