Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced $125 million in funding ($25 million from the federal government) for two new programs through the US-China Clean Energy Research Centre. One program, led by the University of Michigan, will work to develop clean energy vehicle technology, while a second University of Virginia-led program will focus on carbon capture and storage.

The Energy Department announced it will distribute $575 million in grants to carbon capture and storage projects in 15 states.

Heavy subsidies and huge incentives for its clean energy industries are allowing China to become one of the world’s clean energy leaders, but some say that the rapidly growing nation’s policies violate international trade agreements, reports the New York Times.

The United Steelworkers is filing a trade complaint against China, complaining that protectionist practices are benefiting China at the expense of U.S. job creation.

A piece in the New York Times reports that obstacles to clean energy entrepreneurship in the United States are forcing some to develop their ideas overseas.

A piece at Grist weights in on the chances of the Senate passing a renewable energy standard.   Recently, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D. - Nevada)  said passing a federal standard is “absolutely” a possibility, and believes he may have some Republican support for a bill.

A new analysis, lead by the Byrd Polar Research Center’s Leonid Polyak, finds that the current lack of Arctic ice cover is “unmatched over at least the last few thousand years and unexplainable by any of the known natural variabilities.”

Clean Energy Works - a coalition of environmental, religious, veteran, and labor organizations - is halting operations this fall, as clean energy and climate legislation faces an uncertain future in Congress. A spokesperson for the group said the coalition was only intended to be a temporary union, and another source says supporters are considering how to redeploy their efforts.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of futureatlas.com

The Energy Department announced that over 2 million smart meters have beed installed across the country.

Cisco and power meter maker Itron announced they will team up to develop Internet Protocol-based communications for the power grid.

The auto industry saw a 21 percent drop in August sales over last August, largely due to the federal “cash for clunkers” program which bolstered car sales in August 2009. Officially called the Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS), the program provided incentives to consumers upgrading to more fuel efficient vehicles.

Greenbiz.com published the first piece of a three part series on how the future of property assessed clean energy (PACE) could affect the clean energy economy.

Developing a clean energy economy that protects workers, the environment, and health would be particularly beneficial to Latinos, argues Labor Council for Latin American Advancement’s (LCLAA) Hector Sanchez.

A piece at the Huffington Post calls on Congress to extend the Treasury Grant Program (TGP), which has provided clean energy industries with grant in lieu of solar investment tax credits. More than 40 states have solar projects that were helped by the TGP, according to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Local Green: A new Brookings Institution report evaluates the Intermountain West’s developing clean energy infrastructure.

Salt Lake City’s Salt Palace will soon host a 2.6 megawatt solar system, which will be the nation’s largest rooftop solar project.

Senator Barbara Boxer (D. - California) continues to differentiate herself from her Republican opponent Carly Fiorina by voicing support for clean energy and good jobs. “The world is going green and America must lead the way,” Boxer told an audience at the Commonwealth Club of California this week. “Green jobs must be made in America.”

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of ctkzeng

The seven U.S. states and three Canadian provinces that make up the Western Climate Initiative hope their cap-and-trade system (which, if approved, would take effect in January 2012) will serve as a carbon pricing model for the rest of America. The program would be the first economy-wide cap-and-trade system in the U.S.

The future of clean energy and climate legislation may be uncertain due to political inertia, but an optimistic group of recently elected Senators wants to inject enough energy and passion into the issue to get it moving forward again.

Despite the drastically scaled-back form of the Senate’s new oil spill bill, some Republican Senators are complaining that its provisions are unacceptable.  Broader clean energy and climate legislation was removed from the Congressional docket largely because it lacked substantive Republican support.

The Department of Defense and the Department of Energy signed an official agreement to share information about clean energy in order to bolster national security and build the economy.

A piece in the New York Times explores why the electric vehicles industry has focused on direct industry incentives rather than collectively pushing for clean energy and climate legislation.

Local Green: A cracked pipeline dumped over 800,000 gallons of oil into a Michigan creek. The spill contaminated 20 miles of the Kalamazoo River.

A new report named Utah and six other western states as particularly well-positioned states to transition to clean energy over the coming decades.

Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed a package of bills into law that, among other things, boosts the state’s renewable energy portfolio and updates the Green Energy Fund.

Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., emphasized the importance of strengthening the energy efficiency of New York City’s large commercial buildings in a Huffington Post op-ed.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of brewbooks

A new World Resources Institute (WRI) report (pdf) says that even aggressively applying existing state and federal regulations will not enable the U.S. to achieve its greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020, for “a robust carbon price is still very much needed.”

Although the Senate has scrapped plans to bring comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation to the floor this year, some observers–including former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle–think 60 votes can be gathered for a national renewable energy standard.

A piece at Grist puts forward five reasons climate legislation didn’t make it this year.

Two clean energy investors suggest a few ideas that could bolster support for clean energy legislation when the Senate picks it up again.

The Energy Department announced it would award up to $122 million over five years to a team of scientists trying to develop fuels generated by sunlight. The money will help fund a multidisciplinary hub based in California that will focus on simulating photosynthesis.

AFS Trinity announced it was granted a patent for its hybrid vehicle battery technology that uses ultracapacitors. The company said its development could allow small hybrids to get up to 150 miles per gallon.

GE is investing in SynapSense, a California start-up that develops sensors for increasing the energy efficiency of data centers.

A new study says crop failures induced by climate change could drive millions of Mexican migrants to the U.S. by 2080.

Local Green: A new Chicago Tribune/WGN poll finds that residents of Chicago’s surrounding suburbs want to see greater investment in public transit than roads.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of Manu-Chan

President Obama compared the political consequences of the Gulf oil spill to those of the attacks of 9/11, saying the environmental disaster will profoundly shape America’s future energy policy, just as the terror attack shaped foreign policy and national security priorities. The president is currently touring four states in the Gulf region affected by the spill and will deliver his first national address from the Oval Office this evening. He is expected to make a push for comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation.

Senate Democrats are demanding that BP set up a $20 billion fund for oil spill cleanup costs and compensation for people and businesses hurt by the disaster.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the BP “disaster” is a reminder that “we do need a comprehensive energy strategy in the United States for the coming decades.”

A new series of television ads call out three Republican Senators who voted for Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s failed resolution to block the E.P.A.’s ability to regulate CO2 emissions. The ads seek to pressure the lawmakers into supporting comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation. To watch one, click here.

Dismantling the myth that environmental protections must take a backseat to economic recovery, a piece at Grist argues that FDR’s Depression-era administration joined the two supposedly divergent concerns in instructive ways.

Last week, the Department of Energy announced a $1 billion public-private investment plan for three carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in three states.

Anticipating the growth of the electric vehicle market, the E.P.A. is looking for a way to measure fuel efficiency that will be more appropriate to new technology than the fossil fuel-related miles per gallon system.

Local Green: U.S. Geothermal, Inc. was awarded a $102 million dollar Department of Energy loan to build a 22-megawatt facility in eastern Oregon.

The California Independent System Operator Corporation (ISO) manages approximately 80 percent of the state’s electricity and is responsible for integrating renewables into the energy grid. Some say bureaucracy and a fossil fuel-centered focus is slowing the adoption of clean energy.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of the White House

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ClimateProgress argues that BP’s poor safety record and a set of voluntary regulatory policies can be blamed for what could become the most devastating oil spill in American history.

A new E.P.A. website contains information about the agency’s monitoring of and response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The oil spill’s “silver lining,” writes Bill McKibben, is the opportunity it presents for major energy reform.

A piece at Grist calls on President Obama to put the oil spill to use in his efforts to build the case for the clean energry economy.

The Associated Press called the Obama Administration’s promise that no new offshore oil leases would be granted until drilling rigs conformed to stricter safety regulations a “largely symbolic gesture.”

Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., explains his position in the delicate political battle between clean energy and immigration legislation.

The Energy Department’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced $106 million in grants for 37 experimental alternative energy projects.

While the U.S. economy expanded by 3.2 percent in the first quarter of the year, job growth remains sluggish.

Local Green: After nearly ten years of permitting battles, the Interior Department’s approval last week of the controversial Cape Wind Project - a 130 turbine offshore wind farm in Nantucket Sound - is generating a swarm of lawsuits.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of the E.P.A.

The Natural Resources Defense Council says the E.P.A.’s new automobile fuel efficiency standards will save consumers $65 billion over the next decade, while slashing oil consumption by 1.3 billion barrels a day. The new regulations will target “upstream” emissions created when electric vehicles are charged.

Check out Grist’s “everything you need to know guide” for the new fuel economy regulations.

People in 30 North American cities held demonstrations against the fossil fuel industry as part of “Fossil Fools Day” yesterday.

Three Volkswagen vehicles were awarded the 2010 World Green Car of the Year award for their use of BlueMotion energy efficiency technology.

A piece at Salon argues that the Obama administration’s plan to lift an offshore oil drilling ban along parts of the U.S. coastline solidifies his middle-of-the-road stance on energy, while making blanket Republican opposition to all of his policy proposals harder to maintain.

Despite being widely viewed as a failure, international climate negotiations in Copenhagen last December produced some monumental steps forward, according to new analyses from the Center For American Progress, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Deutsche Bank.

A new lab at the Energy Department’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is intended speed up the commercialization of advanced biofuels.

Synchrophasors measure the conditions found along electricity transmission lines in a way that could help integrate more clean energy into the nation’s power grids.

Local Green: A group of western Michigan residents are using web 2.0 platforms like facebook to help bring clean energy jobs to the region.

More Clean Energy News Sources:

• Google News daily alerts on “clean energy” and “green jobs.”
• The Climate Progress newsletter, administered by Center for American Progress.
• Alliance to Save Energy’s daily “News You Can Use” email.
• Green Energy News: free to subscribe; weekly emails sent in text-only format; RSS feed available.
• Renewable Energy World: RSS feed and e-newsletters available.
• Science Daily: RSS feed available.
• Clean Edge: RSS feed available.
• Alternative Energy News: RSS feed available.

–Christopher Greenspan

Photo courtesy of David Orban / CC BY 2.0

President Obama linked clean energy jobs, quality health care, and a reformed education system to the creation of a new foundation for America’s economy in a Sunday editorial.

The economy needs a “Rebuild America” plan, which may sound familiar to friends of Apollo as it is part of The New Apollo Program.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu will be in China this week to discuss a Sino-American “clean energy center.”

A piece at Its Getting Hot In Here sums up where the 60 Democratic Senators stand on climate legislation negotiations.

The Treasury and the Energy Departments announced rules for the distribution of the $3 billion in economic stimulus clean energy funds.

Workers and union leaders marched through Little Rock, Arkansas over the weekend in support of the Employee Free Choice Act.

Local Green: The Dayton Daily News profiles Senator Sherrod Brown’s (D. - Ohio) efforts to create green-collar jobs and position his state as a leader in the clean energy economy.

Oakland, California’s Alliance For Climate Education aims to inform highschoolers about global warming with a teen-friendly approach.

California’s more conservative, inland communities are catching up with the coast when it comes to solar energy.

Austin’s GreenChoice energy program has successfully provided energy to electricity consumers generated entirely by renewables for the last decade. But rising demand for wind energy and an inadequate transmission system have pushed prices to an all time high.

A new Vermont law clears some red tape for clean energy businesses in the state.

–Christopher Greenspan

President Obama’s proposed budget would increase E.P.A. funding by 34 percent. The prospect of regulating CO2 through the agency is under serious consideration.

The Department of Energy’s Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan program was established in 2007 and has received 75 applications from the big three and start-ups. So far the program has not disbursed any money.

The International Herald Tribune examines how the Obama presidency is improving the prospect of an international climate agreement, and why this December’s climate summit in Copenhagen could produce a treaty that vastly improves on the Kyoto Protocol.

Thousands of young people visit their legislators today in a massive effort to highlight the need for action on climate change.  Apollo president Jerome Ringo rallied the troops in his keynote speech Saturday night.

The recession-fueled construction bust is recruiting unemployed workers into the green-collar job market.

The skiing industry is trying to cut costs and create a green image through clean energy.

Local Green: In Colorado, the Boulder County Green Jobs Pipeline and the ClimateSmart Loan Program are growing the clean energy economy and producing good jobs. The county’s green jobs summit takes place this Friday.

Communities across Massachusetts want to grab a piece of the state’s economic stimulus loot by pitching clean energy projects.

The Digest reported last week that California utility Pacific Gas & Electric is helping small solar suppliers avoid bankruptcy. The New York Times looks at how tax incentives, the prospect of city tax revenue, and disbursed energy production create a favorable climate for similar investments.

Berkeley’s Solar First program, which allows homeowners to finance solar energy projects through an assessment of property taxes, delivered its first checks last week.  “There’s no way I could have afforded solar otherwise,” said one recipient.

–Christopher Greenspan

U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar blocked last minute Bush administration efforts to lease offshore lands to gas and oil drilling interests.  Salazar said that he intends to “incorporate the great potential for wind, wave and ocean tides” into the new administration’s plans. He argued that the leases would have benefited “the usual energy players while renewable energy companies and the interests of American consumers and taxpayers were overlooked.”

The Senate passed an $838 billion economic recovery bill yesterday that includes money for energy programs.  The next step is to reconcile the Senate and House bills.

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee chair Jeff Bingaman says there is enough support in Congress to pass a federal mandate requiring utilities to produce some of their electricity through renewables.

Midwest grid operators conducted an unusually detailed study of how a wind energy grid for all of eastern North America might function in anticipation of a federal wind energy mandate.

Will Congress fund passenger trains? (audio story)

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon wants President Obama to attend a global climate change summit in late March.

Google is developing an online home energy monitoring device called the PowerMeter.

An Energy Department laboratory and G.M. found that the U.S. has the resources to produce enough cellulosic ethanol to cut gasoline consumption by 30 percent by 2030.

Local Green: New Jersey’s largest utility, PSE&G plans to install solar panels on 200,000 utility poles - a project it says will produce 120 megawatts of electricity.

–Christopher Greenspan