May 13, 2009

With the worst part likely over and key aspects of the stimulus program about to begin, a sense of economic confidence is in the air. Yet, green energy developers are starved, not just for seed money but also for political and regulatory certainty.

The stimulus package, which passed in February and which was pushed as the central vehicle that would lift the economy out of recession, has billions set aside for clean technology in the form of loan guarantees, venture capital and block grants provided to the states. It's about supplying much-needed funding to companies at a time when traditional debt and equity markets are hard to crack.

April 20, 2009

The energy sector could spark the rejuvenation of America. It's all about the production of alternative energy and green jobs and it is being spearheaded by the president of the United States.

The federal government is now in the midst of pouring nearly one trillion dollars into the American economy in the form of spending and tax cuts to serve as the central catalyst in the nation's economic recovery. The New Energy economy will lead the charge and attempt to double the production of alternative energy over the next three years as well as build a smart grid so as to help guarantee economic stability and the facilitation of more green fuel sources.

April 17, 2009

Carbon legislation is sweeping through the House. But the passage of any such bill must still climb a long way before it would become law.

Most House Democrats favor mandatory greenhouse gas reductions. And while key committee chairs want a fully hashed out bill by Memorial Day, it is unlikely to happen given critical differences that need time to mend. The U.S. Senate, meanwhile, must still debate the issue. Its proposal will be far more tempered than that of the House given that any measure it produces will require 60 votes and Republican support. Any climate bill that is introduced to the full Congress would therefore be subdued.

April 03, 2009

The Obama administration may clip the wings of mountaintop mining. Long a highly contentious issue, the White House is parting ways with that of its predecessor by ordering its Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to review all of those pending permits -- a matter that clearly pits economic and environmental interests against one another.

At issue are roughly 200 applications that seek to get at underlying low-sulfur coal beds that rest inside the Appalachian Mountains. Mining operators must now shear off the tops of those mountains and put the resulting refuse aside, typically in the streams and valleys below. It's a mining form that divides the coal-rich region and now one that could be outlawed under federal legislation.

March 27, 2009

It's part of the great ideological divide. And any bridge that would help close the gap will remain elusive. It's about the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which has been at the forefront of a national discussion over whether to allow more oil and gas drilling in areas that are now off limits to production.

Times have changed since the issue first gained prominence in 1980. While the nation has long professed a desire to wean itself from dependence on foreign energy sources, it had little reason to do so. Oil and gas prices have been relatively cheap until this century. But now such prices are gyrating with the cost of natural gas going up from about $2.50 per million BTUs in 2000 to -- at one point -- as much as $13 per million BTUs.