Miracle on Pennsylvania Ave (photographed & photoblended by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
Sunshine Coming Through (credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
Thank You, President Obama, for signing the bill and bringing the Best Holiday Gift For All Americans To Transition Into Renewable Energy Age…. please refer to more details in this –>Post on “Solar For Oil: Miracle On Pennsylvania Avenue“.
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
HAPPY HOLIDAY &
SUNNY 2016 !
gathered, photographed and photoblended by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
any questions, suggestions, and concerns will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
Miracle on Pennsylvania Ave (photographed & photoblended by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
Sunshine Coming Through (credit: sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker)
I could’t decide on which of the two images above (Miracle on Pennsylvania Ave or Sunshine Coming Through) to use for this post. Perhaps we should have you all, the readers, vote on it. Let me know via sunisthefuture@gmail.com
(Please click on red links & note magenta)
It’s great to be back after taking care of some family matter to report such terrific news! Thanks to one of our dear readers asking a very important question concerning the current status of our federal tax credit for installing solar.
For those of you who may need a bit of refresher on all the renewable energy & energy efficiency tax incentives throughout 50 states of USA, please click–>DSIRE. For U.S. Territories’ tax credit programs, please click U.S. Territories . For U.S. Federal tax credit programs, please click Federal . Just a few weeks ago, an extension of the U.S. ITC (Investment Tax Credit) seemed unlikely and solar businesses globally were getting ready to base their future business strategies on the tax credit stepping down to 10% on January 1, 2017, and expiring entirely for individuals. Just at this nick of time….I should have known since my first time viewing the Miracle On 34th Street….many miracles may take place here in USA….even in Washington, D.C….
On December 18, 2015, the U.S. Senate has passed an omnibus spending bill which includes extension of the 30% federal ITC for solar (PTC for wind). Under this extension, the ITC will stay at 30% through 2020, and then decline gradually for two years before falling to 10%. The legislation also allows for PV projects to claim the credit for the year in which they begin construction. This bill includes the lifting of a 40-year ban on oil exports (this 40-year ban came into existence during the time when U.S. was having shortage of oil so it is now graduating from being a poor policy to being an exceptionally poor policy because U.S. is now an exporter rather than an importer of oil). So the elimination of this 40-year ban with ITC extension for solar (PTC for wind) is truly a win-win for both oil producers and renewable/solar producers of USA alike. It has passed both the U.S. House and U.S. Senate, with the final Senate vote being 65-33. This was the final vote needed before the bill will be signed by U.S. President Obama (who supports it).
In a SEIA/Bloomberg report, without the extension of ITC amounts to an additional 69 GW (gigawatts) of solar deployment between 2016 and 2022,
SEIA’s analysis of data using NREL (National Renewable Energy Laboratory)’s JEDI (Jobs and Economic Development Impacts) model and BNEF (Bloomberg New Energy Finance)’s data covering the ITC (Investment Tax Credit)’s impact on jobs and economic investment between 2015-2022. (credit: SEIA, NREL, BNEF)
solar industry stands to lose 80,000 jobs (Solar jobs derived from NREL’s Jedi model represent demand-side jobs-years, not comparable to the Solar Foundation’s job census which accounts both demand and supply-side jobs and uses a different methodology. For more information please click: ) http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/jedi/ and http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/solar-jobs-census/ ) in 2017 and an additional 20,000 jobs in related affected industries, for a total loss of 100,000 American jobs. With the ITC extension, it would yield 61,000 more solar jobs in 2017 and 58,000 more jobs in 2021, etc. It is projected that the total solar investment in the US economy between 2016-2022 will be more than $124 billion, $39 billion more than if the ITC expires.
Truly, the ITC extension will provide solar businesses the regulatory certainty to invest in their operations and hire new employees. Who’d thought that it is a result of negotiating from lifting a 40-year ban on oil export?! Solar For Oil! It is truly a time of Miracle On Pennsylvania Avenue! The longer I am alive, the more I have to believe in Miracles….how can one not :)….
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, photographed & photoblended, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Our President Obama has taken unprecedented action to build the foundation for a Clean Energy Economy, tackling the issue of Climate Change, and protect our Environment. I would like you all to be aware of this particular site, http://www.whitehouse.gov/energy, where you can sign up for energy and environment updates and be kept abreast of White House’s strategy on energy and environment. Below, is a short video clip representing President Obama’s position on Climate Change:
Be sure to contact our White House and President with your concern regarding energy and climate change/environment issues. Together, we can help to create a cleaner, healthier, and sunnier future.
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your questions/comments/suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Please also get into the habit of checking at these sites below for more on solar energy topics:
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Please excuse the digression of this post, for it is the first time I am deviating from topics directly related to solar energy at Sun Is The Future of http://www.sunisthefuture.net . As you all know, Sun Is The Future has always been in favor of coming up with alternative solutions that will take us away from wars and violence and heading toward a renewable and brighter future.
But I’ve been having so much trouble sleeping at nights ever since I heard President Obama’s address last Saturday regarding the moral responsibility to justify punishing the Syrian regime for using chemical weapons against civilians. While President Obama awaits for the Congressional voting that will take place on September 9, 2013, to determine go-or-no-go on American air strikes, my brain simply cannot stop turning. The future pain and suffering of more Syrians and civilians of many other countries are so palpable that it is almost as though I could hear their cries and moans in the dead of nights. I believe that Pope Francis is right in his remark about “Violence begets violence and war begets war.” There has got to be a better way!
Peaceful Dove (Attribution: Fir0002/Flagstaffotos under GFDL 1.2 (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:GFDL-1.2))
What do you all think of the idea of WorldWide Adoption of Syrian families/civilians as a way to avoid the need to bomb or declare war on Syrian government by any other governments? This will definitely ensure the safety of these people, away from the Syrian government or the Rebels… Many Syrians have already left Syria. But those without the means nor economic support will be the ones who will suffer. So let’s try a peaceful solution! Let’s try having an international adoption of those who are still in Syria and want to leave (but without the means). In so doing, this will save lives. It will cost less and prevent more wars among nations. And this will be a form of penalty on Syrian government for they will end up with less people to govern or to tax. This will also ensure that no one government is acting as the police, but all nations from the planet earth will participate in this humanitarian effort. If all the nations on planet earth will participate, there would not be as much pressure on any one particular nation. Please consider this as a possible solution and spread the word/idea. Thank you.
~aiming to bring more bright and sunny days to as many people on earth as possible~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments will be welcomed below or via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (please note if you do not want your email to be shared)
(Please click on red links below)
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Updates on our Solar-FIT For Sunshine State petition: 165 signatures strong. We need more! Please help us to spread more sunshine by signing this petition and sharing it with others. It is our shared responsibility to move toward the renewable energy age and Sunshine is the cleanest, healthiest, and least war-prone way to go!
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On this historical day, President Obama declares that United States will lead the way, during this Clean Energy Era, to cut carbon pollution and to protect our nation from impact of climate change by 1. not approving the controversial Keystone Pipeline (pipeline that would’ve carried oil from tar sand of Alberta, Canada, to Gulf of Mexico) if it would increase greenhouse gas emission.2.by directing U.S EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to issue rules to cut carbon emissions from power plants and set new standards. 3.by leading global effort in working with growing economy such as China or India in encouraging use in natural gas, nuclear power, and renewables such as solar and wind power.4. by wasting less energy. 5. by coordinating with U.S. regional governments to prepare for impacts of climate change. The goal is using less dirty energy, transitioning into clean energy, and wasting less energy. The federal government is also setting the goal of having 20% of its electricity use from renewables by the next seven years. Below, is President Obama’s speech:
President Obama mentioned our historical understanding, as far back into the 1800’s, of greenhouse gas effect from CO2 emission trapping heat. Burning fossil fuel would release the CO2 into the atmosphere. But in late 1950’s the National Weather Services would measure the level of CO2 in our atmosphere, with worry that the rising CO2 might one day disrupt the fragile balance of our planet’s hospitable environment. After decades of accumulations and reviews, the scientists have discovered that the level of increase of CO2 in our earthly environment has such dramatic increase that it would impact much of life for human kind. The twelve warmest years in the recorded history have all occurred within the past fifteen years. President Obama also brought us to the attention that about 40% of our carbon pollution comes from our power plants, and yet there is no federal regulation or limit as to how much power plants can dump carbon into the air (keep in mind that there are limits for mercury, sulfur, arsenic, or various other toxic chemicals). This needs to stop.
President Obama also reminded us, for the past four years, we’ve doubled the electricity generation from solar and wind power. Of course, that also means generation of jobs. Countries such as Germany and China have been in the race for clean energy, and USA needs to be in the race in order to win. In President Obama’s proposal, it will double our energy from sun and wind. He asked Congress to help to extend the tax credit to manufacturers and producers of clean energy (solar and wind) in order to increase jobs and enable USA to participate and win the race. He has asked the U.S. Department of Interior to green light enough private renewable energy capacity on public lands to power more than six million homes by 2020. Department of Defense, the biggest energy consumer in USA, will install 3 GW (gigawatt) of renewable power on its bases (equivalent to generating 3 million tons of coal each year). He is calling to end the tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel/oil and invest in the clean energy that will better fuel our future.
Those of us who are Solar Enthusiasts, let’s help President Obama to complete the specifics of his plan before June of 2015 by promoting and signing the petition for Solar-FIT For Sunshine State above, coordinating and collaborating on the introduction of Feed-In-Tariff For Renewables throughout USA, and developing Community Solar Gardens/Farms locally. Let’s see and seize this as an opportunity for local economy and businesses. Let’s help to educate those around us and speak up for the fact so to eliminate mis-information. Push our communities to adopt smarter practices, to invest in clean energy and divest from fossil fuel. Let’s make sure that any/all future political candidates, in order to receive support from us, will stand for protection of our future against the ravage of climate change. Let’s step up to the plate and face the challenge together!
~have a bright and sunny day~
For better understanding of our climate change, please refer to our June 20, 2013 post.
any of your comments and suggestion will be welcomed publicly in comment area below or privately via sunisthefuture@gmail.com (be sure to note in your email if you do not want your email to be shared)
(Please click on red links below)
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Updates on our Solar-FIT For Sunshine State petition: 165 signatures strong. We need more! Please help us to spread more sunshine by signing this petition and sharing it with others. It is our shared responsibility to move toward the renewable energy age and Sunshine is the cleanest, healthiest, and least war-prone way to go!
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Be sure that you will allot your Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 1:35 P.M (EDT). for President Obama’s talk in Georgetown University, on the growing threat of climate change. He will lay out his vision of where we need to go and what we can to address and prepare for the serious implications of a changing climate. Tune in at www.whitehouse.gov/live on Tuesday, June 25, 2013, 1:35 P.M.
~have a bright and sunny day~
any comments or suggestions will be welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
After I’ve tweeted, Facebooked, Google+, and Linkedin , calling for attention to FIT (Feed-In-Tariff) for Renewables in our March 9, 2013 post, so that USA won’t be left too far behind rest of the world in our race toward to renewable energy to save our planet, I’ve received an email which led to this link/site: http://www.fitpetition.org/
FITpetition is a grassroot organization advocating for a national feed-in-tariff (FIT). A FIT is designed to accelerate the development of renewable generation projects up to 20 MW in size, including solar, wind, biomass, and wave. This organization is planning a petition drive to https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/, wanting President Obama and Congress to know a practical non-partisan plan to gradually transition away from conventional generation technologies. If you are in support of renewable energy and would like to be notified when the petition drive begins, visit the site and click on JOIN. Be part of the movement in helping our nation to transition into the renewable energy age! Be part of the movement that will partake in reducing the CO2 emission and enabling our world to be a cleaner, healthier, and war-free world.
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Any of your comments and suggestions are welcomed at sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.sunisthefuture.net
“In tonight’s State of the Union Address, President Obama laid out a vision for the American energy economy that is in line with what SEIA is working to achieve – a robust clean energy industry that powers our homes and businesses while growing our economy and protecting our environment. Energy is a primary input to our nation’s economic system, so it’s appropriate that President Obama is placing emphasis on developing our nation’s robust clean energy resources to help rebuild the nation’s economy.
“We are especially encouraged by the president’s commitment to securing America’s place as a leader in clean energy innovation throughout the world. President Obama understands that the stakes are high and we must not fall behind other nations as the world shifts to emissions-free clean energy technologies like solar.
“We thank President Obama for his leadership and look forward to continuing to work with Congress and the White House to make solar an increasingly-important component of the nation’s energy portfolio.”
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Since 2008, the amount of solar powering U.S. homes, businesses, and military bases has grown by more than 500 percent – from 1,100 megawatts to more than 6,400 megawatts today, which is enough to power more than one million average American households. Solar is the fastest-growing and most affordable, accessible and reliable clean energy technology available today. America’s solar industry now employs more than 119,000 workers at 5,600 companies – most of which are small businesses spread across every state in the union.
About SEIA®:
Established in 1974, the Solar Energy Industries Association® is the national trade association of the U.S. solar energy industry. Through advocacy and education, SEIA and its 1,000 member companies are building a strong solar industry to power America. As the voice of the industry, SEIA works to make solar a mainstream and significant energy source by expanding markets, removing market barriers, strengthening the industry and educating the public on the benefits of solar energy. www.seia.org
It is with both sadness and appreciation that many of us in the solar/renewable energy world are receiving the news of Secretary (of US Department of Energy) Steven Chu’s decision to return to his life of a scientist.
Please view the announcement video clip below:
Secretary Steven Chu returning to his life of a scientist rather than a second term as the Secretary of Department of Energy (DOE)
In my opinion, Secretary Steven Chu is the first Secretary of Department of Energy who is truly deserving of his title after many decades of Secretaries who could have just as well been called Secretary of Nuclear Energy. We appreciate President Obama’s insight in naming a Nobel scientist with guts and pragmatism during this critical juncture in both American and Human Energy history. Without the past four years of Chu’s tenure, we could not have seen the long list of scientific and clean energy programs, ranging from Wind and Solar Energy Initiatives, BioEnergy Research Centers, nuclear safety, appliance efficiency standards, etc. He is the first Secretary of Energy who truly appreciated the rising temperature as a present and growing danger to our planet earth and actively addressed this issue by building a foundation for research, creativity, and with funding guarantees to a plethora of clean energy projects supporting manufacturing plants throughout the country. Since the list of accomplishments during his tenure is extremely long, I will simply name few of his accomplishments and share with you a more complete list made available via U.S. Department of Energy site.
ARPA-E became a reality, designed to support high-risk, high reward technology development;this program has earned the respect of industry and academia alike for its outstanding funding choices and its thoughtful and thorough program management. Fred Smith, the CEO of FedEx, thought ARPA-E was the best government funding program he has ever seen. In the first few years, 11 of the companies funded with $40 million dollars have attracted more than $200 million in combined private investment.
The SunShot Challenge called for reducing the full cost of utility scale solar energy to $1/watt, roughly equates to a levelized cost of electricity (LOCE) of 6 cents/kWh without additional subsidies created for the solar industry. This is close to the projected EIA cost of natural gas and the anticipated LOCE on a new natural gas electricity generator a decade from now.
The President announced an EV Everywhere Challenge, with the goal to achieve plug-in hybrids or EVs with a 100 mile range at the same cost of owning and operating a comparable sized internal combustion engine car with 40 miles/gallon for 5 years.
The production of clean, renewable energy from wind and solar has doubled during Chu’s tenure.
In addition to $25 billion annual budget, Congress entrusted DOE to make a $36 billion investment through the Recovery Act to help ensure that the clean energy jobs of tomorrow are created in USA.
The DOE has made significant progress in encouraging collaboration between the basic science and applied science programs such that the Office of Science and the Applied Energy programs have collaborated from the beginning in the design of Funding Opportunity Announcements. So called “Tech teams” that span Energy, Science, and APRA-E have started to meet regularly in areas such as solar energy, electricity transmission and distribution, computation, and biofuels. Brainstorming sessions where young scientists are encouraged to share ideas and joust with Department veterans have begun.
Statement from SEIA President and CEO Rhone Resch on the Notice of the Departure of Energy Secretary Steven Chu:“SEIA applauds Secretary Chu for his outstanding leadership of the Department of Energy and for his work to foster the growth of clean energy technologies to power America. Secretary Chu clearly believes in the power of science and innovation to drive change, which was evident in the way he led the Department. Under Dr. Chu’s leadership, the Department launched the SunShot Initiative, an effort to advance solar photovoltaic technology developments; promoted the clean energy loan guarantee program spurring $55 billion in economic investment; and advanced the prominence of solar energy as a critical energy source.
“Under the Obama Administration, the amount of solar powering homes, businesses, and military bases has grown by nearly 500 percent – from 1,100 megawatts in 2008 to more than 6,400 megawatts today. Solar installations and jobs have risen dramatically throughout the U.S, while costs have fallen. Today, the solar industry employs more than 119,000 Americans at 5,600 companies, mostly small businesses, across all 50 states – this is more than double the number of Americans working in solar in 2009. The U.S. now has enough installed solar capacity to power a million households, and 2013 is on track to be another year of record growth for our industry.
“We thank Secretary Chu for his passion for solar innovation, his public service, and his outstanding work to advance renewable energy across the United States.”
We applaud you for having led us on the right path to a cleaner, safer, and more sustainable future powered with greatly increased amounts of renewable energy. Job well done!
~have a bright and sunny day~
Gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker
Today I came across the wikipedia site for President Obama’s “We Can’t Wait” Initiative and found no mention of any solar energy projects…but remembering reading about various solar projects in early part of August this year under this initiative. Definitely, a point that needs to be corrected/updated. So, here is my contribution for the humanity in wikipedia world, the 11th item under Executive actions of “We Can’t Wait”, under Wikipedia:
11. President Obama has expedited seven solar and wind energy projects (August 7, 2012) in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Wyoming. Together, these infrastructure projects will produce nearly 5,000 MW of clean energy, according to the White House. The five solar projects include the following installations:
*Quartzsite Solar Energy, a 100 MW concentrating solar power (CSP) plant under development in Arizona by Solar Reserve.
*Desert Harvest Solar Energy, a 150 MW PV plant under development by enXco in California.
*McCoy Solar Energy, a 750 MW PV plant under development by NextEra in California.
*Moapa Solar Energy Center, a multiple-technology solar plant under development by RES Americas and the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians in Nevada. The 200 MW project would employ 100 MW of PV technology and 100 MW of CSP technology.
*Silver State South, a 350 MW PV plant under development in Nevada by First Solar.[14]
Below, you will find a vido clip summarizing the spirit of “We Can’t Wait” Initiative:
President Obama, might you also consider helping us with implementation of effective Feed-In-Tariff for Renewable Energy ? It will do much in job creations, bring forth communities’ economic prosperity, reduction in pollution, decrease chance of warfare among nations, and solution for our energy problems.
~have a bright and sunny day~
gathered, written, and posted by sunisthefuture-Susan Sun Nunamaker, sunisthefuture@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.sunisthefuture.net
