The Department of Energy (DOE) will provide up to $750 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help accelerate the development of conventional renewable energy generation projects. This funding will cover the cost of loan guarantees, which could support as much as $4 to 8 billion in lending to eligible projects, and the Department will invite private sector participation to accelerate the financing of these renewable energy projects. To this end, the Department announced the creation of its new Financial Institution Partnership Program (FIPP), a streamlined set of standards designed to expedite DOE’s loan guarantee underwriting process and leverage private sector expertise and capital for the efficient and prudent funding of eligible projects.

Winds off the coast of California are strong, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, but wind development is stalled because the water is too deep. According to experts, the main problem is topography. Whereas the continental shelf extends for miles off the East Coast, the bedrock drops off sharply just beyond the West Coast -- making it too deep to anchor the turbines with current technology. A second difficulty is power prices. Electricity in California, while expensive relative to the middle of the country, is still cheaper than in most of New England.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) has announced a suite of new power agreements, totaling more than 2,000MW, that are expected to provide clean electricity for the 15 million people it serves in northern and central California. PG&E has entered into new contracts to buy more than 830MW of renewable generation from solar developers, enough to meet the needs of more than 200,000 average homes. In addition, to enable the utility to reliably increase its use of renewable energy, PG&E has asked the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to approve new agreements for power from highly efficient and flexible natural gas-fired plants that can balance the fluctuating output of wind and solar resources.

Prices for wind and solar power have crept up in recent years with the growth of the market, said PG&E CEO Peter Darbee. PG&E used to get wind power from independent providers for 6 to 8 cents per kilowatt hour. Then it rose to 8 to 10 cents, said Darbee; now it is north of 10 to 12 cents. Power from solar panels now runs around 15 to 20 cents a kilowatt hour, he added. PG&E, though, buys power from several sources and prices vary in contract and spot deals. The Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) in San Francisco noted that the surge in demand has been a factor in pushing up prices for wind and solar. Wind power from large wind farms has risen from 4.5 cents per kilowatt hour to 5.15 cents a kilowatt hour.

Transmission is the topic of the day in the U.S. because the grid system is aging, out of date and incapable of supporting the nation’s renewable energy goals. The American Society of Engineers estimates that it will need $1.5 trillion in new investment by 2030. Lack of transmission is the biggest barrier to the U.S. target of making wind power produce 20% of power supply by 2030, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In fact, the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) gave the effort a low grade, C-, in its July 2009 '20% Wind Report Card'. While a few regions 'have made very modest progress', others are moving in the wrong direction.

California's plan to slow climate change will boost the state economy and save hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk from rising energy costs, a study by a University of California economist said. The state leads the nation with its plan to cut carbon dioxide emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 with measures from encouraging energy efficiency to getting a third of state electricity from renewable sources such as wind and solar. But the plan is under attack from businesses and some academics who say the costs of going green will bankrupt many enterprises. The state's decisions are also likely to affect the country at large, since federal policy often follows California's lead on environmental issues.

California is moving toward upping its RPS to 33% -- but how it will get there is yet to be determined. After California voters in November 2008 rejected Proposition 7, a ballot initiative that would have required all electricity providers in the state to increase their renewable energy generation to 40% by 2020 and 50% by 2025, the state legislature in September 2009 passed two bills mandating utilities to get one-third of their power from renewable sources by 2020. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed those bills and instead in September signed an Executive Order directing the California Air Resources Board to enact regulations to create a 33% RPS by 2020. The main difference between the bills and the governor’s order lies in how much power could be imported from out of state. With restrictions on power purchased from out-of-state, the bills were overly complex and would have hampered the state’s solar industry and driven up energy prices, according to the governor’s office. Meanwhile, the bills' proponents say the governor’s order will lack the clout of legislation and will be tougher to enforce.

The high-stakes fight over global warming legislation in Congress has forced American businesses to pick sides, and some old alliances are breaking as a result. Big-name companies such as Apple Inc. have resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, dismayed by the group's efforts to block greenhouse gas regulations. Nike gave up its seat on the chamber's board. PG&E quit the group after a chamber executive suggested holding a "Scopes monkey trial" on the validity of global warming. Dissention has hit the other side of the debate as well, although not to the same degree. The chamber insists that the departing companies have misunderstood its position.

From July to September, new global investment totaled $25.9 billion, down 22% from a year ago and off 9% from the second quarter, according to London-based New Energy Finance. But the sector appears to be heading toward a recovery, with investment nearly double what it was in the first quarter and investors growing more confident. Many analysts think a turnaround will come in 2010 but caution that much depends on the U.S. economy, the health of the financial sector, natural gas prices and even electricity demand.