POLITICS IN HAWAII

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Monday serious and whimsical

November 09, 2009 By: Keone Category: America, accountability, energy, entertainment, renewable power, technology

First the Whimsy:

Rosie O’Donnell Says “F*ck” On Jimmy Fallon Show, Calls Glenn Beck “Carnival Barker” (VIDEO)

And this is the serious. It is a article written by a French Banker that specializes in financing alternative energy projects on a global basis. Folks that are formulating energy policy for the State of Hawaii should read this article on using the stimulus to create green jobs..

……..part of my series on wind power

Jerome a Paris’s diary :: ::

one of the reasons US projects need to import foreign-manufactured turbines is that the US-based production capacity is currently equal to less than 2/3 of the overall US market for new installations. Just under 8,000MW will be installed this year, with a capacity of 5,500MW. Many manufacturers are investing to build new factories, but this will take time;

the main reason there is not enough manufacturing capacity is because the US has an appalling track record in supporting the industry: 3 times over the past decade, Congress allowed the main regulatory instrument, the PTC, to elapse, causing a catastrophic drop in installations:This had global consequences – the disappearance of one quarter of the world market is not an easy event to deal with – and almost caused the bankruptcy of several turbines manufacturers (some were bought out). Ever since, manufacturers have probably undersized their investments, in order to be able to deal with such a potential drop in demand, and they mostly avoided the US as a production base as a result, even though there are serious logistical advantages in this (heavy) industry to be located near your market.There is no secret: the only way to have manufacturing investment in an industry which needs no subsidies, but a specific regulatory framework is to have stable policies and, dare I say it, an industrial policy to promote both the wind industry (a good thing in itself) and the wind turbine manufacturing industry.
This is still missing, right now. States are doing this at the local level, but it would make a lot of sense to do it at the federal level.

Daily Kos: The stimulus and green jobs
Recently, there have been worried or outraged articles in the blogosphere and here on dKos about the stimulus money going to help create jobs in Canada, China, or going into the pockets of foreign multinational companies.I’d like to make a few comments on this.part of my series on wind power Jerome a Paris’s diary :: :: 1. one of the reasons US projects need to import foreign-manufactured turbines is that the US-based production capacity is currently equal to less than 2/3 of the overall US market for new installations. Just under 8,000MW will be installed this year, with a capacity of 5,500MW. Many manufacturers are investing to build new factories, but this will take time; 2. the main reason there is not enough manufacturing capacity is because the US has an appalling track record in supporting the industry: 3 times over the past decade, Congress allowed the main regulatory instrument, the PTC, to elapse, causing a catastrophic drop in installations: This had global consequences – the disappearance of one quarter of the world market is not an easy event to deal with – and almost caused the bankruptcy of several turbines manufacturers some were bought out. Ever since, manufacturers have probably undersized their investments, in order to be able to deal with such a potential drop in demand, and they mostly avoided the US as a production base as a result, even though there are serious logistical advantages in this heavy industry to be located near your market. There is no secret: the only way to have manufacturing investment in an industry which needs no subsidies, but a specific regulatory framework is to have stable policies and, dare I say it, an industrial policy to promote both the wind industry a good thing in itself and the wind turbine manufacturing industry. This is still missing, right now. States are doing this at the local level, but it would make a lot of sense to do it at the federal level.