President Barack Obama on Wednesday proposed a $3.8 trillion federal spending blueprint that again seeks to cut billions of dollars in tax incentives for oil and gas companies while boosting clean energy research.
The 2014 budget plan includes Obama's renewed call for Congress to close incentives worth $44 billion over 10 years, a goal that has failed to advance in past years because of opposition from Republicans and oil-state Democrats. In comments at the White House, Obama said the budget "will continue our march towards energy independence and address the threat of climate change."
The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy will invest $40 million into two programs aimed at developing more efficient vehicles and improving natural gas conversion to replace oil in vehicles.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The chief executive of electric car maker Tesla Motors says his company plans to pay back an Energy Department loan in half the time required by the government.
ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit 2013 Day Three. Concludes today. Morning remarks by Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Energy Deputy Secretary Dan Poneman, Sen. Lamar Alexander, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sen. Ron Wyden, New York Mayor Bloomberg, American Electric Power President Nick Akins, Center for American Progress Chair John Podesta.
ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit 2013 Day Two. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk, Sen. Chris Coons, Mitch Daniels, T. Boone Pickens to speak. Through Wednesday.
Among the slots the White House has to fill for President Barack Obama's newly-minted second term is director of an Energy Department research agency that enjoys support on Capitol Hill despite Republican opposition to his green agenda.
The Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy has been without a confirmed director since Arun Majumdar left the administration last May. Acting director Eric Toone left the administration at the end of December to return to Duke University, from which he was on leave during his time with the administration starting in 2009.
President Barack Obama's popular nominee to become the Energy Department's permanent under secretary on Wednesday abruptly announced his departure from the administration.
In an email to department employees, Energy Secretary Chu announced plans by Acting Under Secretary Arun Majumdar to leave next month. He is expected to return to California and has announced no specific plans.
Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., who is retiring at the end of this year, says partisanship has scuttled what used to be a bipartisan consensus on energy policy, to the detriment of the country, Politico reports.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made clear Tuesday that Democrats plan to embrace a clean energy agenda heading into the fall election, crediting the 2009 stimulus law for spurring innovation and jobs and calling on Congress to renew tax credits for wind and solar power.
Speaking at the Energy Department's annual Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Innovations Summit, Pelosi, D-Calif., said the $400 million for the program in the stimulus bill must be followed by additional funding and other financial support for the clean energy sector.
The United States and the European Union plan to negotiate settlements with China for the import of cheaper Chinese solar panels into Western markets, The New York Times reports.
The Supreme Court declined to hear a case from an Alaskan village arguing it should be allowed to sue energy companies for climate change damages, Reuters reports.
Business and policy groups including the Business Roundtable and the Chamber of Commerce called on the Senate to approve the Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency bill, The Hill reports.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell told the Interior Department his administration is willing to invest up to $50 million in an assessment of oil reserves of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bloomberg reports.
Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee called on the EPA to suspend rulemaking for stormwater runoff until the agency opens the process to small businesses.
