This is The Source for October 5, 2012, green jobs news every day from the BlueGreen Alliance. Don’t forget to “tell your friends” about this great resource. You can sign up here.
TOP THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW FOR OCTOBER 5
PTC Delay Cause Bearing Plant Closure. Kayodon Corporation stated it would be shutting down a bearing manufacturing facility in South Carolina as part of a “comprehensive restructuring” of its wind energy business. The company stated, “While we believe that wind energy will be a viable market in the long term, it will be challenged by continued regulatory uncertainty in the United States, including the impending expiration of the Production Tax Credit, and a weak global economy in the immediate future. Accordingly, while we will maintain sufficient capacity to serve existing and prospective customers, we believe it is appropriate to reduce wind capacity at this time.”
Pushback Continues. Several media organizations and groups are continuing to scrutinize the claims made by Governor Romney about the country’s investments in green energy technology. Los Angeles Times and E&E News both quoted BlueGreen Alliance Executive Director David Foster in their coverage.
Yes! Unemployment in the United States fell to 7.8 percent in September — the lowest level it’s been in 3.5 years.
ISSUE IN-DEPTH: PRODUCTION TAX CREDIT
Media coverage of the Production Tax Credit includes:
- Huffington Post: Taxpayers Could Save on Wind and Solar
- Wichita Business Journal (KS): With tax credit in doubt, wind energy industry wrestles with uncertainty
National and International Blue-Green
According to Bloomberg, consumer confidence has risen in the United States for six straight weeks.
Climate Central says drought conditions receded slightly last week. The Des Moines Register, however, says next year’s crops may be threated if farms don’t get more rain soon.
CleanTechnica discusses the Sustainable Energy Markets Acceleration (SEMA) project launched by the European Union in Uganda to promote the use of renewable energy.
According to Triple Pundit, AT&T is taking control of its “energy destiny” by using fuel cells to power 28 data centers.
The American Council for Energy-Efficienct Economy just released its new State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. CleanTechnica says that while “all U.S. states continue to move strongly to advance energy efficiency initiatives.” Massachusetts still has the top spot.
The Telegraph looks at a new study that found “Britain, Japan and the United States are the most skeptical countries on the planet when it comes to climate change.”
To the States
The San Francisco Chronicle says 17 lawmakers asked California’s governor to delay implementation of the state’s green chemistry law.
mLive.com was on hand when a shipment of wind turbine blades arrived at the Mart Dock on Muskegon Lake in Michigan.
The Hartford Courant says Connecticut’s governor will be unveiling “a sweeping energy policy” today.
Washington’s Supreme Court unanimously upheld the state’s hazardous substances tax Thursday, according to the Associated Press.
The Solar Energy Industries Association believes Georgia’s solar power capacity could grow to 210 MW in the next three years. CleanTechnica says the plan would more than triple the state’s solar power capacity.
The state of Indiana is going to give out $500,000 for energy conservation projects, the Associated Press reports.
The Chicago Tribune reports, “A dispute over how Commonwealth Edison Co. [in Illinois] will be paid for its $2.6 billion plan to modernize its electrical grid has thrown the project into limbo along with potentially hundreds of jobs related to that work.”
E&E News visits Richland Community College in Decature, IL where classes just began for the country’s first undergraduate degree programon Carbon Capture technology.
Blue-Green Links
New York Times: Glut of Solar Panels Poses a New Threat to China
Bloomberg Businessweek: Savers Push $374 Billion U.S. Utility Industry to Shift
Economist: Boom times, not green
Guardian: Business must do more to protect the world's most vulnerable workers
CleanTechnica: US Solar Industry Leaders Testify before ITC on Chinese Silicon PV Dumping, Subsidies
GreenBiz.com: 5 lessons on how to tackle toxics from DuPont, 3M and H&M
Co.EXIST: Beautiful Music, One Good Thing To Come From Air Pollution
BBC News: Electric cars 'pose environmental threat'
Fox 25 (MA): Mass. wind projects hitting turbulence; setbacks for green energy
Crain’s Detroit Business (MI): Environmental groups, manufacturers join drive to pass alternative-energy ballot proposal
Michigan Daily (MI): From the Daily: The windy state
Michigan Radio (MI): Truth Squad on Prop 3 ads: Technical Fouls for '25 by '25'
North Country Public Radio (NY): New York Green Jobs off to a slow start