Response Mixed to Bill Speeding up Solar Usage

Pennsylvania State Representative Chris Ross says the state has done to good of a job in encouraging the production of solar power. The Republican from Chester County says now there is too much of the renewable energy being produced in the state and not enough buyers. To remedy that Ross has introduced a series of bills that would force electric companies to buy more solar energy from Pennsylvania sources.

“It was probably an over complication to use two forms of stimulus at the same time. We disrupted the market place, now it’s time for us to stabilize that market place,” says Ross. In 2004 the state set the consumption mandates and in 2008 the state offered $80 million in funding for solar energy production projects.

Ross’s bill would speed up incremental steps included in the mandate that electric companies get .5% of their energy from solar by 2021. The bill also forces the electric companies to buy from Pennsylvania sources rather than out of state sources. “I see it as a correction for a distortion that unfortunately we ourselves created,” says Ross.

PennFuture President Jan Jarrett praises the bill. She says she hopes business will soon be able to sell their credits for a price that will encourage more solar production. The price of those credits dropped as supply outstripped demand.

Penn Power spokesperson Scott Surgeoner says he is in favor of using electricity produced from renewable sources but he says he wants to make sure it is done n a way that does not negatively impact the rates paid by Pennsylvania customers.

Ross’s solar jobs bill has 70 cosponsors.

Altmire, Murphy Promote Nuke Power

Cranberry-based Westinghouse thinks it has designed a game changer in the nuclear power industry and two local congressmen say they are doing what they can to help.

Tim Murphy (R- Upper St. Clair) and Jason Altmire (D- McCandless) have teamed up to introduce the Nuclear Power 2021 act. Altmire says it is based on the Nuclear Power 2010 program, which he says gave a kick-start to the nuclear power industry. “It provided for loan guarantees and financing and permitting that was not available before,” says Altmire.

Since that bill went into effect Westinghouse has signed contracts to build 14 nuclear power plants in the US. Four of those plants have broken ground in the preconstruction phase. Westinghouse spokesperson Vaughn Gilbert says the plants would be the first to be built in the U.S. since 1978. Gilbert also says those contracts have resulted in 5,000 jobs in the region.

The bill sponsored by Altmire and Murphy would use the same model but apply it to small modular nuclear reactors. “Hopefully by the year 2021 we can have at least two of these [small plants] up and running,” says Altmire.

The legislation does not mention Westinghouse by name but Altmire says the company is the worldwide leader in the technology so it stands to reason that Southwestern Pennsylvania would benefit from the promotion of the technology.

The small plants, according to Altmire, can be built at a tenth of the cost of a large plant and produce about a 6th of the power. He goes on to say the new Westinghouse product allays some of the fears associated with nuclear power. “There is less power being generated, there is less heat, it doesn’t need to be near water, so a lot of the things that would give people concern about the nuclear industry because of what happened in Japan are taken care of with the smaller design.” Because they need less water the power plants can by built in areas of the western United States where larger plants are not possible.

Pittsburgh is Test Market for Home Energy Score

The Department of Energy will be visiting a handful of homes in ten markets across the US testing new technology to rate homes' energy efficiency - while lowering the amount of time it takes to assess each home from four hours to one hour. Homes will be given an "energy score" between one and ten, with ten being the most efficient. John Horchner, Program Officer with Efficiency PA says he expects many homes in the Pittsburgh area to score somewhere in middle because of the age of the structures. Horchner also says it's possible that an energy score could play into real estate transactions in the future as buyers search for houses that will keep their energy bills lower. More information on signing up for Home Energy Score can be found at effciencyPA.com. The deadline from registering homes for a chance to participate in the pilot is May 25.

"Energy Independence" Bill Unveiled

A bipartisan Congressional Energy Working Group has unveiled a plan that would open up offshore oil and gas exploration but would target the revenues to improve infrastructure, create jobs and invest in clean coal technology and renewable energy sources.
The working group is led by Congressmen Tim Murphy and Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania, Tim Walz of Minnesota and Jim Costa of California.
"It's clear the House is passing bills to open up offshore drilling. It's clear the Senate won't taken them up and the White House won't respond to them," said Murphy.

So, the group has unveiled legislation that it says will secure the nation's energy future, put Americans back to work and rebuild the infrastructure without raising taxes or increasing the national debt.

Murphy says "The Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act" would allow the safe, responsible expansion of offshore oil and gas exploration and dedicates the $2.2 to $3.7 trillion in new federal revenues from royalties and leasing rights fees to cut the deficit, invest in clean coal and nuclear technology, clean up the environment, increase funding for renewable and alternative energy sources, and rebuild crumbling highways and bridges.

The Congressman from Pittsburgh's South Hills says everyone wants clean air, land and water......."We can't clean up our coal plants and build clean nuclear plants or wind or solar because we don't have the money for them unless we open up some of these (offshore) areas for drilling and use the money from those without raising taxes, but use the fees and that could pay for all we need to do."

The U.S. continues to spend $1 billion a day to import 60% of its oil and the Congressional Working Group says U.S. offshore resources are enough to replace oil imports from Venezuela and Saudi Arabia for the next 80 years.

The revenues would also be used for tax credits to reduce energy waste by buildings, "the average building may waste 20 to 40% of the energy it buys," says Murphy.
He says this proposal has the backing of many groups including industry and labor and he's hoping for bipartisan support in the House and Senate because unlike other House legislation that just opens up offshore drilling, this is a comprehensive package that addresses the deficit, job creation, infrastructure, and renewable and alternative energy sources.

Murphy says from the time this is approved to the time "gas gets in your gas tank," it will be about 5 years, but revenues from leasing could start in about 2 years.

EPA Says "No" to Continue Using "Winter Gas"

Although some service stations in the Pittsburgh region are running out of gasoline, the Environmental Protection Agency has announced it has denied Pennsylvania's request to waive gasoline volatility standards and allow terminals in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland Counties to continue selling the winter blend of gasoline through the end of this month.
Under federal law the distributors cannot sell the winter blend to service stations after May 1 because of air pollution levels in the Pittsburgh region.
The shortage of the summer blend is due to a recent outage at a New Jersey refinery and a since repaired leak in the pipeline that links the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh markets.
Western Pennsylvania Congressmen Jason Altmire, Mark Critz, Mike Doyle, Mike Kelly and Tim Murphy said they will continue to urge the EPA to grant the waiver.

“Rising gas prices are already causing pain at the pump for Pennsylvania’s families. While disappointed in today’s decision by the EPA, we urge the agency to monitor on a moment-by-moment basis the supplies in Western Pennsylvania and react swiftly should the situation deteriorate. We will work together to do all that we can to ensure this issue is resolved quickly.”

Merger of Allegheny Power and First Energy leads to Investigation

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission approved the launch of an investigation into the state's competitive electricity retail market. The Commission voted 4-1 in a joint motion to launch the investigation.

Denise McCraken, spokeswoman for the Commission, says the investigation will be conducted in two phases. "What we want to do is access the status of the current retail market. And then we want to explore what changes need to be made to allow electric customers to best realize the benefits of competition. Then we'll move into the second phase. And what we'll do is examine and address how to best resolve issues that have been raised. And then implement prudent changes identified based upon our reviews of comments."

McCraken says the investigation was prompted by worries that some commission members brought up during the approval of the Allegheny Power/First Energy merger. She says once they receive comments and gather information they will decide how to best make changes to the current system.

The Commission will hold two hearings to allow invited parties the opportunity to speak on the topics raised in the process. the first hearing is scheduled for June 8th in Harrisburg.

Recycle CFLs in the Proper Places

Energy-saving light bulbs could be good for reducing energy bills, but not good for the environment if they are not properly disposed. The popular spiral-shaped compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) contain up to five milligrams of mercury, and if not recycled correctly could end up in the land, air, and water. The Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR), based in Napa, California, released a study detailing that only abut 2% of residential consumers recycle their CFLs and other florescent lighting. According to a study in the Air and Waste Management Association's Journal, this could amount to four tons of mercury being dumped in landfills around the world each year. Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole, lists some places where consumers can drop off CFLs for proper disposal. "Every Home Depot and every Lowes store in the county will accept used CFLs. They can also be taken to IKEA, which is in Robinson, and to the Pennsylvania Resources Council on the South Side." Donna Mazza, the Program Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Resources Council (PRC), says that their recycling box is located in their lobby during regular business hours. The PRC cannot take broken CFLs or tubes. Mazza also mentions that if consumers go to the Waste Management website, they can buy and order boxes to recycle the CFLs from home. Mazza says a curb-side pick up for CFLs may only benefit the community if precautions are taken. "That could create a danger if the CFL would break, because then the mercury would get into the air. So, if they were to be recycled curb-side they would have to be put into a tightly sealed container." Details about events where the public can drop off CFLs and other items that are not recyclable at curb-side can be found at http://www.achd.net/

Proposal to Increase Natural Gas Vehicles

House Republicans want to boost Pennsylvania’s rapidly growing energy industry by expanding the number of natural gas-powered vehicles on the state’s roads.

They’ve introduced a package of bills providing tax credits, grants and loans to mass transit agencies purchasing buses that run on natural gas. The tax credits total $30 million, including a $5 million effort aimed at increasing the number of natural gas fueling stations. Overall, the “Marcellus Works” plan would cost $47.5 million.

Majority Whip Stan Saylor said the proposal has three goals: “This is about cleaning up our environment, spurring an industry, and the creation of jobs.” How’s “Marcellus Works” different from the various incentives, grants and mandates Saylor and other Republicans decried as “state government picking winners and losers” throughout the Rendell Administration? “This is only a short program to get [the natural gas market] started,” Saylor said. “After that, it’s going to be on its own.”

The bills would clean up the environment by speeding up mass transit agencies’ transition from diesel to natural gas-powered buses. “[Diesel] emissions are particularly problematic for human health. They contain toxics, they contain soot pollution, which is really harmful for humans’ lungs. Those are things that have been really hard to clean up,” said PennFuture’s Jan Jarrett, who’s usually opposing Republicans on drilling issues, but endorsed the “Marcellus Works” plan on Wednesday. (Jarrett did reiterate her support for a natural gas severance tax during her comments, drawing a disapproving head shake from Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawely, who also spoke at the event.)

Jeff Schmidt, the director of Pennsylvania’s Sierra Club, wasn’t swayed by that argument. He said lawmakers need to be focused on the environmental impact of gas extraction, not consumption. “No one at today’s press conference acknowledged the serious problems we’ve got going on with the drinking water in places like Susquehanna and Bradford County,” he said. “The fracking water that’s being discharged into the Susquehanna River. We’ve got to deal with that first.”

Saylor said he’s hoping for votes on the seven bills this fall, after the General Assembly wraps up work on the budget. Governor Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Commission is also studying ways to increase demand for natural gas, and will issue a final report this summer.

DU Launches Energy and Environment Institute

In an effort to bring together experts in several fields related to energy and the environment, Duquesne University has launched a new institute. Associate Academic Vice President for Research Dr. Alan Seadler says the university has “strengths in economics, energy policy and law” and the institute will help them to better interact.

“Southwestern Pennsylvania has, because of its resources and history, a real key roll to play in the evolution of not only existing energy resources but also evolving energy resources, including alternate energy,” says Seadler. The institute is still in the very early stages and Seadler expects to see more outward activity in the coming month. “[We will] begin to look, and a hard look, at what are some of the decisions around what we are doing and what we are trying to do in the energy area.”

Seadler says the institute will primarily publish research papers and hold symposiums and seminars. He says he hopes the institute will provide a “neutral space for a dialogue” about energy while including both the industry and environmentalists.

DOE Want to Partner With Pgh Businesses & Schools

Representatives of small businesses and universities in the Pittsburgh area met Thursday with the Deputy Secretary of Energy to discuss efforts to receive federal investment and win contracts with the department. The discussions were held at the Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Lab in the South Hills. Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman says the department awarded $7.7 billion in contracts in 2010 to small businesses and these Business Opportunity Sessions are important..... "For us in Washington to have the understanding of what it takes to provide the programs that will end up in people's homes, in cars, in factories...all the places where energy gets used, we need to talk to people who are doing the thinking, coming up with the innovations, who are going to make the next breakthrough." Poneman hopes some of those breakthroughs are in the areas of clean coal technology... "We need to look at the pre and post combustion. We need to build plants that do this and use advanced pulverization and other specific technology or more efficient combustion that will use at the clean coal side." But at the same time he says they are working locally on carbon capture and sequestration.... "We have to do the testing of the various geologies for testing sequestration to make sure it can be done economically and effectively. It's hard" Poneman says they want to make it a commercially viable enterprise in the next ten years. However, the department is also working locally with Carnegie Mellon University on further developments in renewable energies. The deputy secretary said he looks at Pittsburgh as a place of "tremendous resources and tremendous academic depth not only from all the great universities in this area that have teamed with us but also having the intellectual firepower of the national lab."

City Streetlights Could Change

Pittsburgh City Council has taken the first step toward creating the city’s first-ever lighting code and at the same time moved down the path toward installing new LED streetlights in every business district.

In May of 2008, the city launched a test project to install LED streetlights on half of Walnut Street in Shadyside. The experiment was well received by most and since then, various council members have been pushing for more. The city is sitting on an $800 thousand state grant to help put new lights in all of the city’s approximately 30 business districts and councilman Bill Peduto says the grant expires if the work is not put out to bid this spring. “Our goal is to get this lighting code passed, be able to then to go forward in April with Carnegie Mellon University, who we have hired as part of that grant, to map out what that new lighting system would look like for all of our business districts and by June to issue the first [request for proposal] to begin the installation of those lights,” says Peduto.

Council gave preliminary approval to the bill this morning and will hold a post agenda meeting with CMU representatives to discuss the lighting code and the initial project.


Peduto says part of the code must address what he calls “equity of lighting.” “In certain neighborhoods you see street lights at every telephone poll, in other neighborhoods you only see one street light at the intersection,” says Peduto. The councilman believes some neighborhoods are overly lit while some neighborhoods are too dark. The plan would take into account the type of activity in a neighborhood when setting lighting standard.

Two years ago the university of Pittsburgh took a look at what types of lighting is best, “cradle to grave,” from an environmental standpoint. At the time, LEDs were deemed to be the best and Peduto says it was determined that the city could trim 50% from its streetlight electricity bill by installing LED fixtures. “Today those estimates are over 70%,” says Peduto. He says maintenance costs can be cut by 75%, “Where we replace light bulbs every other year, we wont have to for about 8-10 years” with LED.

The goal is to start installing the lights in the fall and then begin looking for grants to outfit residential neighborhoods. A portion of the business district lighting will be paid for through a city budget fund filled through savings from other energy efficiency efforts.

Lt. Gov.: "Severance Tax is Off the Table"

A panel formed to study natural gas drilling policy for Pennsylvania has 120 days to deliver a report to Governor Tom Corbett.
The 30-member Marcellus Shale Commission will spend the next four months thinking up economic and regulatory policies to suggest to the governor. It held its first meeting in Harrisburg on Friday.

Addressing the most high-profile drilling issue, Lieutenant Governor and commission chair Jim Cawley said a severance tax is “off the table,” but noted the group will weigh the need for some sort of impact fee to address infrastructure damage. “If identifiable impacts to local government are enumerated, and there is costs that go with that, the governor has charged us with seeing ways in which we could help local governments meet those impacts,” he said.

A public comment period at the end of Friday’s meeting highlighted how divisive the drilling issue has become. Some of the speakers praised drilling’s economic impact on rural communities. Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko, a Republican, said drilling has contributed to “climate change” in his county. “The climate is, family farms are being saved. Shops – mom and pops are seeing so much prosperity that they’ve never seen before. You know, there’s the local impacts. There’s good and bad with everything, but as far as job creation, we led the state,” he said.

Nathan Sooy of Clean Water Action said drilling’s potential dangers, including water contamination, has caused environmental groups to beef up, as well. “You guys are creating jobs in my industry. There are more and more jobs to keep track of you guys. And I just wanted to let you know that,” he said. Other speakers questioned the panel’s pro-drilling makeup – a third of its members have ties to the energy industry – with one woman calling its members “cheerleaders” for extraction.

The day’s most emotional comments came from Wyoming County resident Joanne Fiorito, who told the commission drilling has “taken my American dream and ripped it apart.” “You haven’t seen the last of [me],” she said.

The commission holds its next meeting April 27th.

Earth Hour Calls Attention to Climate Change

Tonight from 8:30–9:30 the City of Pittsburgh will officially participate in the global event, “Earth Hour,” during which hundreds of millions of people, organizations, corporations and governments around the world will come together and turn off their lights to demonstrate a concern for climate change.
In 2007, the first Earth Hour occurred in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million people turning off their lights in a show of support for efforts to fight climate change. Pittsburgh began participating the following year and in 2010, 128 countries took part in Earth Hour. That included 90 million Americans and iconic American landmarks, such as, Seattle’s Space Needle, the Las Vegas Strip, St Louis’ Gateway Arch, and the Brooklyn Bridge.

This evening Carlow, Carnegie Mellon, Chatham, Duquesne, Point Park and the University of Pittsburgh will all have buildings go dark for one hour.
Since 2008, Councilman William Peduto has led the effort to have Pittsburgh be a partner in this global event.
“I am proud of Pittsburgh’s continued environmental leadership. Pittsburgh’s universities have long been leaders of the region and it is only appropriate that they lead Pittsburgh’s Earth Hour efforts.”

Energy Company Liable for Pollution

Houston based GenOn Energy Inc. could face as much as could face $325 million in fines for water pollution violations at its power plant in Indiana County PA. A federal judge in Pittsburgh yesterday ruled that the wholly-owned subsidiary, GenOn Northeast Management Co., is liable for discharging metals into the Conemaugh River. The suit filed by PennEnvironment and the Sierra Club alleged that the violations date back to 2005. The judge found the facility committed 8,684 violations of the federal Clean Water Act. Each violation could carry a civil penalty of as much as $37,500. In 2005 the plant was run by Reliant Energy, which later became part of GenOn.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Mitchell must still decide what penalty to impose. Company officials refused comment until the penalty phase is completed. It is expected that GenOn will attempt to settle the 2007 lawsuit before the judge imposes a penalty.

Pennsylvania Sierra Club Water issues chair Thomas Au says, “GenOn’s long history of failure to comply with its pollution limits suggests that the quality of Pennsylvania’s rivers is worth less to the company than the profits it can take back to Houston.” He calls the ruling a real victory.

David Masur, the director of PennEnvironment, says the decision should force GenOn to comply with federal and state clean water rules as well as to pay a penalty large enough that the company doesn't profit from polluting.

PennEnvironment Releases Solar Hot Water Report

Pennsylvania could reduce fossil fuel and energy consumption along with pollution, if more solar hot water systems were used according to a new report by PennEnvironment. The report was released during an event at the Plumbers Local Union No. 27 in Coraopolis PA. Solar hot water is used to provide heat to homes and businesses. According to the report, solar hot water systems have the ability to reduce Americans' energy bills by 9.9 billion dollars.

Matthew Ward, Western Pennsylvania Field Associate for PennEnvironment, says that solar hot water could greatly improve Pennsylvania. "By investing in this solar energy technology to produce hot water for homes and businesses, Pennsylvania could reduce global warming pollution by the equivalent of taking almost 275,000 cars off of our roads. And at the same time, with energy savings, people in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, all across Pennsylvania could replace their water heating bills by fifty to eighty percent."

Ward says solar hot water systems could lead to increased jobs with Europe's solar thermal industry employing 40,000 people. He says that the systems are cost effective and many businesses are already using them including Fire House No. 34 in Brighton Heights and the Ross Hill Retirement Residence.

Fayette County Gets $4.1 million for ‘BetterBuildings’

Homeowners in “Coal Patch” towns in Fayette County can start tapping into $4.1 million in federal grant money aimed at helping to improve their home’s energy efficiency. The US Department of Energy says the money will be spent within the next 2.5 years. DOE BetterBuildings Program Manager Danielle Byrnett says home owners will be able to tap into different levels of support based on their income. All homeowners will be eligible for a free home energy evaluation that will determine where energy can be saved. Higher income families will be eligible for rebates while lower income homeowners will be able to tap into the pot of money to fully fund upgrades such as new insulation, and new energy efficient furnaces and refrigerators.

Homeowners need to apply directly to the Redevelopment Authority of the County of Fayette. After filling out the one-page form homeowners should expect to hear back within four weeks, says Byrnett. The DOE expects Fayette County to be able to help more than 1,000 homeowners.

Byrnett says there are several reasons why the DOE wants to make homes more energy efficient. “Getting home energy efficiency improvements allow homeowners to save energy, which improves the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other air pollutants,” says Byrnett, “its also better for communities and homeowners who end up being much more comfortable and have typically improved health and safety in their homes as well.” She says it is also good for homeowners to have a little extra money in their pockets after paying the energy bills.

The Private Industry Council of Westmorland/Fayette will also be providing free training for up to 60 students to become “Building Performance Institute Certified.” The first class will begin later this month. Byrnett says there are many contractors trained in looking at different aspects of energy efficiency but not many who can take the holistic approach that is needed. She says these newly trained workers will be a great legacy left by the program.

PUC Approves FirstEnergy Merger With Condition

FirstEnergy has cleared the last hurdle in its efforts to acquire rival power company Allegheny Energy. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission voted yesterday to approve the union, which means that four electric utilities operating in Pennsylvania will have the same parent company.

Akron, Ohio-based FirstEnergy announced last year that it was buying Greensburg based Allegheny Energy. The companies say this was the final regulatory approval needed to close the transaction. Federal, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia regulators have already given their approvals. Together, the merged company will include ten electric utilities serving 6 million customers in seven states including 2 million in Pennsylvania.

The vote by the PUC was 3-2 in favor of the deal. To get those votes the merger agreement had to include several stipulations. Among them was a deal to offer $10.7 million in Credits to residential customers of West Penn Power. FirstEnergy Spokesperson Ellen Raines says that money would be spread over 3 years and will amount to about 50-cents a month. FirstEnergy has also agreed to maintain at least 600 employees at a regional office in Greensburg for at least 5 years.

The PUC has also approved an investigation into the level of competition in the state’s electricity industry.

FirstEnergy Looks For New Ash Dump

The Little Blue Run coal ash site will reach its permanent capacity some time in 2016 or 2018 and that means Akron, Ohio based FirstEnergy is looking for a new location to place the coal ash generated by the Bruce Mansfield power plant in Greene Township, Beaver County. The Bruce Mansfield plant is the largest coal fired plant in Pennsylvania. First Energy Spokesperson Mark Durbin says they are working with regulators and the community to place a new facility nearby. He says they have had meetings with local elected officials and residents about building what he calls a “benefits package” for the community. “There is a benefit to FirstEnergy to have this new facility located where it is and we think the community should also have some type of benefit involved, so we are working with the community to try to present what we think is an offer and hopefully we will get some feedback and hopefully we can come to some type of agreement,” says Durbin. The value of that package is currently in the range of $15 million over the 20-28 year life span of the site. “It could be used for some help with property tax, maybe some other money could be used to help with municipal services in the region, maybe some of it could be used for the schools or 4-H clubs,” says Durbin.

The company picked up about $2.4 million dollars in residential, commercial and farmland last year in the hopes of using the land for the new dump. Durbin says the new facility will store the same ash, but it is a very different design. The current facility is what is known as a wet storage facility and the new facility will be a dry facility. That is the latest technology for ash storage and what current regulations call for, says Durbin.

When the Little Blue Run coal ash facility is closed it will be capped and covered. “The material that has been stored there over the years would be encased behind the dam and then it would be mulched over and vegetation would grow in,” says Durbin, “We would continue to monitor and test that facility for as long as it is around.” Durbin says eventually it could begin to look much like it did before the facility was opened.

The Bruce Mansfield plant in Shippingport has been listed as a major air polluter by state and federal regulators. Residents near the ash disposal site have voiced concerns over negative health and drinking water impacts but none have been proven. The current site has been in use for more than 30 years.

Correction 2/8/11: In at least one case, the Pennsylvania DEP found that the well of a local resident was negatively impacted by contamination from the Little Blue coal ash facility and FirstEnergy was required to provide drinking water to that home.

GOP Lawmaker Skeptical About Cost of Energy Program

President Obama used a trip to State College to announce a new energy efficiency plan he says could save the country’s businesses $40 billion a year, once it’s up and running.

The proposal would provide tax credits, loan guarantees and grants to companies overhauling their buildings, in order to save on heating and cooling costs. Early in the speech, Obama acknowledged energy efficiency “isn’t a sexy topic,” saying, “Everybody focuses on cars and gas prices. That’s understandable. But our homes and our businesses use 40 percent of the energy. They contribute to 40 percent of the carbon pollution that we produce, and is contributing to climate change.”

The global warming reference was notable, as Obama didn’t mention climate change once during his State of the Union address, despite running for office on a platform arguing carbon emissions were a serious threat to global stability.

As part of the new plan, Obama wants the federal government to award competitive grants to states and municipalities that toughen energy efficiency standards. “We’re also going to support state and local governments who come up with the best ideas to make energy-efficient buildings the norm. So you show us the best ideas to change your game on the ground, we’ll show you the money,” he said. The effort would be similar to the Department of Education’s “Race to the Top,” which awards money to states that implement aggressive education reforms.

The White House hasn’t put a price tag on the initiative, but the president says the government could pay for it by closing tax loopholes given to big oil companies. Republican Congressman Glenn Thompson, who represents State College, was a bit skeptical of that claim. “I guess I would challenge – I’ve been working on this issue for two years. I want to see where the subsidies are.” Thompson said Obama and other Democrats sometimes exaggerate big energy companies’ perks. “It gets people’s attention because it’s picking out a bad guy you can focus your attention on,” he said.

Thompson was the only member of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation in the audience. Senators Bob Casey and Pat Toomey were in Washington, and Governor Corbett didn’t attend the speech, either – though Penn State football coach Joe Paterno was there. In fact, Paterno got the biggest applause of the day when Obama mentioned him, and won a standing ovation from the crowd of students when he entered the gymnasium before the speech began.

President Obama offered mild support for the Super Bowl-bound Steelers at the beginning of the speech, pointing out he had visited a town near Green Bay last week. “So, in the spirit of fairness, I’ve come to Pennsylvania, not too far from the center of Steeler Nation, to wish Steelers fans good luck in the Super Bowl, too.” When the Steelers were last in the Super Bowl, Obama actively backed them. During Pennsylvania’s 2008 primary, he frequently said the Steelers had always been his second-favorite team. And, of course, Obama appointed owner Dan Rooney Ambassador to Ireland. So some obersevers were confused by the tepid “good luck in the Super Bowl” language, especially in light of the fact Obama’s favorite team, the Bears, are the Packers’ top rival.

The State College visit was Obama’s tenth trip to Pennsylvania, since taking office.

President Pushes Loans, Grants & Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency

President Barack Obama used a visit to Penn State University to announce a new energy efficiency plan.
The tax incentives and grants aimed at improving energy efficiency by 20 percent over the next ten years build on the “Win the Future” theme President Obama focused on during his State of the Union.
Addressing the crowd of about a thousand students, Mr. Obama said the United States will face stiff competition from the rest of the world over the coming decades.

"I know every young person here feels that pressure. You understand that it’s not going to be a cakewalk – this competition for the future."

Mr. Obama acknowledged energy efficiency “isn’t a sexy topic.”

"Everybody focuses on cars and gas prices. That’s understandable. But our homes and our businesses use 40 percent of the energy. They contribute to 40 percent of the carbon pollution that we produce, and is contributing to climate change."

The president wants the Department of Energy to guarantee loans for small businesses taking out money to improve their buildings’ efficiency.
Mr. Obama says that, combined with tax credits and grant programs he wants to offer, could help the country’s businesses save 40 billion dollars a year on energy costs.
He wants to pay for the plan by eliminating tax breaks for big oil companies.