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Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) released details of the energy bill he is putting before the Senate on Tuesday, making it official that any hope for a national renewable electricity standard (RES) is dead. Last week Reid said as much while foreshadowing the contents of his bill, which focuses more on oil spill response than renewable energy. Since then, dozens of democratic senators (including one republican) and industry groups pressed Reid for, at the least, inclusion of a national RES to promote a shift to cleaner power over the long term.

For at least the short term, any RES prospect has been declared dead by the one man who could have given it life.

To make matters worse, the bill excludes just about everything else that could really help the renewable energy industry, especially the troubled wind sector, which has seen quarterly figures drop 71 percent from the same time last year.

NOT included are:

• A national RES
• Extension of the production tax credit (expires next year)
• Extension of the Treasury Grant Program (expires this year)
• Any cap or tax on carbon emissions by polluters

What the bill does offer:

• Oil Regulations: A removal of the $75 million cap on economic liability that oil companies must account for in response to an oil spill. Companies would pay higher fees into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. It would also speed up the claims process for people damaged by oil spills and overhaul government regulation to ensure that conflicts of interest do not exist.
• Energy Efficiency: The bill would set aside $5 billion for the proposed federal Home Star rebate program that incentivizes homeowners to make energy efficiency improvements.
• Conservation: The bill would also fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which uses a portion of receipts from oil and gas leases to support state and local conservation programs.
• Electric and Natural Gas Vehicles: Encourages the deployment of electric cars through $400 million doled out to certain cities. Also funds a federally-run competition to develop a battery that will power an EV for 500 miles in a single charge, and encourages federal agencies to introduce EVs into their operating fleets. Finally,  the bill offers incentives to retrofit heavy-duty vehicles to run on “clean natural gas” (CNG).

The oil industry is railing against the bill, which means it must be doing something right. Yet while incentives for electric vehicles, increased oil regulation (so obviously lacking in the lead up to the BP spill) and energy efficiency incentives are good steps, this can hardly be called an energy bill — at least not in the sense that the renewable energy industry, President Obama, nor any environmental advocate had hoped for.

Harry Reid and other Senate Democrats admit that the bill is far from sweeping, but claim that it’s the best they can do without a guaranteed, filibuster-proof 60 votes — something Reid says they most certainly do not have. And even this gutted sham of a climate change bill faces stiff opposition from republicans, whose main objective seems to be to oppose anything and everything until the GOP has a chance at regaining power in November. Although, they apparently have all the power they need already, or at least enough to stop the less-than-brave democrats tiptoeing around the Senate floor and all over the progress-minded constituents that voted them in nearly two years ago.

And where’s President Obama on all this? Good question.

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Imagine going to the refueling station by entering your garage. Honda Motors is trying to make that notion a reality with the announcement of its new Honda Solar Hydrogen Station, an all-in-one electrolyzer and compressor that provides 0.5 kg of hydrogen over 8 hours. That will enable a fuel cell electric vehicle to handle trips [...]

In order to strengthen the two countries’ cooperation on renewable energy and energy efficiency, President Barack Obama and China’s President Hu Jintao have agreed to cooperate in organizing several programs and initiatives.

One of the key programs is to establish a U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, through an investment of $150 million in public and private funds over the next five years. The new centre will provide opportunities for joint research and development of clean energy technologies by scientists from both countries.

However, some problems have been perceived associated with the transfer of technology from the U.S. to China.

According to reports, Beijing’s list of supplies includes salt-resistant materials for offshore wind farms, hi-tech components for large wind turbines, smart-grid control systems and more efficient pumps for nuclear reactors.

There are still some hurdles that have to be resolve such as how to compensate the private sector and how to remove trade restrictions on items that the U.S. does not want to give to China due to competitive advantage.

The two leaders also disclosed a U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative, which comprises of developing joint standards, building demonstration projects in several cities, creating technical roadmaps, and carrying out public education projects.

Other combined projects will include renewable energy, smart grids, clean transportation, green buildings, combined heat and power, energy efficiency, and clean coal.

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The electric car has come a long way in recent years, and it’s going to go further. Believe it or not, electric car prototypes have been around since the 1830s!  Companies are producing bigger and better batteries, power providers are brainstorming ways to implement charging stations to charge them (electric cars draw as much electricity [...]

Solar energy is among the several renewable sources of energy that are being used for fueling vehicles, powering consumer products and for the efficient running of homes and business organizations. Solar energy is harnessed with the help of photovoltaic cells and solar panels that are put in the thing that has to be powered. The solar car is something that is visualized to materialize in the future, with a few countries already holding solar cars racing over countries.

With this, it’s testified that it’s feasible to indeed make and manufacture solar energy cars in bulk, in the near future so that everybody will soon have a solar energy car.

Naturally, when solar power cars are made up, it doesn’t entail that all former fuel sources for cars on highways will be moved out. All that is arranged in solar energy cars is the supplementation of traditional fuel with solar power. Now you save not only on your economy, but also save the surroundings in a lot of ways than one annually.

The solar energy cars that are used in races nowadays run only on solar energy, and thus appear funny in appearance. This is because these cars are shaped in such a manner that they can gather utmost solar power with which it is possible for the car to acquire the required speed and desired efficiency.

The photovoltaic cells used in solar energy cars are large, and normally cover the whole vehicle. Even so in case of commercial uses, photovoltaic cells are much more belittled and contrived so that the vehicle not just appears attractive, but is also efficient in its operation. Solar cars can be utilized for short commutes in town because these cars can function only on solar power.

The batteries added in the vehicle storages extra solar energy so that this power can be used when solar energy is not available on requirement as if on cloudy days and at night. The engines of these solar energy cars are much as the engines of electric cars found today. Also this, the cars are lightweight, so that solar energy can be used more with efficiency.

Today, there are several types of solar energy cars in the developing stage that are also available for sale. Even so as these cars are in the development phase, the cars aren’t available to the common people. With so many benefits received in solar energy cars, its cost won’t be much higher than the cost of the traditionally powered vehicles of nowadays.

Another benefit of solar energy cars is there’s no bother of stopping at filling stations for gas nor is there the need of getting worried of rising gasoline prices. With a solar energy car, you save on the money that you’d have otherwise might needed for getting fuel to run the car. Also this, with solar energy cars you’ll be performing your role in stopping global warming problems as there are no fuel discharges from solar energy cars.

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