Opponents have called it “another Solyndra waiting to happen.” An estimated $2.6 billion offshore wind project near Massachusetts could be awarded a $350 million Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee and a 30 percent federal tax credit, according to recent reports. The much beleaguered 468 megawatt, 130 turbine Cape Wind …
Today the Senate held a confirmation hearing for Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Heritage has provided its own questions for nominee McCarthy. If confirmed, and if her past statements are indicative of future actions, McCarthy’s tenure at the EPA will continue to lead …
A cloud of photochemical smog from China drifted into Japan this week. The story highlights the fact that air pollution in China is getting worse—despite lamentations that the “world is passing us by” in clean energy. That quote came from Steven Chu, President Obama’s then-Secretary of Energy, in 2009. Chu …
Solar Mosaic, a solar microfinancing outfit that received a $2 million Department of Energy (DOE) grant last summer and exploits a 30 percent federal tax credit, officially launched its crowd-sourced investment platform last week. Acknowledging that the microfinancing (financial services for small projects or businesses) model employed by Solar Mosaic …
When the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted last week to approve permits to begin construction on two nuclear reactors, many hailed the decision as the start of a nuclear renaissance. Without a doubt, the NRC’s action is noteworthy, because it marks the first time in over three decades that the …
In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama requested that Congress pass legislation mandating a national clean energy standard (CES). A CES targets the CO2 emissions from the electric power industry by setting minimum percentages of total power (electricity) generation that must come from sources that emit …
Speaking before a new Congress in his State of the Union address, President Obama gave an alternative suggestion for Congress now that cap and trade is out of the picture. He pitched an aggressive clean energy standard, saying he wants 80 percent of our electricity to come from carbon-free sources …
A little over a month into the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the American public wants answers– from the Obama administration, from Congress and from BP. While there are still many more questions than currently available answers, President Obama answered a few and dodged others in his speech today. He …