Although we already posted information about this study last month, it is worth posting again just to show the diagram to the left. We think this information is so important we wantto make sure you didn't miss it.

We encourage you to read this report and to share it with others.

October 23, 2009
Washington, D.C., United States [RenewableEnergyWorld.com]

The largest U.S subsidies to fossil fuels are attributed to tax breaks that aid foreign oil production, according to research from the Environmental Law Institute (ELI). The study, which reviewed fossil fuel and energy subsidies for Fiscal Years 2002-2008, revealed that the lion's share of energy subsidies supported energy sources that emit high levels of greenhouse gases.

The research demonstrates that the federal government provided substantially larger subsidies to fossil fuels than to renewables. Fossil fuels benefited from approximately US $72 billion over the seven-year period, while subsidies for renewable fuels totaled only $29 billion.
More than half the subsidies for renewables—$16.8 billion—are attributable to corn-based ethanol. Of the fossil fuel subsidies, $70.2 billion went to traditional sources—such as coal and oil—and $2.3 billion went to carbon capture and storage.

“The combination of subsidies—or ‘perverse incentives’— to develop fossil fuel energy sources, and a lack of sufficient incentives to develop renewable energy and promote energy efficiency, distorts energy policy in ways that have helped cause, and continue to exacerbate, our climate change problem,” said John Pendergrass, ELI senior attorney. “With climate change and energy legislation pending on Capitol Hill, our research suggests that more attention needs to be given to the existing perverse incentives for ‘dirty’ fuels in the U.S. Tax Code.”

The subsidies examined fall into two categories: foregone revenues, mostly in the form of tax breaks and direct spending, in the form of expenditures on research and development and other programs.

ELI researchers applied the conventional definitions of fossil fuels and renewable energy. Fossil fuels include petroleum and its byproducts, natural gas, and coal products, while renewable fuels include wind, solar, biofuels and biomass, hydropower, and geothermal energy production.

For more information on the research from ELI, click here.

This information was sent to the Indiana Renewable Energy Society by Paul Gipe.

October 16, 2009

The International Solar Energy Society (ISES) has called for the use of feed-in tariffs worldwide at its world congress in Johannesburg, South Africa. This is the strongest endorsement yet from ISES of the policy that has sparked renewable energy development in Europe.

The resolution also calls for the world to reach 100 percent renewable energy by mid-century.

ISES also singled out the host country, South Africa, as an example for praise. South Africa has embarked on developing a full system of feed-in tariffs to help solve the country's electricity shortages and to send a signal to the nations meeting in Copenhagen that the developing world is willing to do its part.

The move by ISES, one of the world's oldest renewable energy organizations, follows recent announcements by China, India, Taiwan, and Japan that they will all soon introduce feed-in tariffs.

Below is the ISES resolution in full. REFIT is the acronym for Renewable Energy Feed-in Tariff. The Green Energy Act refers to the law passed by the Ontario provincial parliament in 2009 that, among many provisions, empowered the Minister of Energy to implement a comprehensive system of feed-in tariffs.

ISES Solar World Congress 2009
Johannesburg, South Africa, 11-14 October 2009
Resolution

The ISES Solar World Congress 2009 hosted by the Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, attended by participants from all over the world resolves as follows:

The global target of 100 % renewable energies is both attainable and necessary by the middle of the current century. This is motivated on grounds of ecological, economic and social sustainability.

The unacceptable backlog in energy supply in the third world countries can only be covered cost effectively and in time by the use of renewable energies. Especially the industrialised countries have to increase their efforts in transitioning to renewable energies.

The world's governments are called upon to implement without further delay policies that have been proven internationally to be the most effective and efficient in the rapid transition to a renewable energy world, giving priority to renewable energy and refraining from any kind of caps that may slow down renewable energy deployment.

As a guiding principle, local and rural communities and people should be actively involved and benefit directly from renewable energies. Governments should especially encourage and support community power projects and distributed generation as well as investment in renewable energy manufacturing facilities in order to foster the local creation of jobs.

The Congress applauds the first steps taken by the South African Government in introducing the renewable energy feed-in tariff. The Congress requests government to urgently address concerns expressed by the public and by potential investors about aspects of REFIT policy. These include transparency, certainty, removal of contradictions between legislation and regulations governing the REFIT and providing a roadmap with clear commitments and timelines to its implementation.

The introduction of a Green Energy Act is strongly recommended as crucial to providing an overarching and comprehensive framework for renewable energy uptake so that in the near future the necessary steps will be taken to attract local as well as international investors.

The Congress strongly recommends the world's governments to establish an obligation to use renewable energy for water heating as well as space heating and cooling in residential, industrial, commercial and public sector buildings.

On the international level, the introduction of a global feed-in tariff system is recommended as a primary instrument to foster international technology transfer and finance scaling up of renewables, especially in the third world. Such a global feed-in tariff has the unique potential of overcoming the blockage in the current climate change negotiations.

For offgrid and non-electrical systems, further intelligent financing mechanisms such as large-scaled microcredit and soft loan programmes should be applied. All aspects of capacity building for renewable energy, including resource assessment, have to be given priority in education as well as in research and development. This is ineluctable in order to create awareness and knowledge of the true and full potential and vast variety of renewable energies as well as the true threats of fossil and nuclear energies.

The Congress welcomes and endorses the strong support and the cooperation of all the renewable energy technologies through the International Renewable Energy Alliance.

The Congress is delighted by the recent establishment of the International Renewable Energy Agency Irena and urges all renewable energy proponents worldwide as well as the world's governments to give full support to the establishment process in order to make sure that IRENA can realise its leadership role on our way to a renewable energy world.

Johannesburg, 14 October 2009

About the International Solar Energy Society

ISES has been serving the needs of the renewable energy community since its founding in 1954. A UN-accredited NGO present in more than 50 countries, the Society supports its members in the advancement of renewable energy technology, implementation and education all over the world. Goals of the Society include:

Towards a Sustainable World:
Encouraging the use of Renewable Energy everywhere, through appropriate technology, scientific excellence, social responsibility, and global communication.

Realising a Global Community:
Bringing together industries, individuals and institutions in support of Renewable Energy technologies - through communication, co-operation, support and exchange.

Supporting Development:
Applying practical projects, technology transfer, education, training and support to the issue of global energy development.

Supporting the Science of Solar Energy:
Stimulating and encouraging both fundamental and applied research in solar energy.

Contributing to Growth:
Ensuring individual and community growth through support of private enterprise and empowerment in the area of Renewable Energy.

Information and Communication:
Rapid access to information through tailor-made communication and exchange platforms utilising modern technology.

ISES is a multi-faceted, global membership organisation. With its long history and extensive technical and scientific expertise provided by its members, the Society is a modern, future-oriented non-governmental organisation (NGO). Clearly defined goals, extensive communication networks and practical, real-world projects are the hallmarks of ISES.

The final day of hearings before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will continue today at 9:30. Visit the website for a link to a live webcast as well as links to archived webcasts from the first two days of hearings and copies of the presenters prepared remarks.

Reuters, Wed Oct 28, 2009 5:28pm EDT

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN28322783

* Google: Climate bill creates millions of new energy jobs

* Democrats from coal states concerned about employment

* Sen Boxer says bill gives oil co's enough carbon permits (Adds comments from PSEG utility)

By Timothy Gardner

WASHINGTON, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Leaders at companies that develop low-carbon energy told a Senate panel that climate legislation would create millions of new jobs, but lawmakers from fossil-fuel dependent states said the bill would hit employment in the traditional energy economy.

Climate change presents a global crisis, but "can also provide an economic opportunity of vast proportions," Dan Reicher, director of climate change initiatives at Google (GOOG.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) told the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Besides creating new jobs in solar, wind and geothermal power, he said national regulation of greenhouse gases could help push investments to develop an efficient and robust power grid that would combine with information from the Internet.

That would create new jobs in new technologies across a range of companies, he said. The Web could send information from the "smart grid" to help consumers save money on power bills during peak demand periods and help them determine the cheapest time to charge electric cars that would cut emissions and oil imports.

Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer introduced new details on the climate bill last week on how permits would be distributed across industries. The bill aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions 20 percent by 2020 under 2005 levels, a slightly tougher goal than outlined by the bill narrowly passed by the House of Representatives.

It is uncertain, however, whether Boxer and fellow bill writer Senator John Kerry have the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. Several of their fellow Democrats have reservations about the bill, despite new enticements for coal-state senators, including more to stimulate technology for the fossil fuel and provide other industry breaks.

An aide to West Virginia Democratic Senator John Rockefeller said the tougher emissions goal is unrealistic and harmful as there is not enough time to deploy the carbon capture and storage and energy efficiency technologies.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, who represents Montana, another coal state, also voiced opposition on Tuesday to the 20 percent target.

A third Democratic senator, Robert Byrd, also of West Virginia, has not yet staked out a position on the revised Senate bill. Byrd praised Boxer's additions in the bill that put more focus on clean coal technology. But he warned, "I will actively oppose any bill that would harm the workers, families, industries, or our resource-based economy in West Virginia.

Those opinions come on top of opposition from Republican senators from manufacturing states.

Still, Peter Bremm, a vice president for Infinia Corp, told the panel climate legislation could create solar industry manufacturing jobs to replace jobs lost in the auto industry. The solar power company's supply chain consists of Midwestern auto supply companies retooled to work on renewable energy.

And Ralph Izzo, chief executive of power utility Public Service Enterprise Group Inc (PEG.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), which has nuclear, coal and natural gas-burning plants, told reporters after testifying that the bill would create jobs.

"A price on carbon forces you to do things differently ... and that creates opportunity," he said.

But Bill Klesse, the chief executive of oil refiner Valero Energy Corp (VLO.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), told the panel the bill would cut jobs in his industry because it would force companies to buy billions of dollars worth of carbon credits. He said the costs would hurt refiners who have already lost jobs as the recession cuts fuel demand.

Boxer disputed the claim about permits, as the plants would be given about two percent of the overall carbon pollution allocations in the early years of a cap and trade plan outlined in the bill.

Google's Reicher said revolutionizing the energy economy would take more than simply capping greenhouse gases. Measures to increase research and development funding for low carbon technologies and to set energy efficiency standards would also be needed to generate new jobs. (Additional reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

This reprinted article brought to you by the Indiana Renewable Energy Association.

Friends,

I’m copying many of my friends in DC on this message……please take a minute to read the following “Solar Bill of Rights”…..it is well thought out, and it seems to be widely accepted as the most common ground for my industry. I personally agree with the points as well.

Bill Keith, President, SunRise Solar, http://www.sunrisesolar.net/

THE SOLAR BILL OF RIGHTS

To secure a policy environment that allows solar energy to compete and empowers consumers to choose, Rhone Resch declared today, October 27, 2009, in the City of Anaheim, California, a Solar Bill of Rights:

We declare these rights not on behalf of our companies, but on behalf of our customers and our country. We seek no more than the freedom to compete on equal terms and no more than the liberty for consumers to choose the energy source they think best.

1. Americans have the right to put solar on their homes or businesses. Restrictive covenants, onerous connection rules, and excessive permitting and inspections fees prevent many American homes and businesses from going solar.

2. Americans have the right to connect their solar energy system to the grid with uniform national standards. This should be as simple as connecting a telephone or appliance. No matter where they live, consumers should expect a single standard for connecting their system to the electric grid.

3. Americans have the right to Net Meter and be compensated at the very least with full retail electricity rates. When customers generate excess solar power utilities should pay them consumer at least the retail value of that power.

4. The solar industry has the right to a fair competitive environment. The highly profitable fossil fuel industries have received tens of billions of dollars for decades. The solar energy expects a fair playing field, especially since the American public overwhelmingly supports the development and use of solar.

5. The solar industry has the right to equal access to public lands. America has the best solar resources in the world, yet solar companies have zero access to public lands compared to the 45 million acres used by oil and natural gas companies.

6. The solar industry has the right to interconnect and build new transmission lines. When America updates its electric grid, it must connect the vast solar resources in the Southwest to population centers across the nation.

7. Americans have the right to buy solar electricity from their utility. Consumers have no choice to buy clean, reliable solar energy from their utilities instead of the dirty fossil fuels of the past.

8. Americans have the right, and should expect, the highest ethical treatment from the solar industry. Consumers should expect the solar energy industry to minimize its environmental impact, provide systems that work better than advertised, and communicate incentives clearly and accurately.

Resch is president & CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association. He made this statement before a gathering of thousands of industry professionals at the Solar Power International conference.

This message brought to you by the Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA). Bill Keith is a Founding member of InREA.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works begins three days of full committee hearings on S. 1733 the Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act this morning at 9:30 am. Sen. Boxer issued a press release outling the line-up for the first hearing. A link to a live webcast of the hearing will be available from the committee website.

Reprinted from http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aJeInYe72Uvw#

By Daniel Whitten and Jim Efstathiou Jr.

Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Climate change legislation proposed in the U.S. Senate has revived a fight over the cost of combating global warming between coal-dependent states and those that get energy from cleaner sources.

In a draft of a letter to the climate legislation’s sponsors, Senator Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said the House and Senate bills put coal at a disadvantage and that he wants to revise how free pollution permits would be distributed.

Senator Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat who is chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, on Oct. 23 proposed a climate bill that requires emissions cuts of 20 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, 42 percent by 2030 and 83 percent by 2050. Limits passed in the House are similar, except the 2020 reduction target is 17 percent.

Both bills would establish carbon dioxide emission limits, and require major polluters to buy pollution credits after the government initially gives many away to ease the cost during the transition. Utilities that don’t use coal would get more of the credits they need for free than coal-burning plants, according to Harkin.

The coal industry’s complaint with how permits are given away will complicate efforts to pass legislation aimed at reducing global warming. Oil refiners have joined the coal industry in opposing the legislation, and nuclear-energy producers say the measures should have more incentives to build new plants.

The distribution of permits is important and “can help build a constituency for support of the proposal,” Robert Stavins, director of the Harvard Environmental Economics Program in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said in an interview.

Boxer’s committee will begin three days of hearings on the 923-page bill today and may vote on it next month.

Manufacturers, Refiners

In the Senate bill, utilities would get 35.5 percent of all allowances for free, manufacturers up to 15 percent and refiners 2.25 percent, the same as the House breakdown.

The allocation formula for utilities uses a plan agreed to by members of the Edison Electric Institute, the utility industry’s Washington trade association, which bases free permits half on historical emissions and half on the amount of electricity sold.

Harkin is concerned that the formula “will unfairly and disproportionately raise electricity costs in certain regions of the country,” his spokesman Grant Gustafson said in an e-mail. The problem can be resolved by distributing free permits based on historical emissions, he said.

Harkin “plans to work with his colleagues in the Senate to address this issue as they move forward with the climate change bill,” Gustafson said. Coal-fired plants produce more than 80 percent of Iowa’s electricity, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Draft Letter

Harkin detailed his concerns in a draft letter to Boxer, Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who cosponsored the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. The letter hasn’t yet been sent, Gustafson said.

“Utilities that are more coal dependant will need to purchase even more allowances than they would have if all allowances were allocated based on emissions, and those higher costs will be passed on to customers,” Harkin wrote.

Paul Rosengren, a spokesman for Public Service Enterprise Group Inc., said that his company supports the so called 50-50 agreement hammered out by EEI.

“No one is helping our customers to offset the extra costs,” said Rosengren. New Jersey and New England have invested substantially in providing cleaner energy sources, and as a result power costs are already 40 percent more expensive than in some states that are heavy coal users, he said.

Loan Guarantees

The nuclear industry is seeking up to $100 billion more in loan guarantees for nuclear power plants, on top of the $18.5 billion allocated, more favorable tax treatment for nuclear power production and a faster permitting process for new plants.

“Nuclear has a very high profile and it will be necessary for there to be some agreement on nuclear provisions for climate legislation to progress in the Senate,” said Alex Flint, the chief lobbyist for the Nuclear Energy Institute.

The Senate bill “promises more pain to consumers but also imposes much greater burdens on some parties than others,” American Petroleum Institute President Jack Gerard said in an e- mailed statement.

Democratic senators from industrial states that depend on coal-fired plants for a majority of their electricity have opposed the similar measure the House passed in June.

Democratic senators such as Kent Conrad of North Dakota and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas have raised doubts about passing climate legislation this year.

Senate Democrats

Evan Bayh, of Indiana, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska, are among a group of Senate Democrats who have objected to the House cap-and-trade provisions endorsed by Boxer.

“This bill is very much a work in progress, and there are many more pieces to the congressional process before we will have a final and complete package,” said Erin Streeter, a spokeswoman for the National Association of Manufacturers, which represents many members in coal-heavy industrial states.

To contact the reporter on this story: Daniel Whitten in Washington at dwhitten2@bloomberg.net ; Jim Efstathiou Jr. in New York at jefstathiou@bloomberg.net .

Last Updated: October 27, 2009 00:01 EDT

This article brought to you by the Indiana Renewable Energy Association (InREA). The views expressed in this article are not necessarily those of InREA.