The first significant thing to note is that Louisiana’s clean energy sector is developing at a healthy clip and holds much promise. While this sector grew jobs at a rate of 19.5 percent,the overall Louisiana job creation rate grew only 3% between1998 and 2007. According to the U.S. Conference of Mayors,over the next three decades, continued growth in this sector could create more than 27,000 jobs in Baton Rouge and nearly5,000 jobs in Lafayette. The Political Economy Research Institute estimates that a $615 million dollar investment in clean energy in the New Orleans area could create 6,500 jobs, more than half of which would be available to people with a high school degree or less.

Developing a new clean energy economy here in Louisiana will not only help create sustainable home-grown jobs and new sources of locally generated energy, but it will also free us from the economic volatility and national security risks brought on by our harmful dependence on foreign oil.Although energy production has long provided good jobs and growth opportunities for Louisiana workers and companies, they have come with significant risks such as those which befall Louisiana workers who labor in dangerous and politically unstable countries, and the economic risk to Louisiana companies from uncertain markets as well as the foreign corporations who operate on an uneven playing field which usually comes without clearly defined rules.

Historically and currently much of our country’s energy policy is dictated by the demands of overseas suppliers and markets. Hundreds of billions of American dollars are spent annually on foreign oil: in 2008, America spent $1.2 billion every day; $50 million every hour; $837,000 every minute; and $14,000 every second on foreign oil. This dependence exposes our country to unnecessary and obvious risks such as the two wars that the U.S. is fighting on distant lands in an area of the world that requires extensive financial commitment. This comes with enormous personal sacrifice on behalf of our brave and honorable soldiers. Many of the countries we depend on for imported oil are under attack from both internal and external enemies that threaten this supply of oil as well as our companies, and our military personnel, just as much as they threaten the host country.

Now, with renewable energy technology right here in Louisiana, we have the ability to rapidly change this reality and put a stop to this madness with a new industry that takes advantage of energy efficiency technology and many of our abundant renewable resources – the sun, wind, and geothermal energy. One of the most positive of conditions that exists now is our state’s tremendously skilled workforce in energy production and services. New workers are being trained nearly every month. To date, the Department of Energy has invested $3.5 million dollars in clean energy training in Louisiana. Advanced training for contractors and installers in solar water heating took place just last month with Louisiana CleanTech at the Jefferson Technical College in Metairie. Even the students at Warren Easton Senior High are now learning about energy and environmental science by working with software and applications that monitor energy generated by the largest solar array in New Orleans located on the roof of their school.

More than 50 years ago, the offshore oil industry came into its own in Louisiana. Technical knowledge, manufacturing plants, shipyards, research and development, and engineering expertise were developed here and our products and intellectual expertise were exported throughout the world. Experts from all over the United States streamed into Louisiana to acquire the skills and knowledge needed to export offshore oil production to foreign countries. Once again, conditions are swiftly changing in our favor and Louisiana has the opportunity to reassume its position as a leader in the field of energy—only this time, if Louisiana residents and Americans lend their support and seize this moment, we can be leaders in clean energy. I urge Louisiana residents to contact their senators and congressional representatives and tell them to support strong clean energy legislation now.

Troy Von Otnott is Founder and President of South Coast Solar and Secretary of Louisiana CleanTech. A New Orleans native, Von Otnott served as a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Specialist for the U.S. Army during the closing days of the Cold War. He now works with governing bodies to create an environment to encourage the growth of a clean energy economy in Louisiana. He may be reached at troy@southcoastsolar.com or visit www.southcoastsolar.com.

View the full .PDF file :   Source: Natural Awakenings

With $50,000, Dave Llorens helped free five blocks of New Orleans from carbon belching power plants. What could you do?

Source: Pepsi Refresh Project Blog

Such an “endangerment” decision is necessary for the EPA to move ahead early next year with new emission standards for cars. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson has said it could also mean large emitters such as power stations, cement kilns, crude-oil refineries and chemical plants would have to curb their greenhouse gas output.

The announcement would also give President Barack Obama and his climate envoy negotiating leverage at a global climate summit starting next week in Copenhagen, Denmark and increase pressure on Congress to pass a climate bill that would modify the price of polluting.

While environmentalists celebrate EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gases, it has caused many large emitters to cringe at the potential costs of compliance.

According to a preliminary endangerment finding published in April, EPA scientists fear that man-made carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are contributing to a warming of the global climate. Senior EPA officials said in November the agency would likely make a final decision in December around the time of the summit.

Joe Mendelson, Global Warming Policy Director for National Wildlife Federation, said the endangerment decision, would happen at “absolutely the right time.”

“With House legislation passed, a bipartisan Senate bill in the works, and strong EPA action a virtual certainty, the president goes to Copenhagen with a very strong hand to play,” Mr. Mendelson said.

The EPA declaration would also ratchet up the pressure on U.S. lawmakers to pass legislation that analysts say would cut emissions in a more economically efficient way. Although the House has passed a climate bill, movement of similar legislation in the Senate has faced much more resistance and passage becomes more difficult in an election year.

The EPA’s Ms. Jackson and President Obama’s energy and climate czar Carol Browner have said they would prefer Congress to take action but are prepared to move ahead in the absence of lawmakers crafting their own law.

Industry experts say the Clean Air Act–under which the EPA is making its endangerment finding–was designed to regulate more regional and localized air pollution, and would be a much more blunt tool than Congress could craft. Critics, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, say the endangerment declaration could spark a cascade of litigation and regulation that could harm the economy.

The EPA, meanwhile, says it would regulate in a sensible way. The agency has already moved forward on two rules that would guide regulation of greenhouse-gas emissions, primarily through a proposal to set the threshold level at 25,000 tons a year and requiring such large emitters to report their emissions.

If the EPA decided to move ahead with emission regulations for stationary sources such as utilities, new rules would likely be in place by 2012 and could set stringent emission standards to require firms to install the best available technology.

Two people close to the matter who met with White House officials earlier this week said one change between the proposed endangerment finding issued earlier this year and the final announcement expected next week is the inclusion of the potential cost to society of no emission regulations.

Source: The Wall Street Journal

With 208 “thin-film” adhesive solar panel strips taking up approximately 3,700 square feet, or more than half of the school’s rooftop, the setup currently is the largest solar panel system in the city, according to Entergy officials and South Coast Solar, the local installation firm that completed the job.

The system is expected to produce approximately 37,000 kilowatt-hours of solar-powered electricity every year — about enough to fuel three typical residential homes, said Entergy New Orleans spokeman Morgan Stewart.

Click to open graphic in new window.

Warren Easton, which opened in 1845 and has been at its historic Mid-City location since 1913, is “the oldest (public) high school in the city, and we’ll be one of the most innovative going forward,” said Brett Bonin, 3rd District Orleans Parish School Board member.

The panels, as well as a new hurricane-resistant roof, were the result of a $500,000 grant to Warren Easton from Entergy Corp., part of the utility company’s New Orleans Solar School Initiative.

The overall program, financed by a $1.5 million contribution from Entergy Corp. and $150,000 from Nike Corp., will install solar panel systems on three additional New Orleans schools: Joseph A. Craig Elementary in Treme, William Frantz Elementary in the Upper 9th Ward and Henry Allen Elementary in Uptown.

Joseph A. Craig and William Frantz will receive their solar panels later this year, said John Kunz, representing Winrock International, a national nonprofit group that helped facilitate the partnership between Entergy and Nike. The installation schedule at Henry Allen hasn’t been worked out, Kunz said.

The Solar School Initiative also will include a focus on classroom learning, as earth sciences students will use special monitoring software to track the energy generated by the panels and consumed by the school, said earth sciences teacher Frank Coco. Students will be able to calculate the system’s effect on the school’s carbon footprint, and will serve as a hands-on link to a broader section on alternative energy, Coco said.

“I think it’s all right, because it’s saving energy and it’s making our school better, ” said senior Joe Daughtry, one of Coco’s students.

School officials spoke of the solar panel system as a symbol of innovation, job potential and forward momentum for students. For the neighborhood, the panels are a tangible sign of recovery, said Entergy New Orleans President and CEO Rod West, pointing out an “SOS” message left sprawled on a metal awning on the school’s roof, which became “a refuge for people trying to escape the floods” after Hurricane Katrina,

“We are changing the meaning of this building, in particular its roof, for many people in this community, ” West said.

Source: nola.com

Tiger One being powered by Solar One

The LSU Sports Radio Network pregame radio show, hosted by Jim Hawthorne and live from Tiger One Village for every home game, is powered by South Coast Solar’s mobile solar unit, “Solar One.”

“We are extraordinarily pleased that LSU is showing leadership with its commitment to become a more sustainable university.  While powering Tiger One on Saturday’s with clean renewable energy is a great first step, and we’re excited about potential permanent solar energy installations throughout the campus in the months and years ahead,” says Troy Von Otnott, President of South Coast Solar.

“The unique partnership between South Coast Solar and LSU has allowed us continue to bring forth an exciting pregame atmosphere at Tiger One Village while reducing our carbon footprint,” said Ward Wyatt, general manager of LSU Sports Properties. “We are pleased to announce Tiger One runs on solar power at home games, thanks to the partnership with South Coast Solar.”

Headquartered in New Orleans, South Coast Solar is the premier solar energy company in the southeast. For more information on South Coast Solar or to receive your free solar energy estimate, click here.

The forefront of excitement on gameday, Zatarain’s Tiger One Village features a different band each home game, the live pregame radio show, the ultimate in corporate hospitality, concessions for all tailgaters and a perfect viewing spot for the football team’s walk down Victory Hill and the golden band’s March to Death Valley. For more information on Tiger One and the Zatarain’s Tiger One Village, click here.

On gameday, visit Solar One, South Coast Solar’s mobile unit, located between the PMAC and Tiger Stadium, in Tiger One Village.

SOURCE: lsusports.net