energy

Ernest Moniz, the U.S. Secretary of Energy, announced the creation of the Jobs Strategy Council (JSC), an initiative to develop a methodology for providing consistent, usable data measuring energy job growth and help align workforce development systems with the needs of the clean energy industries through partnerships with the private sector, community college systems, union apprenticeship programs, and other educational institutions. JSC also will develop a resource tool kit and workshop materials that instruct states on how to access the Department of Energy’s technical knowledge and funding opportunities to create state-based energy jobs plans. The continued growth in energy production is expected to produce 2.4 million Science, Technology, Engineering, & Mathematics (STEM) jobs in the next three years. Jobs in STEM fields paid, on average, between 160 to more than 300 percent more than the U.S. average, according the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Read the release…

The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) announced that it will commit up to $125 million for its 2015 OPEN competition to Support R&D projects on potentially disruptive new energy technologies. Applications should be able to address how the proposed technology will be able to make a significant impact in one of the three mission areas of ARPA-E – to reduce imported energy, to reduce energy-related emissions, and to improve energy efficiency. Via the 2015 OPEN program, DOE intends to make up to 50 awards across the full spectrum of energy applications. Concept papers are due February 27, 2015, with the full application due date yet to be determined. Read the announcement…

The Department of Energy (DOE) has announced the launch of the National Incubator Initiative for Clean Energy (NIICE).  NIICE will serve a national support network for the nation’s clean energy startup community and the incubators that support them. The network will provide technical assistance and training services to help clean energy startups move their products closer to market readiness. It also will help establish a suite of technological and training resources, bring together energy industry partners, enhance incubator best practices, and increase access to information about industry resources to advance innovative clean energy technologies with commercial viability emerging from institutions of higher education and federal laboratories.

American manufacturing competitiveness is on the rise, according to a study issued by the Boston Consulting Group and touted by the White House. Only seven of the 25 largest exporting countries in the world have lower manufacturing costs than the United States. The primary gain in U.S. advantage has come from access to cheap domestic supplies of natural gas. Wholesale prices for natural gas have dropped by over 50 percent since 2005 and are expected to decline for at least the next five years. The dropping prices create a significant cost advantage for U.S. manufacturers that have ripple effects through the entire manufacturing value chain. Other contributing factors to rising U.S. competitiveness include lower labor costs than other developed countries, rising domestic productivity, and rising labor costs in the developing world. Global companies are taking note of the systemic advantages that are driving the revival of American manufacturing and are making long-term investments in the U.S., according to the study. Read the study...

Inconsistent federal support for clean energy research and infrastructure projects in recent years has hampered the blossoming of an industry that has long been touted as a key part of the new American economy. As a result, states and local governments have stepped into the fray with clean energy funds, green banks and other tools to finance the development of the clean energy economy. A paper from the Brookings Institution explores another underutilized tool available to local governments, the bond market.