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California PUC Votes to Move Forward with 3,000 MW Solar Initiative

The California Public Utilities Commission has unanimously approved the first phase of the California Solar Initiative, just two days after unveiling the 11-year proposal to install 3,000 MW of clean solar power in California. The vote makes $300 million in funds available for 2005 and 2006 solar projects on California schools, farms, businesses, and public facilities. “As the price of natural gas and electricity reach record levels, we applaud the PUC for providing consumers with a practical solution to reduce their energy costs,” said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “The California Solar Initiative will allow thousands of homeowners and businesses to turn to reliable solar energy as a means for reducing their energy bills. Today’s vote will ensure uninterrupted solar market growth in 2006 and facilitate the transition to the long-term program set out in the PUC proposal.” The $300 million triples the amount of funding originally allocated for the PUC’s Solar Generation Incentive Program in 2006. Projects currently in the SGIP’s backlog will qualify for rebates of $3 per watt, while 2006 qualifying projects will receive $2.80 per watt. In addition, $58 million remains available for homeowners and small businesses to invest in solar panels […]

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Senator Cantwell to Lead Energy Independence 2020 Campaign

Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announced that Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will take the lead for Senate Democrats’ efforts to make America energy independent by 2020. This announcement comes as Democrats across the country rallied this week to fight for energy independence by 2020. In their states and local communities, Democrats at all levels of government have been fighting to stop price gouging, provide relief for high winter heating costs and put America squarely on the path towards energy independence. “I am thrilled that Senator Cantwell has agreed to lead the Democratic caucus in this crucial effort to make America energy independent by 2020,” said Reid. “Her experience fighting for consumers during the Enron scandal and Western energy crisis make her the right choice to continue our effort to break our dependence on foreign oil and put working families ahead of the special interests.” Senator Cantwell serves on both the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee as well as the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee making her ideally suited to tackle the crucial energy issues facing our nation. Senator Cantwell successfully got Congress to ban some of the tactics Enron used to manipulate markets in their favor, and she […]

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California PUC Votes to Move Forward with 3,000 MW Solar Initiative

The California Public Utilities Commission has unanimously approved the first phase of the California Solar Initiative, just two days after unveiling the 11-year proposal to install 3,000 MW of clean solar power in California. The vote makes $300 million in funds available for 2005 and 2006 solar projects on California schools, farms, businesses, and public facilities. “As the price of natural gas and electricity reach record levels, we applaud the PUC for providing consumers with a practical solution to reduce their energy costs,” said Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association. “The California Solar Initiative will allow thousands of homeowners and businesses to turn to reliable solar energy as a means for reducing their energy bills. Today’s vote will ensure uninterrupted solar market growth in 2006 and facilitate the transition to the long-term program set out in the PUC proposal.” The $300 million triples the amount of funding originally allocated for the PUC’s Solar Generation Incentive Program in 2006. Projects currently in the SGIP’s backlog will qualify for rebates of $3 per watt, while 2006 qualifying projects will receive $2.80 per watt. In addition, $58 million remains available for homeowners and small businesses to invest in solar panels […]

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Congress May Block Plan for a Wind Farm in Nantucket Sound

A plan to build what could become the first large offshore wind farm in the United States would be effectively killed by a proposed amendment to a Coast Guard budget bill now making its way through Congress, people on both sides of the issue say. The amendment, offered by Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska, would prohibit new offshore wind facilities within 1.5 nautical miles of a shipping lane or a ferry route. That would rule out construction of the installation, proposed for Nantucket Sound. The budget bill awaits action in a House-Senate conference committee. The installation would consist of 130 turbines in a grid that would occupy 24 square miles in the sound. Each tower, with its turbine and blades, would rise 420 feet above the water. The developer, a private company called Cape Wind Associates, says the turbines could produce three-quarters of the electricity now used on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. Greenpeace, the American Lung Association and other organizations endorse the plan as an important step in reducing pollution and global warming. But fishery groups, many local communities and Massachusetts political figures like Gov. Mitt Romney and Senator Edward M. Kennedy say that Nantucket Sound, a […]

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Clean-Energy Frenzy

URL: http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0550/051214_news_energy.php Website: http://www.seattleweekly.com/features/0550/051214_news_energy.php     

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