Watch the trailer here:

Obama administration recently announced a new clean energy REDI program

The Obama administration announced a new program on December 14: The Renewables and Efficiency Deployment Initiative (REDI), which will offer $350 million in funds to accelerate the development of clean energy technologies. As both a domestic and global initiative, some of the funds ($85 million) will go into a joint coffer (supported by other countries such as Australia, Norway, Switzerland, Netherlands, the UK, and France) to be used to develop and deploy clean energy tech around the world.

The program will operate in several industries, including advanced vehicles, bioenergy, building and industrial efficiencies, smart grid technologies, carbon capture, high-efficiency coal,  and of course, solar, wind, and marine energy. The official REDI website outlines the following programs that will receive this funding:

• The Solar and LED Energy Access Program will accelerate deployment of affordable solar home systems and LED lanterns to those without access to electricity.  This program will yield immediate economic and public health benefits by providing households with low-cost and quality-assured solar alternatives to expensive and polluting kerosene.
• The Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment Program will harness the market and convening power of MEF countries to improve efficiency for appliances traded throughout the world.  A number of MEF countries have implemented, or are exploring, incentive programs for energy-efficient appliances. Coordinating incentives, standards and labeling systems can create unprecedented economies of scale for these appliances.

• The Clean Energy Information Platform will establish an online platform for MEF countries to exchange technical resources, policy experience and the infrastructure to coordinate various activities in deploying clean energy technologies, and share this information with the world.

• The Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (S-REP), under the World Bank’s Strategic Climate Fund, will provide policy support and technical assistance to low-income countries developing national renewable energy strategies and underwrite additional capital costs associated with renewable energy investments.  Funding through Climate REDI will accelerate the launch of S-REP.

Further, it states that REDI will use the following tools to disseminate the new technologies:

1. Quality assurance to guard developing country consumers against sub-standard renewable energy products;
2. Minimum efficiency standards to remove the lowest efficiency appliances from the market;
3. Labeling to guide consumers to quality-assured and high-efficiency products;
4. Financing for scale up of early-stage low-carbon products, to bring down costs and remove barriers to deployment and to catalyze investment by the private sector;
5. Information sharing that enables all energy stakeholders to access state-of-the art information on technology and best practices.

COP15 America.gov Daily Video - check it out!

The day has finally arrived: today is the first day of the Copenhagen climate change talks begin. The COP15 (15^th Conference of the Parties as it is known) hopes to put together a global agreement that would work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to within safe levels – an agreement that would take over from the Kyoto Protocol which expires in 2012. It’s an audacious goal, but a worthy one. It’s a task we should not shrink from.

But there’s a lot to accomplish before truly binding agreements can be put in place. Perhaps the most contentious issue is that of how to regulate emissions in rich versus poor countries, with the poor nations demanding aid before they commit to targets, and rich nations requiring climate commitments before they send aid.

And there is also widespread disagreement as to the appropriate size of carbon reductions. While Obama has committed that the US will reduce its emissions by 17% below 2005 in the next few years, most scientists and global leaders contend that this is far too little.

Yet there is growing momentum behind the movement. Countries that could perhaps have the biggest impact on climate change in the near future – India, China, and Brazil being chief among them – have made public commitments to support the climate talks (here’s hoping they don’t walk out part-way through the proceedings as some have threatened to do). So there is hope.

Want to get involved? If you haven’t already, please do! Here are some resources for educating yourself and then digging in to make a difference during these important talks:

• Find up-to-the-minute information on the talks through the common editorial being put together by 56 newspapers in 45 countries.

• For a really quick primer, check out COP15: What’s at Stake in Under 5 Minutes.

• Then get active by signing petitions and encouraging others to do the same. Get involved by speaking up on Facebook or Twitter, sign up with the Tck Tck Tck and 350.org campaign or Hopenhagen, or get involved in civil protests (find one near you through Beyond Talk). You CAN make a difference.

COP15 Editorial Collage Via Flickr - Me.blogger

COP15 Maldives Demonstration Via Flickr – jasonwhat

Chinese renewable energy Via Flickr - drs2biz

All eyes were on the Chinese-US talks the last week as Obama met with key leaders in the Asian country. With clean energy being one of the biggest issues on the table for the first time in a really public manner, we were all holding our collective breath to see whether anything would get done. And it seems that there is reason to hope!

The US and China, knowing the joint sway they will hold over the Copenhagen talks in January, were eager (or so it appeared) to see how they could influence the talks for good by developing a renewable energy agreement. These the two biggest emitters were able to agree on a broad plan that would help to bring about serious advances in clean energy.

The seven-point plan included the following:

• They US and China will establish a Clean Energy Research Center to facilitate joint research and development of renewable energy technologies. The center will receive both public and private funding to the tune of $150 million over the next five years.
• A joint US-Chinese Electric Vehicles Initiative was announced that will see joint vehicle standards, public education, demonstration projects, and more.
• Together, China and the US will work on an Energy Efficiency Action Plan for buildings, consumer products like appliances, as well as industrial facilities.
• A new US-China Renewable Energy Partnership was launched that will help to support renewable energy deployment and regional partnerships for sharing expertise and best practices.
• “Clean” coal was part of the overall strategy—21^st Century Coal. The two Presidents will work together to develop large-scale carbon capture and storage projects for coal-fired plants.
• Working together, the two countries will explore Shale Gas Resources within China using the experience gained on US soil.
• A new Energy Cooperation Program between China and the US will also be established to leverage private sector resources that will support smart grids, green buildings, combined heat/power, renewable energy, clean coal, and more.

Met Office Climate Change Map

A new climate change map of the world, launched by the British government this past week at the Science Museum in London, shows the widespread impacts of a 4°C rise in temperature, and the picture is not pretty for humans or for the environment. It warns that we must keep global temperature increases to 2° C of face dire consequences globally.

The British government’s chief scientist, John Beddington, explained the anticipated impacts in a video that gives an overview of the new map, detailing things like:

• A serious decrease in major cereal crops in all major regions of production
• Significant reduction in the size of glaciers, resulting in flooding
• High pressure on water and food supplies as a result of droughts
• Severe drying of tropical rainforests such as the Amazon, with subsequent die-back

Ed Miliband, Climate and Energy Secretary put it this way:

“To tackle the problem of climate change, all of us – foreign ministries, environment ministries, treasuries, departments of defence and all parts of government and societies – must work together to keep global temperatures to 2° C.”

So, if you’re curious about what will happen should our temperatures continue to rise as they are right now, go ahead and play around with the map. You’ll soon discover how all-consuming this issue really is. Makes a good case for saving power in our daily lives. And if you haven’t already, be sure to sign one of many pledges and pacts to encourage your local leaders to take firm action on climate change by getting involved in Copenhagen:

• 350.org
• Action-Pact
• David Suzuki Foundation

Perito Moreno glacier Via Flickr - riggott

A study by Cardiff University and A&M University entitled Atmospheric carbon dioxide through the Eocene-Oligocene climate transition (available to subscribers of Nature International Weekly Journal of Science online), has confirmed a direct link between the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere and formation or melting of Antarctic ice sheets. According to the study, which involved collecting microfossils from samples of rocks in an East African village, the formation of the Antarctic ice-cap was formed as a result of gradual diminishment of the natural greenhouse effect.

As levels of atmospheric CO2 declined during the Eocene-Oligocene climate transitions, the ice sheet grew until a tipping point of 760 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 was reached. At this point, our world is facing 400 ppm of atmospheric CO2, which is significantly higher than recommended by many scientists.

Professor Paul Pearson of Cardiff University’s School of Earth and Ocean Sciences is quoted by Physorg.com as saying the following:

The period, known to geologists as the Eocene – Oligocene transition, culminated in the rapid development of a continental-scale ice sheet on Antarctica, which has been there ever since.

We therefore set out to establish whether there was a substantial decline in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels as the Antarctic ice sheet began to grow.

Another co-author of the study, Dr. Bridget Wade from Texas A&M University’s Department of Geology and Geophysics calls this the “biggest climate switch since the extinction of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.” She goes on to say:

Our study is the first to provide a direct link between the establishment of an ice sheet on Antarctica and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and therefore confirms the relationship between carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and global climate.

Perito Moreno glacier pools Via Flickr - Heather K. Powers

A significant finding, indeed. And a study our fellow power-savers may want to share with the climate deniers in their lives.

Wind turbine Via Flickr - greenforall.org

Many have argued that switching to a renewable energy structure in the short term would really put the economy on the rocks. But a new report put out by Greenpeace and the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) called Working for the Climate shows that moving to a renewable energy economy while phasing out dirty energies like coal would create 2.7 million new jobs!

Perhaps more surprising than the statistics pointing to new jobs with a renewable energy push (are we surprised?) is the conclusion that continuing with business as usual could actually lead to additional job losses.

We found that under the Energy [R]evolution scenario, there would be an overall increase of around 2 million power sector jobs over 20 years. But if we carry on without measures to make the shift to clean energy, we will see sector-wide job losses – half a million energy supply jobs would disappear between 2010 and 2030.

As one way of proving the stability of the renewable sector, they cite these statistics:

According to the UNEP Report “Global Trends in sustainable Energy Investment 2009”, investment in the sustainable energy market has in some ways defied the global recession growing by around 5%—from  $148 billion in 2007 to around $155 billion in 2008.

These kinds of reports fly in the fact of clean energy deniers who purport that injecting funds into renewable energy will destabilize the economy even more than it already was. In fact, those who have claimed that for every green job created two jobs will be lost, the NREL has this to say:

The analysis by the authors from King Juan Carlos University represents a significant divergence from traditional methodologies used to estimate employment impacts from renewable energy. In fact, the methodology does not reflect an employment impact analysis. Accordingly, the primary conclusion made by the authors – policy support of renewable energy results in net jobs losses – is not supported by their work.

In combination with emissions-savings projects, such as improving building efficiencies and planting forests, the renewable energy sector has tremendous potential to re-employ America and get the country thriving again. And healthier in the process.

Installing solar PV panels Via Flickr - bkusler

Recycling pick-up Via Flickr - vict0r ram0s

UCS - Climate Change in the United States - Prohibitive Costs of Inaction - Nationwide Projected Temperature Increases

Climate deniers often talk about the cost to businesses and industry that will come as a result of climate legislation, but far too often, they gloss over the costs we’ll endure if we do nothing about climate change. The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has recently published a new report, entitled “Climate Change in the United States: The Prohibitive Costs of Inaction,” which gives an overview of 60 studies that focus on the financial consequences of ignoring the problem of global warming.

Costs will be incurred as a result of hurricanes and flooding of greater intensity, rising sea levels, strained water and energy resources, wildfires, human health problems related to a warmer climate (vector-borne diseases, etc), and so on. The bill for these impending environmental problems will be somewhere in the neighborhood of hundreds of billions of dollars by the end of the century.

Lexi Shultz, deputy director of the Climate Program at UCS, makes this comment:

If we don’t address global warming, you can imagine a cash register going ‘ka-ching’ all across the country.

The report isn’t all doom and gloom. They take pains to point out that it will be much more affordable for us to address climate change now through preventative actions. Although there will be some financial costs to fighting global warming—the US Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration suggests that in 2020 it will amount to about $10 monthly for the average US household—these will be significantly less than what taxpayers and businesses will have to pay if we ignore the problem.

There are also separate reports for the Southeast, Midwest, and Western states of the US, outlining more thoroughly the local implications of climate change.

Wildfire Via Flickr - DRB62

Hurricane Gustav, Mississippi Via Flickr - au_tiger01

1. Find the small business development organizations in your community. You’ll want to look for names such as “Chamber of Commerce,” “Small Business Development Corporation,” and “Economic Development Council.”
2. Research potential funding opportunities. Check out the websites of these organizations to see what kind of funding they provide, or call the office to get an interview with one of the staff members. Most of these organizations will also have an extensive library on how to start or run a small business, local labor laws, state regulations, and so on. Avail yourself of these resources as well.
3. Draft a proposal. Next, you’ll need to come up with a solid business plan and then spin that into an enthusiastic grant proposal. You’ll need to demonstrate good business sense as well as how you will benefit the local community. If you need help writing your proposal, ask these organizations if they know of professionals who specialize in grant proposals. If not, search online at sites like Elance.com, Guru.com, and other job sites.
4. Get help. Your local chamber of commerce will have a long list of diverse members, including people like medical professionals, non-profit organizations accountants, attorneys, realtors, bankers, and county personnel. You can generally have access to these people through your chamber, so take advantage of their wealth of knowledge.

If you’re not able to find funding through your local chamber chapter, there are other funding sources you can seek out. The Small Business Administration (SBA) which has been given $730 million from the Recovery Act to help small business owners—whether you’re already in business or just thinking of starting up a new company. They are offering several ways to get assistance from the government, including:

• Tax incentives
• Debt relief programs
• Loan fee reductions and eliminations
• Higher guarantees
• Expanded microloans
• Secondary market incentives

Here are the things you need to know about getting funding through the SBA:

You must fit the definition of a small business. The definition of “small business” varies somewhat depending on the industry in (get the complete picture here), but here are the basics:

Your company has to be independently owned and operated and must not be dominant in its field on a national level.

1. You must be a for-profit business that operates in the US or that uses American products, materials, or labor.
2. Your company can either be a corporation, a partnership, or a sole proprietorship.

Determine what kind of assistance is available to you. There are many ways the Recovery Act funds will be used by the SBA, all of which aim to increase the number of loans and more liquidity to help new businesses open and keep existing businesses going. Here’s a quick list of some of the programs being proposed (find out more by contacting your local SBA office):

1. You may be able to secure an America’s Recovery Capital (ARC) stabilization loan, which offers deferred-payment stabilization terms for those businesses unable to make their current loan payments.
2. If you’re a new start-up, you may be able to take advantage of an expanded Micro-loan program for newly established and growing small businesses.
3. Loan fees may be reduced, eliminated, or refunded for loans made on or after February 17, 2009. More information can be found at the SBA’s Policy Notice.
4. If you already have a small business loan, you may be able to tap into the 504 Certified Development Company program for refinancing existing loans (this is for fixed assets only).
5. You may be able to apply for an SBA guaranteed surety bond. The maximum for these bonds has been raised with the Recovery Act funds. These are important fro small business owners who would otherwise not qualify for a surety bond.

Get training. If you still have questions or want to get some more information about the various types of financial aid, check out the SBA’s online training center for small businesses. They will help you determine exactly what kinds of steps you need to take to avail yourself of Recovery Act and SBA funding.

Apply. Once you’re familiar with the available financial opportunities and know how the system works, get down to business and start to put together a winning proposal!

But the SBA isn’t the only government source for funding. Grants.gov has a wealth of funding opportunities available to non-profits and for-profits alike. Getting funding through this site is a multi-step process that can take some time, but here are the fundamental things you’ll need to work on:

1. Register. First, you’ll need to register for the Grants.gov site in order to get a user name and password.
2. Get training. The Grants.gov site and system is relatively complex, so you’ll want to become an expert on how to use the site before diving in. This will make subsequent steps much less painful and time-consuming. The site has many user guides, FAQs, and site information to help you navigate your way through the maze.
3. Sign up for emails. The site has several listservs so that you can stay informed about various developments in the organizations. Sign up for the ones that are appropriate for your search to stay on top of timely changes and announcements.
4. Research granting opportunities. Here’s where it gets interesting! You’re now ready to explore the possible grant opportunities that are available to you. Search through the extensive list of funding options by searching with keywords, categories, agencies, and even by Recovery Act Opportunities.
5. Download and fill out the forms. Finally, you’re at the application stage! Once you’ve narrowed your list of potential grants to apply for, download the forms (each grant has its own special form) and get applying! Once you’ve filled out the forms, you submit them online and can then track the progress of your application as it goes through the system. This can take some time, so be prepared to be patient.

The Grants.gov system is another one that can be a bit complex, so if you find yourself lost, you may want to hire a grant-proposal expert to help you go through your options and narrow the results. This can also take the pressure off you and help to alleviate the stress of the various steps through the system.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (known as the Recovery Act) has infused billions of dollars into local governments to help businesses and consumers improve the energy performance of their buildings. The package allots $3.1 billion to state governments and another $3.2 billion to local governments. This money will be spent by these government agencies to spur energy efficiency upgrades to buildings, renewable energy development, and other energy-related projects. They offer a great way for your business to green-up your reputation, save money on energy, and help the environment.

The premiere source for all renewable energy and energy efficiency financial aid programs throughout the country—including those  is the Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency, which allows you to search on maps, through categories, and by keyword. It is the most comprehensive and up to day, but here are some additional resources you can use to find the tax incentives and tax breaks available for commercial businesses:

• Business.gov Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency: http://www.business.gov/expand/green-business/energy-efficiency/get-started/tax-credits.html

• Business.gov State and Local Energy Efficiency Programs: http://www.business.gov/expand/green-business/energy-efficiency/state-local/

• ENERGY STAR New Commercial Tax Incentives Summary: http://www.energystar.gov/ia/business/comm_bldg_tax_incentives.pdf

• Alliance to Save Energy’s Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Fact Sheet: http://ase.org/content/article/detail/2862

• EnergyTaxIncentives.org’s Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP) for Businesses: http://energytaxincentives.org/business/

Each program has its own unique system for qualifying and applying for the government funding, so once you’ve found a program that fits well with your business, follow the instructions you find there for going through the process.