Renewable energy made up just more than 10 percent of all the domestically-produced energy in the U.S. in the first half of this year and about 7 percent of that energy used in the country.

This story from the Greentech Media web site says the information comes from a U.S. Energy Information Administration report released this week:

According to the report, renewable energy accounted for 3.61 quadrillion British thermal units of the 34.16 quadrillion Btu domestically produced energy the country used from January to June.

“The significant contribution being made by renewable energy sources to the nation’s energy supply documented by the U.S. Energy Information Administration is far greater than most Americans realize,” said Ken Bossong, Executive Director of the Sun Day Campaign, a nonprofit that promotes renewable energy. “Repeated statements by nuclear and fossil fuel interests that renewables contribute only a tiny fraction of the nation’s energy supply are not only misleading but flatly wrong.”

The rub is the country used 50.67 quadrillion Btu of energy, and about 16 1/2 quadrillion Btu were imported. While progress has been made in the field of renewables, the bottom line is we’re still just too dependent on non-renewable, foreign energy sources… but it’s getting better.

Things could be looking up for renewal of renewable energy incentives as the U.S. Senate has approved $17 billion in tax credits for wind, solar, geothermal and ocean energy systems.

This article from cleantech.com says passage comes on the heels of last week’s similar vote by the U.S. House (see my Sept. 17th post):

The tax credits, due to expire at the end of the year, now must be reconciled with those approved by the House before heading to the president, who has said he will likely support the measure. The House is expected to take up the bill Wednesday.

* Extends tax credits by eight years for residential and commercial solar systems, one year for wind energy, and two years for other renewable energy sources, such as wave and ocean tide.
* Gives a 30-percent tax credit to homeowners who install solar systems and businesses that install solar, wind, geothermal and ocean energy systems.
* Gives a 10-percent tax credit to homeowners for energy-efficiency improvements, such as insulation, replacement windows, water heaters and heating and cooling equipment.
* Offers a tax credit of $2,500 to $7,500 for plug-in electric cars, depending on the battery capacity of the vehicle.

Senate leaders are encouraging House members to approve this version of the bill as the best chance for the President to sign the bill to get the credits renewed before the end of the year.

Rhode Island is looking to literally map out its wind energy future.

This story from the Providence (RI) Journal says that the state has enlisted oceanographers, engineers and other experts from the University of Rhode Island to determine where would the best places be for off-shore wind turbines… a massive $3.2-million effort:

Soon, the state is scheduled to select one of seven companies that have submitted proposals to build and operate wind turbines designed to meet Governor Carcieri’s goal of providing enough power to supply 15 percent of the state’s electricity. Cost estimates have run as high as $1.9 billion.

Rhode Island’s plan is to have the state’s Ocean Special Area Management Plan find the most suitable sites for wind turbines so Rhode Island can avoid the lengthy and costly controversy that has surrounded the Cape Wind project proposed for waters off Nantucket. Most other states have their energy offices or economic development personnel leading their wind-farm siting efforts. Massachusetts just enacted a law this year to plan uses of its coastal waters, but Rhode Island officials believe they are ahead because they have been doing such planning for decades.

Rhode Island officials believe this plan will make them the most competitive in the off-shore wind energy game.

Five Midwestern states have joined together to develop an electric transmission system that should help promote wind energy in the region.

This AP story from the St. Paul (MN) Pioneer Press says Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North and South Dakota have formed the Upper Midwest Transmission Development Initiative:

The coalition of governors will study the costs of developing more wind energy and delivering it on power lines. The states also plan to propose some form of financing new transmission lines.

State officials also will seek solutions to a number of current barriers to additional transmission investment, such as how costs of new power lines should be allocated.

The group will meet for the first time in October and hopes to have results of a study of regional electrical transmission capacity next year.

The latest version of the energy bill, which includes an extension of the $1-a-gallon biodiesel tax credit and federal incentives for wind and solar energy (which were all set to expire at the end of this year), has passed the U.S. House, but its future is most assuredly less assured as it moves on to the U.S. Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is holding votes on four separate energy bills, possibly starting as early as tomorrow (Thursday, Sept. 18th), as lawmakers hit the final week before they go on their fall recess starting Sept. 26. This story from the Washington, D.C.-based newspaper The Hill says it might be too much with too little room and time for compromise to get a bill that will pass:

Few senators expressed optimism that the two parties could resolve deep disagreements in such a compressed, politically charged atmosphere, especially with 60-vote thresholds likely necessary. Reid himself suggested a lame-duck session after the Nov. 4 elections might be necessary if the issue cannot be resolved.

Still, there is some reason for hope. Both Democrats and Republicans say the energy debate will be simplified by passing alternative energy tax incentives in a separate tax package, leaving only the sticky problem of expanding offshore oil drilling.

So it looks like the incentives for renewable energy could get extended even if the energy bill as a whole is doomed. As I said yesterday, stay tuned… this story is far from over.

The U.S. House has approved a measure that will renew some tax credits for wind and solar power that were set to expire at the end of this year, as well as allowing more drilling for offshore oil.

This story from the San Francisco Chronicle says passage came after some contentious debate on the issue:

[House Speaker Nancy] Pelosi hailed the 236-189 vote as a victory because the bill also included Democratic priorities such as stripping oil companies of $18 billion in tax breaks, renewing expiring tax credits for wind and solar, and requiring electric utilities to get 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2020.

The measure “will put us on the path toward energy independence” and make “Big Oil pay for its fair share of our transition to a clean, renewable energy future,” Pelosi said.

The measure is far from a done deal as it still needs to make it through the U.S. Senate where there are three other energy bills that are very different than the House bill. Plus, the White House has threatened to veto the measure.

I’m sure there’ll be more to talk about on this in the next few days and weeks… stay tuned.

Oklahoma might be famously known for its “winds that come sweepin’ down the plains,” and one of the leading universities in the state is going to put that to work.

The Oklahoma City Oklahoman reports officials with the University of Oklahoma in Norman have inked a deal with Oklahoma Gas and Electric to buy nothing but wind power for the campus by the year 2013… a significant increase over the 10 percent wind power the school uses now:

[OU President David] Boren said the switch will cost about $60,000 in initial surcharges, but the university could end up breaking even or making a profit by selling carbon credits on the Chicago Climate Exchange and participating in investment funds with OG&E.

Boren said OU would be the nation’s largest public college to convert to renewable energy.

The deal is dependent on a new wind farm going up near Woodward, OK and about 140 miles worth of transmission lines to carry the power to Oklahoma City… both of which still to be approved by the state’s Corporation Commission.

While much of the nation’s economy is on shaky ground right now, places in the Midwest, such as Iowa, seem to be doing all right… thanks to wind energy and biofuels, such as biodiesel and ethanol.

This story from the Burlington (IA) Hawk Eye says Mike Tramontina, director of the Iowa Department of Economic Development, recently told a group in Fort Madison that the state is fortunate to be on the cutting edge of the alternative energy market:

While some industries such as housing and auto have taken nosedives, that has been offset by industries dealing with infrastructure, energy and bio-technology, he said.

Iowa now exports more ethanol than it uses, he added.

Tramontina admits that the high price of corn and soybeans has taken a bit of the wind out of the ethanol and biodiesel industries’ sails. But he expects they will come up with new innovations and increased efficiency to help keep them viable.

A report issued by the the Sierra Club, United Steelworkers, the Blue Green Alliance, Natural Resources Defense Council and Audubon New York says that investment in the biodiesel and ethanol industries, wind energy, and solar power could produce four times the number of jobs as compared to investing that same amount in the petroleum oil sector.

And this article from the New York Times says the number of those jobs being good-paying… at least $16 an hour… could be triple what the petroleum industry offers:

Such jobs are based on the proposed investment of $100 billion over two years, through a cap-and-trade program like those sponsored last year in Congress that would “drive private investments into clean energy and raise public revenue through carbon permit auctions.” And spending $26 billion on retrofitting, for example, could save $5 billion in energy costs a year, for a net savings after five years or so, according to the report.

The article goes on to point out how one New York firm has hired 15 people who used to be homeless or incarcerated to haul waste restaurant grease to a facility to turn it into biodiesel… renewing energy and people’s lives.

The federal government has granted leases for America’s first offshore wind projects.

This story from CNNMoney.com says officials with the U.S. Mineral Management Service (MMS) have moved ahead with plans to lease the outer continental shelf to several companies:

Maureen Bornholdt, program manager of the MMS offshore alternative energy program, said the Interior Department remains on track to complete drafting the rules by the end of the year, wrapping up a three-year process.

“It’s not free,” she said of the leases. “We need to get a return there.”

The article goes on to point out the increased interest in offshore wind energy projects, exhibited by the large turnout at an American Wind Energy Association offshore wind conference in Delaware this week.

The first off-shore wind farms are expected to go up in the ocean just off the coasts of Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and California.