As reported here by Danny, the massive $700 Billion+ bailout contained the much sought after extension of the renewable energy tax credit.  While the widely disparaged porkbarrel spending of the bailout bill may not be the most noble legislation around, it’s a large consolation to this taxpayer that there is a whole lotta Green Pork packed into this mother of all omnibuses.  Now that the bill has been more thoroughly combed over, let’s take a look at the spoils:

- Finally, the Renewable Energy Investment Tax Credit has been extended, a full 8 years, for investment in solar and wind energy.  This tax credit is vital to the growth of these industries going forward and makes a sector that was already a good bet, practically the best place around for capital in very uncertain financial times.  Plus, as a sweetener, the tax credit is paid for by a change to the tax code for oil and gas companies. 

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We like solar power, right?  In the face of all this debate about coal and oil and gas and whatnot, we can look at solar power and find a solution, right?  Clean, renewable technology that any lover of the environment can get behind, right?

Wrong.

Some environmentalists have started to fight back against solar power, especially in the Southern California deserts, where many solar projects are planned.  The New York Times reports that there are concerns over endangered species, as well as the simple fact that, you know, some people live in the desert and don’t want it spoiled by solar panels everywhere.

But it is also home to the Mojave ground squirrel, the desert tortoise and the burrowing owl, and to human residents who describe themselves as desert survivors and who are unhappy about the proliferation of solar projects planned for their home turf.

‘We’re tired of everyone looking at the desert like a wasteland,’ said Donna Charpied, who lives with her husband, Larry, in Desert Center, Calif.

Some also complain that extensive solar power in the desert will take its toll on the water supply.

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The Amish, as you probably know, aren’t such big fans of electricity or other modern conveniences.  They are big fans of barn-raising, however, if every TV show and movie that involves the Amish is to be believed.  Regardless, updated technology is something to be avoided in most cases, but these days some Amish have embraced solar technology to help power their community.  The Philadelphia Enquirer reports that Amish people often use solar panels to power devices needed for work, but usually do not allow them for the home.

The Amish fear becoming too materialistic and worldly, which is why they do not use solar to power batteries for iPods, TVs, laptops but do use them for water pumps, washing machines, and battery-powered floor lamps.

The religion, which is very strict when it comes to uses of technology, considers solar power as “tapping into God’s grid,” according to Donald Kraybill, an expert on the Amish at the Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist Studies at Elizabethtown College.

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I grew up ten miles from Berkeley, California, and thus am well-versed in their hippie ways.  Did you know, for instance, that Berkeley is a nuclear-free zone?  It’s true!  I mean, I don’t think the signs announcing that will help if someone else decides to make the Bay Area a nuclear zone for whatever horrible reason, but points for effort.  Also, what about the Lawrence-Livermore Lab?  But you know what?  I had a point to all this that I should get around to telling you.

Berkeley’s City Council, in its progressive (that’s a better word than hippie, isn’t it) form, approved yesterday loans to property owners for installing solar panels on their roofs.  All joking aside, this is awesome news.  The reason many people don’t invest in solar energy is the initial investment, and this could literally wipe out that problem.  The New York Times reports that the loans will probably be up to $22,000 apiece, and be paid back over 20 years as part of the homeowner’s property tax.

The city is going to run a pilot program first, in which $1.5 million will be raised, and approximately 50 loans will be given out.  Assuming the success of the test run (and I think we can only assume this will be a success), “the kitty could eventually contain tens of millions of dollars, and hundreds of property owners could be eligible to participate.”

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If we were so inclined, our country could create two million green jobs in two years, according to one estimate made by a consortium of environmental and labor groups.  Now, this would cost $100 billion in government investments, half in the form of tax breaks, almost the other half in direct investment, and the rest in guaranteed loans.  That’s a pretty large chunk of change.  However, if we’re to use context, that stimulus package earlier this year cost the government $168 billion.

In an article published today by Reuters (who also supplied the photo), the economist Robert Pollin noted that many jobs would be created in the construction field, an area where America has been bleeding jobs at almost a half-million a year over the last few years.  As well,

Pollin said the plan would create four times more jobs per dollar spent than spending the equivalent amount of money within the oil industry, and 20 percent more jobs than increasing spending on household consumption — the main target of the April 2008 stimulus package.

Unions are obviously behind this, because it’s hard to outsource alternative energy.  Steel mills would start back up to help make windmills, environmentally-sound building construction would ensure glassmakers a job, and so forth.  Environmental groups are excited because, well, they’ve been desperate for this kind of investment for years.

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Well, apparently it’s back to school time again. Some of us actually start as soon as Monday. And with back to school, of course, comes back to school shopping. It’s a combination as timeless as Chinese food and chocolate pudding. But aside from the usual new pants and shirts and Hannah Montana Trapper Keepers and Dr. Pepper lip gloss, how about a new solar-powered backpack?

Voltaic Systems has got you covered on that front, offering backpacks and messenger bags that contain solar panels and adapters for most of your devices. Most of the bags offer four watts of solar power from three panels, but the super high-tech “Generator” bag offers up to 17 watts of power. All the bags have a battery to store extra power that can be used later.

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Pacific Gas & Electric Company is now under contract to produce 24% of its energy from renewables by 2013 with the signing of two new landmark solar energy deals.  The deals will set up the largest solar plants in the world, to be located on roughly 12.5 square miles of San Luis Obispo County, California.  One plant, in partnership with Topaz Solar Farms LLC, a subsidiary of Optisolar, will produce up to 550 MW of energy, while the other, done in partnership with High Plains Ranch II LLC, a subsidiary of Sunpower, will produce 250 MW.  The combined facilities will gernerate enough electricity to power 239,000 homes.

These new deals will propel Pacific Gas & Electric’s reliance on renewable sources of energy to a startling 24% by the year 2013, 4% more than the 20% mandated by California law.  Plus their 800 MW of electricity production vastly outproduces any other solar field currently in operation on earth with the nearest operational competitor being the recently completed Nevada Solar One which has a capacity of 64 MW.

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GreenCore Air’s Solar Air Conditioning units are using responsible, renewable solar energy to cool homes and businesses. The Rancho Cucamonga based technology company manufactures AC units that niftily use the same source of power that heats up the building to cool it back down; The Sun. Plus for nighttime and overcast days when solar panels aren’t receiving enough direct sunlight, GreenCore units come with rechargeable batteries to store up that solar power for a rainy day or night. And alas for when all else fails the unit can be plugged into the grid for when you get into a pinch.

So far such heavy hitters as the U.S. Navy and McDonald’s have gotten on board to purchase GreenCore Air units. You can takepart by checking out the Solar Energy Store to find other clean, renewable solar energy products.

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The picturesque German town of Marburg is experiencing some green growing pains resulting from a new law passed by its town council.  The law, as reported in the NY Times, which requires town residents to install solar heating panels on not only all new buildings but also on existing structures that undergo renovations or install new heating units or roofing.  Those who fail to comply with the new regulation will face a stiff fine of 1,000 Euros.  While fewer town residents disagree with new constructions needing to install the solar panels, the portion of the regulation pertaining to existing buildings has sent many Marburgers into an uproar that the ordinance is an infringement on private property rights.

A battle of wills soon ensued, with the regional government of Giessen threatening to overturn the law, followed by the Marburg ton council countering that they would bring judicial action in a higher court to keep the ordinance in place.  The issue stands in legislative limbo right now.

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The United Kingdom’s first commercial tidal power turbine has come online and is pumping electricity onto the grid from Strangford Narrows, Northern Ireland. The SeaGen tidal turbine developed by British tidal power company, Marine Current Turbines Ltd. has the potential to produce 1.2 MW of electricity per year, enough to power 1,000 homes from the clean, renewable and thoroughly dependable resource.

The SeaGen turbine work essentially like a windmill underwater, with the obvious difference being the force of the tide causes the blades to rotate, making the turbine work off of lunar power - with the moon’s gravitational pull in its different phases causing tides around the globe. There are several benefits to tidal power over other renewable sources of energy like wind and solar. For one the tides are completely dependable and predictable unlike wind and solar where a cloudy or windless day can hamper or completely prevent any power production. Secondly, many of the world’s largest population centers lie near large bodies of water, making tidal power the most convenient renewable source near them, and also saving the large amount of power that would be lost transmitting other sources of energy from say a desert, for solar, or the plains for wind power, just for example.

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