Quebec seeks an injunction against EnergyEast Pipeline

[Hamloc]

We had a federally owned oil company, Petro Canada, the federal government sold it off to pay down our deficit and yet I never hear anybody bring up this bit of history. Only Alberta is taken to task

As for the Alberta carbon tax 60% of recipients will receive a rebate how does this change our habits and in a cold climate like Canada why would you tax natural gas our most efficient heating fuel. In Canada heat is a necessity not a luxury. Geo thermal is cleaner but how many houses could realistically use it?

[Hamloc]

Why does Suncor support a carbon tax? Very simple, because they believe it will give them the social licence to expand and produce more oil. The design of the Alberta carbon tax allows Suncor to deduct the carbon tax as an expense. Therefore it does not cost them anything. Only the 40% of Albertans with the highest incomes will actually pay the carbon tax with no rebate. Alberta's carbon tax is more about politics and optics than it is about change. And it is not revenue neutral like BC's.

[oneoff]

I predict that those who lead us down the path of carbon taxes "and only theoretically winding down the fossil fuel dependencies" will be proven to have been so far wrong in their expectations of the capacity and capability to otherwise supply energy needs and demands.....that we will find the world economy using nuclear fuels as our primary fuel source.

Except then those same misguided souls will switch their lobbying to shutting down nuclear power and driving all but those who can afford taxes into the equivalent of third world beggars.

Hypocrisy , stupidity and not understanding human nature.....all clearly defined by this bandwagon that has gained critical mass.

[oneoff]

I predict that those who lead us down the path of carbon taxes "and only theoretically winding down the fossil fuel dependencies" will be proven to have been so far wrong in their expectations of the capacity and capability to otherwise supply energy needs and demands.....that we will find the world economy using nuclear fuels as our primary fuel source.

And for those who think that states such as Quebec and Nebraska and BC can be reasoned with; just contemplate the apparent differences between farmers who know they have all the answers for society (let alone their peers)

I predict we are headed to supplying necessary power by nuclear means.....but then those same activists will divert their attention to lobbying for shutting down nuclear power and driving all but those who can afford taxes into the equivalent of third world beggars.

Hypocrisy , stupidity and not understanding human nature.....all clearly defined by this bandwagon that has gained critical mass.

[Hamloc]

Oneoff certainly agree on nuclear power. For a dependable system using solar, you need solar generation, wind generation, and natural gas powered turbines to supply power when the wind doesn't blow and the sun doesn't shine. Modern societies need power 24 hrs a day. It takes 3 systems to do what 1 does today. At some point nuclear fusion will become a reality as well and could render everything else obsolete.

As for getting agreements from other jurisdictions the lack of success so far is self evident. Politicians only worry about getting elected again and therefore don't look very far onto the future.

[chuckChuck]

Good luck predicting the future!

Take a look at lighting technological change. Fire, candles, oil lamps, kerosene, gas lamps, tungsten light bulbs, florescent,halogen, and now LED.

Did anyone predict even 20 years ago that LED would soon dominate the market in the 21st century?

Did anyone predict the role the internet and smart phones would play in the 21st century?

Good luck predicting the future!

[Hopalong]

Wonder if Quebec and Ontario governments are angling for aid to Bombardier in return for allowing Energy East to proceed.
Envirionmental impact from airplanes might equal that from pipelines, better study it first.

[Hamloc]

So I am curious what does the fact that solar and wind power require back up natural gas generation have to do with future predictions. At present natural gas, nuclear, hydro and coal generation systems provide stable dependable power. Solar and wind provide power without generating co2 but a wind turbine as an example has a transmission in it which weighs over 18 tonnes, that steel doesn't come out of thin air. I also believe none are manufactured in Canada. The US, Europe and china are where they are made. My neighbor's son is a windmill tech, the company he works for at Halkirk is based in Denmark. None of this is based on future predictions lol. Your a bit of a politician Chuck2, when you don't like where the debate is going you deflect. I do enjoy debating and discussing different topics because reasonable people can always find common ground. Have a good day:-)

[blackpowder]

We are in good hands. Why, just yesterday I listened to a BMO economist from TO, explain to the crowd how renewable energy like solar will drive the cost of electricity to 1/3 of today. And how we then can all drive electric cars.
Can I have Donald Trump??

[blackpowder]

I mean seriously, if you had a successful business and ten kids. Would you give handouts forever to a few and then succeed the business in equal shares? What does that make the kids who stuck around and helped build the business?
Quebec has the right to the best social programs in Canada? Their continued spending as they are, is fair to everybody else?

[blackpowder]

The best "transfer" of $$ to Newfoundland was directly to family members back home from jobs in the patch. Hell, by moving here they benefited their home province by leaving.
Yet the path we insist on is forced equality. The most selfish of us want no one better off than ourselves.
Sure, all govts waste money to buy votes. But Norway didnt have 7 other countries to transfer to.
Why cant we stop the payments until they stop wasting more than we do per person?
Divine right to self rule as long as the money comes from anywhere? Millions of money they didnt create on stuff only they seem to want?
TrumpforPM

[mustardman]

In the U.S last year more Jobs were created by Solar Industry than Oil,Gas and pipelines Combined !!

[blackpowder]

n one of the solar panel roofs his team installed in Colorado.

Solar energy jobs double in 5 years

January 12

 

NEW YORK

Solar energy is having a moment.

The number of solar jobs in the U.S. has more than doubled in five years. In fact, there are more people working in solar now than at oil rigs and in gas fields.

The solar industry added 35,000 jobs in 2015, up 20% from the previous year, according to the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit in Washington D.C.. The group is not funded by solar companies.

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In contrast, oil and gas firms slashed nearly 17,000 extraction jobs in 2015 as energy prices continue to plummet. Oil prices are down a stunning 70% in the last 18 months and hovering just over $30 a barrel, a 12-year low.

There are about 209,000 solar energy employees in the U.S. They include solar panel installers, designers, engineers, sales folks and managers.

Today, the solar industry workforce is bigger than that of oil and gas construction, and nearly three times the size of the entire coal mining workforce.

"The companies we're working with are begging to fill the [job] slots they have because they're growing so much," says Chris Gorrie, campus president of the Ecotech Institute, a for-profit job training center for solar and renewable energy in Aurora, Co.

Related: Bill Gates launches multi-billion dolalr clean energy fund

Americans overall are just starting to see wage growth pick up, but solar workers have already seen paychecks improve.

In December, wages in the United States rose 2.5% compared to a year prior. Solar installers are making $21 an hour on average, up 5% from a year ago -- or double the national average, according to the Solar Foundation.

Todd Valdez knows the money is good. He went to the Ecotech Institute in 2012 and started his own solar company, Sunkey Energy, two and a half years ago.

His firm designs, installs and sells solar panels and employs 25 people, 15 of whom he hired just last year.

Valdez pays most of his employees $22 to $25 an hour, and his master electricians north of $30 an hour. Two of his employees left the oil industry last year to work for him. He says the amount of solar power his company installs has tripled in volume between 2014 and 2015.

Related: World leaders agree on climate change agreement in Paris

"Our workload has definitely been rising tremendously," Valdez told CNNMoney by phone while on one of his work sites in Broomfield, Co. The solar industry is "a good place to go now if you're looking for a career change."

Solar jobs -- particularly installers who work on roofs -- are not for everyone, Valdez cautions. It's lots of outdoor work, with heavy equipment. He's seen people quit "in hour one."

Colorado is one of the hottest states for solar, Valdez says and California has the most solar energy jobs in the country.

But it's not all sun drenched states either: No. 2 for solar jobs is Massachusetts, thanks to policies that have made it attractive for residents to install solar panels.

Experts say solar technology is good enough now that panels don't require direct exposure to the sun to generate electricity. New York and Arizona are also top states for solar job seekers, according to the Solar Foundation.

A few key developments are driving the job surge in solar.

Businesses and homeowners are eligible for a 30% tax credit if they install solar panels on their property. That's been in place since 2006 but in December Congress renewed the tax credit for another six years. That lowers installation costs considerably.

The climate change agreement in Paris and the global action plan to limit global warming is also a positive for the clean energy industry.

And the Environmental Protection Agency released plans last year to force states to lower their carbon output.

Related: This solar company will power Middle East oil

It also helps that solar equipment costs are down nearly 70% since 2010 too, according to Andrea Luecke, president of the Solar Foundation. Those declining costs are another incentive for homeowners to switch to solar, she says.

Cheap oil and gas prices are creating a short-term headwind for solar, Luecke admits. A few years ago, solar was seen as a cheaper alternative to oil and gas. Now with oil and gas prices so low, it's hard to convince some consumers to switch to solar.

"Natural gas is very, very inexpensive in many markets so it's hard to disagree with it," says Lu

[blackpowder]

Photographer: Jacob Kepler/Bloomberg

Say Goodbye to Solar Power SubsidiesThe U.S. is following some European countries by cutting back on tax credits for wind and solar.

 

Mark Chediak markchediak

 

Chris Martin

 Reprints

November 5, 2015 — 5:00 AM MST

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In 2016 the U.S. will learn if renewable energy can survive without government support. The most significant tax credit for solar power will expire at the end of 2016, and the biggest one for wind already has. These federal subsidies have provided wind and solar developers with as much as $24 billion from 2008 to 2014, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. That’s led to a 12-fold increase in installed capacity over the past decade, helping lower costs at least 10 percent each year.

Combined, wind and solar still generate less than 5 percent of electricity in the U.S. The subsidy cuts come as both industries face stiffer competition from ultracheap coal and natural gas. An NYSE Bloomberg global index of solar stocks, including those of big developers SunEdison and First Solar, has fallen about 35 percent since June. A comparable wind index is down 20 percent.

Solar developers are racing to finish projects before the end of 2016. More than 8.5 gigawatts of solar capacity will go online in 2015, followed by at least 11 gigawatts in 2016, BNEF says. Without the tax credit, which reimburses developers 30 percent of a project’s cost, BNEF expects solar installations in 2017 to drop about 70 percent.

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Rhone Resch, head of the trade group Solar Energy Industries Association, says cutting tax incentives could cost the industry 100,000 jobs and erase $25 billion in economic activity. With subsidies, solar in most parts of the country remains more expensive than natural gas, coal, and nuclear. Without subsidies, solar is 35 percent to 40 percent more expensive, according to Bloomberg.

Wind is in better shape, partly because it’s been through this before. Installations fell 90 percent in 2013, when its biggest federal subsidy expired. The $23-per-megawatt-hour tax credit was retroactively extended to cover projects under construction in 2014; it remains in limbo. But even without the tax credit, turbines can now compete with fossil fuels in parts of Texas and Oklahoma.

In reducing government backing, the U.S. is following Europe’s example. After years of generous renewable subsidies, Germany, Spain, and the Czech Republic have cut back recently. In January the U.K. plans to slash subsidies for rooftop solar panels by 87 percent. This is all part of an investment cycle that’s moving in phases around the world, says Jigar Shah, the founder of SunEdison. “The incentives created a global industry that can move to the hot markets. First it was Europe, then the Americas, and now it’s in China, India, and Africa.”

[blackpowder]

Not against solar. Just against convenient partial statistics used for political reasons.
Developing renewable before a crisis is great. Lets just not bs ourselves. Nuclear is likely the necessary option for some for now. How many reactors are being built in China? 40 in 5 years?
Oil jobs go down after expansion phase. If Henry Ford didnt need massive govt intervention to outdate the buggy builders, why must we tell ourselves it isnt happening now when it is?
Oh, and enjoy getting your power bill from production south of the 49th in the future.