Obama wants clean energy to be more affordable

President Barack Obama’s package of executive actions includes $1 billion in new taxpayer subsidies to the green energy industry and homeowners, while also promoting existing $10 billion in loan programs.

The project will be located immediately adjacent to federal land that has been designated as a special zone for solar energy production, Ray Brady, manager of the Bureau of Land Management’s National Renewable Energy Co-ordination Office, said in a telephone interview last week. “That’s not progress. That’s not innovation”, he said.

“We’re going to make it even easier for individual homeowners to put solar panels on their roof with no upfront cost”, he said. “They like saving money”.

The plans will be up for deliberation by the local government in late August or early September before being submitted to the National Energy Administration (NEA). “This is the only planet we have”.

They are moves that can take Obama’s tentpole climate regulation to the individual level. Later this week, he will speak about resilience and adaptation to climate change in New Orleans during events marking the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, then will travel to Alaska to highlight the impact climate change is having on the Arctic.

By contrast, large solar power stations in some areas of northwest China have seen up to 70% of their installed solar panels become idle due to insufficient power transmission facilities and arrearage of operation subsidies, meaning such stations can not generate economic benefits.

Changing times present opportunities, he said, but create resistance from those who prospered under the old way.

President Obama’s remarks were preceded by introductions by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, MGM Resorts CEO Jim Murren and lead singer of The Killers, Brandon Flowers. The administration’s power plan is expected to accelerate that process. “Solar isn’t just for the green crowd anymore; it’s for the green eye-shade crowd”, he said.

Republican critics are not impressed with Democrats’ take on alternative energies, and the debate is flourishing on the presidential campaign trail. Meanwhile, he’s seeking to drum up more support among the American public, and he’s hoping the combination of dire talk and searing images from his trip to Alaska will help. “I choose the American economy”.

“They’re trying to undermine competition in the marketplace and choke off consumer choice and threaten an industry that is turning out new jobs at a fast pace”, Obama said.

The annual power conference will brainstorm on policy issues and challenges, new and emerging technologies, grid evacuation, availability and load despatch and innovative financing models in the solar power sector.

The federal government will provide financial incentives for households to use more renewable energy and improve their homes’ energy efficiency.