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Green energy jobs: Gone abroad with the wind

Oil isn’t the only domestic industry at risk of losing out to overseas competitors: It seems that a lot of federal government money allocated for renewable energy sources, like wind, has blown over to China, Spain and other foreign shores.

Of course, wind cannot be imported and exported like oil. It just blows where it will. But that has not stopped the U.S. from giving substantial funds for wind power plant projects to foreign businesses. A group of enterprising journalism students recently followed the money and found that the majority of clean energy grants the U.S. has issued in recent months have gone to companies in Spain, China and elsewhere that manufacture wind turbines or are building power plants in the U.S.  What’s worse, many of these funds were U.S. stimulus dollars, allocated under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and intended specifically to revive the American economy and create more jobs.

How does U.S. money allocated for American industry drift offshore so quickly? The short answer is that some other countries are further along in the development of wind power and the like. When the U.S. got serious about building up this new power industry, it partnered with foreign businesses that had the expertise it needed.

It sounds logical, to a point. The problem is, it’s the same sort of logic that is often offered to explain the country’s growing dependence on foreign oil. We’d prefer to tap existing fields far from home, rather than drill our own and invest in our future here at home. It comes down to a failure to adequately use our own natural resources, including not just what comes out of the ground, but all of the people who work to produce it. Whether you’re talking about oil or wind, the labor needed to develop all this power is a vital natural resource. At a time when so many American jobs are needed, this astonishing spending of U.S. stimulus funds to foreign wind power companies has struck a nerve.

Some lawmakers are now trying to block a major wind power project in Texas that is a joint venture between a U.S. company and a Chinese company, out of fears the investment will create more jobs in China than the U.S. “The project should not receive a dime of stimulus funds unless it relies on U.S.-manufactured products,” Senator Charles Schumer said recently, in calling on the government to block funds for the Texas project. That should go without saying. Hopefully this wind scandal will serve to remind us all of the folly of overlooking our own resources.

CEA December 2009 Newsletter

CEA Newsletter
Issue 33

Message from CEA President David Holt
As 2009 draws to a close, Consumer Energy Alliance would like to thank all of our members and affiliate organizations for your support and tireless efforts in support of balanced energy policy. Now is also the time to look back at 2009 and evaluate our progress and share that with you.

This year saw CEA add 15 more affiliates to our alliance, which now includes 125 varied organizations – consumers, business, agriculture, industry, end-users, energy providers and suppliers.

Our consumer advocate membership has also skyrocketed, more than doubling in the past year from close to 100,000 people in 2009 to 265,000-plus currently.

We worked tirelessly with our affiliates, supporters and other stakeholders to promote a comprehensive and balanced national energy policy. We hosted our annual CEA Energy Day and Energy Forum in Washington, DC, released numerous publications related to energy issues affecting American consumers and participated in several key calls to action on energy policy and regulatory initiatives, including the development of a new Five Year Program for America’s offshore oil and gas resources.

While 2009 has certainly included major achievements, such as overwhelming support for development of American resources, the fight for a strong and secure national energy policy is far from over.

Therefore, CEA asks you, our members, to continue to act by sending letters, responding to calls to action and mobilizing others to act in favor of a national energy policy that will:

  • Allow for the responsible access to all domestic energy resources;
  • Accelerate the use of alternatives and renewable resources;
  • Improve efforts to encourage energy efficiency and conservation; and
  • Expand energy education funding and research.

As a consumer, the choices you make can have an impact. CEA is here to provide the resources and information you need to make informed decisions about energy use and conservation and to furnish you with the knowledge that you can help to make a difference. We want you to have a voice in the debate to help guarantee a safe and sound energy future for all of us.

Thank you for helping CEA empower America. We look forward to continuing our critical efforts with your support in 2010.

Happy holidays!

David Holt
President

Announcing the CEA Store – Perfect for Holiday Gifts!
In time for the holiday season, CEA has launched an online store complete with CEA and domestic energy development-themed merchandise. We’ve included many unique items that will appeal to every taste and budget, such as T-shirts, sweatshirts, bags, yard signs, buttons, mugs and even a doggie-sized T-shirt for your four-footed friend. Help CEA spread the word regarding the necessity of a balanced energy policy for America! Visit the CEA Store today.

Help Defeat Efforts to Ban North American Energy and Increase Prices at the Pump!
The Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is being sold to the American public as a way to blend transportation fuels with low-carbon alternatives so that tailpipe CO2 emissions can be reduced. But the fact is that affordable and reliable lower-carbon fuel options are not yet available. As a result, an LCFS simply will increase the cost of diesel fuel and gasoline and will place certain domestic supplies of transportation fuels off limits. Increasing the cost of transportation fuel and U.S. dependence upon foreign sources of petroleum is simply unsound energy policy.

Join our effort to defeat these measures, which would put an economic stranglehold on America and leave U.S. consumers stuck with higher prices at the pump. Send in your comments today!

CEA Blog: Cow Power
Check out CEA’s recent blog entry about farmers and their methods of turning waste from dairy cows into real power for home electricity.  Join the conversation at CEA’s website. Read blog…

Lowering Emissions Without Cap-And-Trade: A Programmatic Approach
By Tom Moskitis, Managing Director of External Affairs, American Gas Association

Climate Change is one of the top two issues of the current Administration and Majority Party in Congress. While most emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) come from electric power generation, transportation and industry, emissions from low volume residential and commercial natural gas consumers have been small in comparison.

In fact, from 1990 through 2005, emissions from these two sectors have been flat and emissions from the industrial sector have actually declined markedly. Residential natural gas consumers, all 60+ million of them, use 32 percent less natural gas today than they did in 1990. They are already doing their part for the environment and can be expected to do more.

Natural gas utilities in sixteen states have decoupled their rates and have undertaken substantial energy efficiency programs. Such a programmatic approach to reducing emissions, also involving building code advocacy, has been demonstrated to produce results without the imposition of a cap and trade system.

American Gas Association’s position on the climate change legislation now in Congress is as follows:

  • Natural gas is America’s clean, secure, efficient, and abundant fossil fuel.
  • Allocating allowances for the benefit of energy consumers – as favored in the bill from 2012 through 2030 – is the best way to protect these consumers from significantly higher energy bills as America transitions to a lower carbon energy future.
  • Natural gas utilities should be allocated 12% of allowances, and they should be phased out by 2040 rather than 2030.
  • All allowances allocated to natural gas local distribution companies should be used to benefit consumers, as required in the bill, but a mandatory one-third of this allocation directed towards energy efficiency programs is not necessary, is costly to consumers, and is inconsistent with the treatment of other similar industries.
  • Natural gas local distribution utilities generally support the planning and reporting requirements in the bill, although some greater state level latitude is recommended.
  • The formula for distributing allowances should be based on deliveries to non-covered entities.
  • Require full-fuel-cycle energy analysis in making energy efficiency determinations.
  • Grant parity in treatment of renewable natural gas burned for essential human needs with that granted to renewable natural gas used to make electricity.

Residential natural gas consumers, who use the fuel for essential human needs, have a 40-year record of reducing consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

History demonstrates that programmatic measures, such as appliance efficiency standards and building codes and standards, are most effective in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and AGA has a preference for such measures rather than a cap-and-trade approach.

Beyond the bills now in Congress, AGA advocates for the direct use of natural gas by the customer. Using gas directly for thermal applications such as space heating, water heating and cooking is a pathway to greater energy efficiency and lower carbon emissions. AGA was successful in getting a provision into pending legislation calling for a “carbon footprint” on appliance Energy Guide labels. Abundant information is available on the AGA website, including a link to a carbon calculator and information on Natural Gas Vehicles as well as on all the energy and environmental issues of the day.

The American Gas Association (AGA) is the national, nonprofit trade association serving over 200 investor-owned and municipal natural gas distribution utilities. AGA actively advocates for natural gas utilities, and the over 65 million homes and businesses that they serve, in Congress and before the Executive Branch of the Federal Government and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Consumer Corner: Save Energy This Holiday Season!
As you prepare for the holiday season, use a few of these easy, energy-efficient tips from the Environmental Protection Agency to save energy and reduce waste.

  1. Using a real tree? Contact your local community solid waste department for information on recycling. Alternatively, use a potted tree which can be planted.
  2. Unplug lights and decorations during the day to save energy and make your lights last longer.
  3. Look for holiday greeting cards made from recycled materials.
  4. Use reusable cloth shopping bags for toting holiday purchases rather than paper and plastic bags.
  5. Save gift wraps and ribbons for use on next year’s presents. Wrap presents for others in recycled trimmings you’ve saved.
  6. Use cloth napkins and reusable dishes and silverware for your holiday gatherings rather than disposable paper and plastics.
  7. Purchase rechargeable batteries for electronic gifts.
  8. Donate your children’s older or outgrown toys and books to charities and local libraries.

For more holiday energy saving tips, visit the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s website.

Russia May Fund Energy Investment Projects in Iran
Russia and Iran, which together hold significant portions of the world’s natural gas and oil, may develop joint energy ventures in Iran according to a recent statement by Russia’s Energy Minister. Read article…

LED Light Bulbs Use Five Times Less Energy Than Standard Incandescent Bulbs According to Study
Osram, a German lighting company, recently published the results of a study that supports use of LED light bulbs over standard incandescent bulbs to save energy. Read article…

Affiliate Spotlight: American Gas Association
The American Gas Association represents 202 local energy companies that deliver clean natural gas throughout the United States and serve tens of millions of consumers.

“There are more than 70 million residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the U.S., of which almost 93 percent — more than 171 million American — receive their gas from AGA members,” says Vice President of Communications and Marketing Laura Sheehan. “Our mission is to advocate for natural gas utility companies and their customers, and to provide a broad range of programs and services for member natural gas pipelines, marketers, gatherers, international natural gas companies and industry associates.”

AGA recognizes that energy is one of the most important issues in the nation today and that development of sound governmental policies that incorporate clean abundant fuels such as natural gas is critical.

“Energy affects every facet of our lives from traveling to work, to cooking and cleaning, to heating homes and making businesses run,” explains Sheehan. “For nearly a century natural gas has played a key role in making America a prosperous and secure nation, and it is now poised to play an even more important role in meeting the challenge of global climate change while ensuring increased energy efficiencies.

“While we know natural gas is abundant and capable of meeting a broad spectrum of energy demands, we must have increased access to this value-rich fuel in order to keep it affordable for all Americans. For this reason, AGA continues to work with Congress to pass balanced policies that take into account the very real need for increased supplies of traditional and unconventional resources.”

AGA is committed to increasing the domestic supply of natural gas and works actively to encourage legislation favorable to its development.

“The bottom line is this – increased use of this single fuel can help America achieve greater energy efficiency, energy independence, and create and retain jobs, all while making an immediate positive impact on the environment,” she emphasizes. “Simply put, natural gas is the cleanest burning of all the fossil fuels, emitting 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal and 30 percent less than heating oil.”

“Natural gas is domestically abundant and production has been on the rise, particularly in the unconventional plays such as shale gas. But more conventional supply is needed to meet America’s growing demand, so legislators must allow more access to many of our most promising new natural gas supply areas.”

As a member of Consumer Energy Alliance, AGA’s goal is to facilitate educating consumers about energy awareness through CEA’s communications regarding the latest energy developments, trends and legislation initiatives.

“AGA believes that real, fundamental change starts at the ground level – and that’s what attracts us most to CEA,” Sheehan notes. “CEA’s grassroots approach to consumer education and advocacy is effective and powerful. Its thoughtful, non-partisan campaign to bring together consumers with the energy industry and with Congress will only increase understanding of the energy challenges we face today, which is a win for all involved.”

For more information on American Gas Association, visit www.aga.org.

Cow power

There’s something, well, powerful, about any creature that produces 120 pounds of waste every day. That’s the amount of manure that dairy farmers must clean up every day, from every single cow on the farm. That’s right: 120 pounds of manure. Every day. Every cow.

It’s a lot of waste going to waste, so to speak. Farmers have long joked about turning all that waste, which happens to be rich in methane gas, into real energy. And now that vision is starting to become a reality in California, thanks to a serious push to use more renewable power, and improved technology for breaking down the manure in a way that captures the methane.

Call it Cow Power. Bioenergy Solutions is a company based in Bakersfield, California, that has developed a system to make this conversion from waste to energy more cost effective for farmers. In fact, the company was founded by a group of dairy farmers who became inspired after spending so many days knee deep in you know what.

The company says the technology is still being perfected, but that biomethane plants in general have become more economically feasible now that utilities are working to derive more power from renewable sources. Cow manure may not conjure up the same romantic image as a windmill churning on the horizon or a sleek solar panel basking on the roof of a house. But you can’t get more renewable than a cow that generates that volume of waste, day in and day out.

Bioenergy Solutions says it is currently producing enough power for 1,000 homes, from 2,400 cows. The company has contracts with 40 dairy farms and many more have expressed interest.

These optimistic estimates are derived from limited, small scale production, and offer no guarantee that they could be replicated on a grand scale. Still, the numbers are so encouraging, that it can get you thinking about what could be accomplished with twice, or three times the number of cows.

Before you travel too far down that line of reasoning, remember the 120 pounds of manure that every single cow produces every single day, and ask yourself if we really need more of that.

Perhaps Cow Power is best positioned as a niche industry.

Foltz interviewed for The American Oil & Gas Reporter: Energy Policy Affects Consumers Too, November 2009

Click here to view coverage of CEA-South Executive Director Tommy Foltz as interviewed by The American Oil & Gas Reporter: Energy Policy Affects Consumers Too, November 2009.

NEBA Hears Batt at the September Meeting, November-December 2009

Click here to view coverage of CEA-Florida Executive Director Dave Batt at the September 2009 meeting of the Northeast Business Association.

Happy Thanksgiving, Happy Travels

In what has become something of an annual pre-Thanksgiving tradition, the latest survey of people’s travel plans this year shows a slight increase in the number of people who plan to travel by car, along with a rather sharp decline in those traveling to their turkey dinner by plane.

These surveys can offer a useful picture of the health of the economy, the affordability of gasoline, and maybe even the state of the American family. But it is also possible that we get carried away interpreting the annual data and overlook the larger point: Travel is something we’ve all come to take for granted.

Some might call it a right. Others see it as a privilege, or even a luxury. Some will scrape together the spare change around the house to pay for a 200-mile drive. Others won’t think twice about flying their entire family across the country.

And yes, some people have decided that they cannot afford to travel this year. It’s a sign of the tough economy we are all still struggling under, as well as a reminder that reasonably affordable travel is not a guarantee, even here in America where families scattered around the country tend to trust that they can all come together during the holidays.

In many ways, whether we stick with familiar territory or seek to discover new places, we live the way we travel: some on a small scale, others with grand plans.

But for the most part, even those of more modest means do travel a fair amount. Just the fact that we seriously review the shifting trends in travel by plane, train and automobile, show how fortunate we are to have so many options for getting around.

Whether you’re braving the crowds and the traffic this Thanksgiving, or staying close to home, we hope you enjoy a happy holiday with family, friends and food. As we give thanks for all these big things that make our lives rich and meaningful, remember too that the convenience of affordable travel makes all of our days run more smoothly.

CEA Analysis Finds LCFS a Bad Option for Northeast

Consumer Energy Alliance analyzes Low-Carbon Fuel Standard compliance scenarios for 11 northeast states

WASHINGTON – November 13, 2009   A regional Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) imposed on 11 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states would result in prohibitively high gasoline, diesel and home heating oil prices, and would likely be logistically impossible to meet under any of the compliance scenarios currently being considered. That’s the conclusion reached in a new analysis produced by Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) and submitted this week to the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM).

“Our analysis shows that under each of the compliance scenarios contemplated by NESCAUM, the imposition of an LCFS on the Northeast will lead to substantially higher prices at the pump and restricted access to essential fuels such as gasoline, diesel and home heating oil – without doing a thing to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions,” said CEA vice president Michael Whatley, who participated in two public meetings hosted by NESCAUM in Newark, N.J. and Boston last month.

Created in the 1960s to advocate for the Clean Air Act, NESCAUM is currently working to develop a framework to encourage Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states to adopt model LCFS requirements, thus creating the nation’s first regional standard.  At its core, an LCFS seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by restricting the use of conventional fuels such as gasoline and diesel, while increasing the use of alternatives.

In analyzing potential methods for designing an LCFS, CEA considered the consequences of two compliance scenarios reportedly under consideration by the group: 1) forcing fuel producers to meet LCFS mandates by injecting enormous amounts of corn-based ethanol into fuel stocks, or 2) forcing them to purchase carbon credits for the right to remain in business.

Under the ethanol compliance scenario, CEA found that in order to meet a 10 percent emissions reduction target, ethanol would need to comprise a full 50 percent of the region’s fuel supply. To handle this E-50 ethanol, every single car in the 11-state region would need to become a “flex-fuel” vehicle, a significant feat considering that today less than one percent of vehicles on the road meet that standard.

Logistics aside, the plan would also cost some serious money:

In order to handle gasoline with an ethanol blend over 10%, gasoline storage tanks and pumps … will need to be replaced with special tanks and equipment … currently projected to cost between $50,000 and $200,000 per location.

Under the credit purchase scenario, fuel retailers would need to purchase credits from alternative energy producers to comply with an LCFS. However, given the relative lack of commercially available technology in this space at present, it’s not entirely clear how compliance could be met under this scenario — a fact that NESCAUM admits in its report (page 21):

While the outlook of these technologies is promising, the volumes that would be required in order to meet a 10 percent LCFS by 2020 greatly exceed the volumes that have been produced to date.

In formal comments submitted to NESCAUM following its LCFS meetings, CEA also analyzed policy alternatives that could achieve emissions reductions in ways that are cheaper and more efficient than an LCFS. Comparing these alternatives to current LCFS proposals, CEA concludes that an LCFS will raise fuel costs substantially higher than would be the case under new CAFE requirements or the implementation of Renewable Fuels Standards – and will achieve significantly lower emissions reductions.

More from SecureOurFuels.org:

CEA: New Study Reinforces Need to Responsibly Develop Domestic Energy Offshore

Consumer group calls untapped domestic oil and gas resources “a game-changer” for the economy

HOUSTON – November 19, 2009   This week, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) released a comprehensive, independent, long-term analysis of U.S. energy policy. The study, sponsored in part by the non-profit Consumer Energy Alliance (CEA) and conducted jointly by Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) and Gas Technology Institute (GTI), finds that if status quo energy policies are maintained – namely a federal moratorium on responsible, 21st century offshore energy development – U.S. dependence on OPEC nations will increase, more American jobs will be moved overseas and overall expenses will rise for American consumers.

In 2007, NARUC adopted a resolution to initiate an independent analysis of the social, economic and environmental effects associated with keeping the outer continental shelf (OCS) off-limits for oil and gas exploration. While congressional and presidential moratoria were lifted last year following record oil prices, a de facto ban remains intact as a result of inaction from the U.S. Department of Interior.

David Holt, president of CEA, released this statement today:

“A clear and growing majority of American consumers continue to favor policies, including responsible offshore energy exploration, that would help drive down and stabilize energy prices across the board. And this study should serve as a wake-up call for elected officials in Washington to act boldly and move forward to develop comprehensive energy policies that will spur economic development, create jobs and get the nation moving again. Developing domestic energy resources offshore – oil, gas, wind, tidal – safely and responsibly must be a national priority.

“And at the same time, we must continue to make key investments into alternative resources and commonsense conservation efforts. Because for every barrel of oil and every trillion cubic feet of natural gas that we produce here at home, by blue collar American labor, American consumers are less energy-dependant on other nations.

“This study paints a clear and equally frightening picture of the dangerous consequences of the federal government keeping so much of our job-creating energy off-limits. With unemployment at a 26-year high, and families, seniors and small businesses fighting to makes ends meet, opening our outer continental shelf for environmentally-sound energy production could be the game-changer our weakened economy desperately needs.”

Here are key highlights from the independent study:

  • Cumulative domestic oil and natural gas production decreases by 21% and 10%, respectively.
  • Average natural gas price increases by 28% and average gasoline price increases by 8.4%.
  • Cumulative national real disposable income decreases by $1.163 Trillion ($4,000 per capita).
  • Cumulative oil imports from OPEC countries increase by 4.1 billion barrels.
  • Cumulative national payments to OPEC countries increase by $607 billion.

Old, but not over the hill

Here’s an important detail about the strength of our domestic oil industry that is often lost in the larger debate over opening more of the country to drilling and exploration: Yields are up at many existing oil fields.

The American Petroleum Institute reported this week that U.S. crude oil production reached a four-year high in October, due largely to the success of advanced drilling technologies that have helped improve yields in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.

It’s a milestone that is important for a number of reasons. It shows that the oil sector is inventive and enterprising, constantly adopting new techniques that will improve on the existing way of doing business.

These high yields, mind you, are coming from some not-so-young properties, at a time when critics maintain that oil is past its prime, and past its peak. And they beg the question, if oil producers can increase yields from existing properties, what might they be able to achieve on a spanking new field in one of the disputed sites around the country?

The 5.36 million barrels of crude oil per day that were produced during the month of October offer strong evidence in favor of additional drilling around the country. It’s a strong level of production that suggests that additional exploration has a high likelihood of success, and also that the producers overseeing the drilling would make the most of each project, just like they are doing at older fields. It flies in the face of the notion that the oil industry favors drilling with abandon, or only wants to break ground on new sites because all of the older ones have dried up. Rather, it reflects a long-term commitment to each and every project.

The debates over new drilling around the country may take a long time to resolve. But it’s nice to know that oil producers are keeping busy while they wait.

Truckers’ long haul, Part Two

You may recall what we said last spring about the tough times in the trucking industry: a business which really cannot seem to get a break, between the high fuel prices in good times and the dramatic slowdown in demand during tough times (when, by the way, fuel prices often remain pretty high).

Now truckers have something else to keep them awake at night. Investor Warren Buffett’s recent $34 billion purchase of Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the nation’s second biggest railroad, has — at least for the moment — helped to christen railroads the freight transport vehicle of the future, threatening to marginalize trucks.

Now, first of all, let’s be clear that railroads will never eliminate the need for trucks. Take the most extensive rail network conceivable, and it will still come up short delivering goods from the source to the final destination. Of course, it’s possible to see ways that shipping by train is superior to trucking, and vice versa. But for the most part, it’s an apples-to-oranges comparison. Trying to compare the two industries would be like comparing an aircraft to a cruise ship.

Still, the fact that the country’s most prominent investor has put a lot of money behind rail lines doesn’t help raise the public’s appreciation of trucks and the necessary function they provide. And, at a time when so many truckers are going out of business or struggling to make any money at all, it seems fair to ask how the industry might improve its competitive position.

We know there are many variables, such as fuel prices and the volume of goods being transported, that truckers really can’t control. Every industry, however, must do what it can to be as efficient as possible.

This news story about the newly-formed North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) argues that the fragmented nature of the trucking industry has made it difficult for small operators to identify and adopt the best products to assist with route planning and minimize the hauling of empty containers.

How can this be so hard when there is so much GPS and supply chain technology out there? Consider this video of truckers at NACFE’s inaugural meeting, discussing how there is just not a lot of money available to risk experimenting with a technology that may or may not pay off. The typical independent trucker has a mountain of expenses, including health insurance, that leaves little or nothing left for discretionary spending.

Still, truckers have made progress. Consider Exhibit C, which offers some examples of the proactive steps truckers are already taking today to improve fuel efficiency.

It certainly is not easy being a trucker. But truckers provide an essential service and are working hard to address the challenges their business faces today and tomorrow. A domestic energy policy that would help them control costs would certainly provide some badly needed relief.

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