 Okay, okay All right, we're running we're running a little behind so our speakers will all be taking just a few minutes with regard to introducing Their their technology they the whole role of what they are doing and so I welcome you all here for this The people that we will be hearing from in this particular session where we're looking at policy solar and storage We will hear first from Scott sclar who is the president of the Stellar group and Scott also plays a very special role since he is working on all the blending of technologies But he is also the chair of the sustainable energy coalition of our steering committee on which I also sit Scott Thank you all for coming today My company for the last 12 years blends all these high-value energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies so I'm not here to push a particular one and I'm also an adjunct professor both at GW George Washington University American University on Interdisciplinary energy and I force my students to read the 24 studies that have been done in the last three years that conclude that the United States or The world could meet most or all of our energy needs With the blend of high-value energy efficiency and renewable energy that we have today All right. These are 24 studies. I am not here to force you to read I'm not going to go through all 24 studies, but I I did have my interns read them I get graduates and interns and Take the most conservative conclusions of each of the 24 studies And if you look at those studies, you will see that the United States Could meet 8% of our energy from combined any heat and power waste heat Could meet 10% of our energy from geothermal Can meet 10% of our energy from water energy technologies? Marine tidal and free-flow hydro not even talking about dams can meet 22% of our energy from building solutions renewables Geothermal heat pumps solar day lighting solar water heating photovoltaics 20% from wind 20% from biomass so when you look at that pie chart You'll see all those studies on the most conservative assumptions meet more than 100% of us energy and Again cost effectively with the technology we have today And I'm happy to announce today that on June 18th Just three days ago Study number 25 just popped out and it's the renewable energy future study done by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and their study was that we could meet 80% of us electricity by renewable energy With technology we have today, and it's a very detailed study in four parts that you can download all these studies and their levels really can are Related to Two different things that I need to get you aware of Issue one obviously is public policy Regulatory policy in particular our tax code treats Generation better than saving energy and as you know energy efficiency is Always less expensive than generating any kind of electron from any kind of technology so is absurdly ridiculous to have a tax code and Policies at the federal and state level that actually bias our markets towards generation Secondly you need to know and we you couldn't bring power points But even the most conservative studies show that we subsidize our traditional energy resources At minimum of 72 billion dollars of taxpayer money a year For the mature technologies by the mature companies and the mature markets There is no free market and we subsidize our renewable and efficiency technologies that have been at around six billion a year So obviously if you're subsidizing dial phones, there would never be cellular phones And so the issue for you all to think about who work up here is it's time Both parties have say they want to get rid of these subsidies well get rid of them start with the ones that are old first and Then slowly figure a way to scale down slowly predictably The renewables over time and efficiency so they can compete, but we need a rational policy and it is sort of getting ridiculous the last thing though you need to know is the best studies around show that when you have a a Traded level of energy and renewable energy technologies in a market They cap prices naturally and and the most recent one was the Lawrence Berkeley study out at looking at the California market Which obviously has big blends of renewables and efficiency and the reason being is That if you commercialize these technologies if the traditional technologies go higher because there's a riot in Nigeria Or an embargo here or a drunken guy. What happens a couple years ago? In Canada blew out one of the natural gas pipelines that you have some options in the marketplace and Therefore, there's no one technology that can go out. Well, you know too high because the other ones can play If you're interested in water and many of you come from districts that are I want to remind you that 42% of our surface water grows food 47% goes into our electric energy system to create steam not just not cooling just to create steam to turn generators So energy efficiency and some of the renewables Including geothermal using organic rank and and obviously solar and wind and water technologies They don't use the surface water to juice generation We as a country are going to have to deal with these water issues and the energy sector is the biggest player I'm not even talking about refining and fracking which uses a lot of them and obviously national security and for some of us that are in this game and look at their vulnerability of Pipelines and electric wires. I have tons of pictures and studies even Squirrels bring down the grid have a great study. I did on that We are very vulnerable. We are vulnerable to weather patterns. We are vulnerable to terrorism We are vulnerable to human error and Animal error for that matter. So I am here to tell you that these technologies as a portfolio Make a lot of sense. There is no one technology that's going to solve all our energy problems nor should they it is the elegant integration of these technologies that these panelists are going to talk about so I hope You look at this strategically and if you look at it that way you will see that They're in your state and the Institute of Local Self-Reliance did the best study 36 states in the United States have the resources to be totally self-sufficient And the other 14 states can live easily off of the excesses of the other states And when you do it that way you all can become Saudi Arabia's in your own little state and keep capital in the state To grow the economy. Thank you very much And of course everyone who is going to be speaking now will have Has a table or a booth next door. So please make sure that you follow up with folks There is a wealth of information and knowledge in terms of all of the people who you'll be hearing from Next up is Ruth McCormick who is senior policy associate with the business council for sustainable energy go ahead Ruth Thank you, and I'm going to stay here to make my remarks so that we don't have to get up and trip over everyone Um, I am Ruth McCormick with the business council for sustainable energy. I'm pleased to be here with you today I know that we have a large group of panelists who are going to share a lot of good information about their technologies and the specific role that they can play In the marketplace what I want to do today is talk a little bit about the council as a policy organization of a broad range and diverse set of clean energy businesses And let you know what kinds of things we're working on collectively so that we can help these industries to advance in the market The business council for sustainable energy has been in existence for 20 years now We are celebrating our 20th anniversary and it was some very Thoughtful people with a lot of foresight who came together with this group of industries to work on policies to help expand Markets for clean energy technologies We include a broad range of renewable energy technologies including solar wind Some geothermal hydropower and fuel cells We also include energy efficiency companies and associations as well as natural gas So we uh on the policy end talk about the same kinds of things that scott was talking about on the technology end Where these technologies together Can help to diversify our energy portfolio make us more energy secure And provide air quality benefits and a host of other good policy benefits and health benefits for the american public So as an organization we have been working at all levels of government to try to advance markets for these technologies We work at the international level In fact, we have a group of businesses who are participating in the reo plus 20 Meetings that have been held over the past week And they're down there doing different events and meeting with Some of the dignitaries who are there negotiating some of the agreements to help them understand how these technologies can be deployed and Meet their sustainability goals As well as climate change goals We also work at the state level and over the last couple of years in particular We've been focusing heavily on state regulatory commissions through their national organizations and their regional organizations Because this is a group of policy makers who really on the ground level have a huge impact on energy planning decisions And right now in particular the states are Facing the prospect of implementing different regulations that have raised some concerns Um, some are saying reliability concerns certainly air quality concerns And what our message is as we meet with the state regulatory commissioners is that these clean energy Technologies can step up and meet the demand and there should be no reliability concerns Maybe a few localized concerns in some areas Which the epa rules have flexibility to address But there are a lot of existing clean energy technologies that as scott said in order to Diversify the portfolio of energy options will really help to increase the reliability of the grid rather than doing the opposite Here at the federal level in congress We've been spending a lot of time over the last couple of years kind of in this climate They were in with focus on tax and spending priorities and the budget deficit Really raising the level of awareness about the benefit of some of past Policies to these clean energy technologies. So we have been spending a lot of time Talking about the need to extend the expiring and expired clean energy tax measures There's been a lot of discussion here on the hill about Possibly moving toward comprehensive tax reform And in fact, there have been a couple of hearings over the last couple of weeks looking at what comprehensive tax reform might be And the council itself has been looking at the possibility of that coming down the road We have been gathering some input from experts on how clean energy would fit into comprehensive tax reform But the message that we've been carrying to policymakers that until they get to that point where they're serious about Serious about comprehensive tax reform that they need to Extend what's currently on the books with the expiring and expired tax credits because we really need to help businesses succeed in this economic environment and I'm sure you'll hear more about these individual technologies and kind of what they do but we need to Keep a level playing field and keep these markets strong and then work towards comprehensive tax reform when and if it happens There's also a number of spending priorities that we've been focused on through the appropriations process And I won't go into detail with that But I would point you to some materials that I've brought with me today. We have some things on our tax Positions that I put out on the table outside And then we also have a table inside the expo room that's got a lot of good information about The kinds of things that we're doing and the members that we have within our organization So if you have any questions, I'd be happy to talk with you a little bit more in detail about that Our role really is to try to educate folks on the hill In the states and at the international level about the benefits that these clean energy technologies provide So thank you Thanks Thanks very much Ruth for going through and sort of explaining kind of the whole background of this very very important Association that brings together a lot of Of important business interests for as as we look for clean energy Taking more and more of the whole Kind of marketplace as we go forward We're next going to hear from ron rash who is the president and ceo of the solar energy industries association And you want to come over here as opposed to the tip? Okay Okay People those chairs are really low and I feel badly because I can't really see anybody even when i'm sitting down there So thank you very much carol. I appreciate it and happy Longest day of the year for those of you who have solar on your house You know that you you wait for this day and it's finally here and you get the most kilowatt hours. Hopefully possible But for those of you who don't have solar and in fact those of you who kind of poo poo solar I would strongly encourage you to go outside about two o'clock this afternoon Maybe do 10 jumping jacks and just feel the power of the sun and exactly Feel what's going on the potential for us to tap into solar energy in this country I represent a group called sea the solar energy industries association We're the national trade association for solar energy in the united states and in that capacity We represent about 1100 member companies from around the country Everybody from manufacturers all the way upstream to poly silicon manufacturers to the developers of financiers the installers and really the end users and you know, I think a lot of Of the news that we've read or heard about solar in the last couple of months has been fairly negative And frankly, it's been spun by those who don't want to see greater use of solar in a very negative way But what I want to try to do today is tell you a little bit Well, what's actually going on in the solar industry because the fact of the matter is the solar industry is thriving In fact more than thriving. We're the fastest growing industry in the united states today So while naysayers would say ah solar doesn't work or you know, salindra Well, that's exactly what the you know, the rest of the industry is they can't survive Uh, you know without all these handouts the truth of the matter is we are growing Both in the size of the industry. We're creating economic opportunities and we're really stabilizing the grid Overall, and that's why I want to cover very quickly give you an industry update of where we are Talk a little bit about how the industry is helping the economy talk about how solar as a technology Stabilizes the grid and one specific example about how we're doing so and actually reducing costs to consumers And then finally wrap up with a very brief talk about policy Well, we're on capitol hill. You got to have policy as part of your presentation. Otherwise, you're missing an opportunity So what's happening in solar this first quarter of 2012? We installed about 550 megawatts of foldable tags Now we represent all technologies pv solar thermal concentrating solar power But the primary growth area was in pv foldable tags 550 megawatts That's about an 85 growth over our first quarter in 2011 This is building on the back of a record year in 2011 where we Grew by about 109 percent over the previous year. So again as an industry We're growing very rapidly and and part of what we're starting to see which i'm very excited about is the diversification of the market It's not just in california. And in fact this first quarter of 2011 New jersey installed more solar than the entire state of california So if you think about new jersey from a geographical size perspective And then you compare it to california and you realize what they have done is this state is really to prioritize diversification of their energy generation portfolio and to create distributed generation in the state and they're doing so and in fact New jersey is now the number one state installing about 174 megawatts this first quarter compared to california at about 150 megawatts But that trend has continued beyond just new jersey You know just literally four years ago california represented two-thirds of the market in the united states today Today, they're less than 30 percent and we have over 20 states that are installing Solar at a record level and in fact 22 states have more than 10 megawatts of solar currently installed So the good news is we're scaling up as an industry and as we're scaling up One of the great benefits is you're seeing the price of solar continue to come down Some of you may have read about solar panels and how the prices have come down That's that's global competition supply and demand econ 101 type of stuff And it absolutely has driven the price down this last year. We saw panel prices come down by about 50 percent in one year alone Today you're able to buy solar panels for less than a dollar a watt just to give you a perspective The install cost is ultimately what you really want to be focused on not necessarily the cost of the of the panels themselves And we've seen the install costs continue to drive down We're on average a little bit over four dollars per watt Looking at all market segments for solar to be installed and and john who's going to be talking a little bit Works for standard solar when I had standard install a system on my house six years ago The average price in the dc metropolitan area was somewhere between 12 and 14 dollars a watt So today you're doing it somewhere on the order of four to six dollars a watt So substantially lower if you're actually in the market for solar talk to john afterwards and i'm sure you can tell you more But you know what we're really looking at is this this trend is going to continue We anticipate the solar industry to be about 3.3 gigawatts this year so three Billion three hundred million watts of new electricity installed, which is fantastic And it represents over a 70 growth of where we were this last year But we're not done and when we look out into the future We anticipate that the solar market in the united states will be about 10 gigawatts by 2016 So again, we're about a little over three this year. We're going to be 10 by 2016 So we'll still be an industry that's continuing to grow and expand and we're seeing it occur really in all market segments When you look at the utility scale market, that's perhaps one of the more exciting markets because it's new frankly for the solar industry We're talking about large-scale solar power plants being built throughout the country, but primarily in the desert southwest Today, there's about 31 gigawatts of utility scale solar projects under some form of development This represents both csp as well as pv So 31 gigawatts under development right now throughout the country and again Those are occurring in many different areas and in many different sizes It's not just these hundred megawatt projects in in nevada or california They're in these distributed wholesale distributed types of power plants the one to 20 megawatts that are being installed on landfills and brownfields and and fallowed agricultural areas and others But what we're seeing as a benefit of the growth of the industry is an economic boom for this country As an employer the solar industry has doubled employment in the last two years double employment We're now well over 100 000 people employed in the solar industry in 5600 different companies throughout the united states This is up again more than more than 100 just in the last two years alone As an injury industry this year we will be over 10 billion dollars as an industry here in the united states and growing And when I kind of step back and look at the kinds of jobs that we have in the solar industry They're really exciting jobs. I mean, there's literally no barrier to entry if you're a An electrician who's been let go by the housing industry You can get a job or start your own business in the solar industry Same thing if you're a roofer same thing if you're a construction worker and others So the economic opportunities that exist in this industry are really amazing And frankly part of the excitement that we're seeing is the diversification of business models New entrepreneurs coming out of business school or taking their Lessons they learn from other industries and applying it to solar Leasing programs are now available today that allow you to go solar with no money down. So very exciting Trends in that regard Finally, well second to last point before I get cut off is I want to talk a little bit about how solar is Stabilizing the grid the braddle group just came out with an analysis that looked at the state of texas in 2011 they faced shortages in the amount of electricity that were available during peak time periods So during the summer when demand is greatest They looked at that analysis and said, okay What what what would happen if we install more solar on the texas grid because solar generates electricity when demand is greatest So there's a an offsetting Balance if you will between when we're generating and when demand is greatest and they found that in texas again texas the center of the energy industry Certainly in the united states and perhaps the world They found that if we install more solar in the texas grid we would be able to Lower the wholesale cost lower the wholesale cost of peak generation in the state of texas In fact, it would save consumers Upwards of half a billion dollars this last summer now We just heard from urcat a couple weeks ago that they have real reliability issues in texas again this summer They can't build and generate enough electricity to meet demand It's time for texas and other states to recognize solar is an incredibly powerful resource They have a ton of it and in fact it's going to save their consumers money in the long run I want to leave you with just one last thought and thank you for the extra minute or so And talk a little bit about policy We're fortunate in the solar industry to have the investment tax credit that exists through 2016 Having that certainty has really allowed the industry to grow allows businesses to plan out into the future allows manufacturers to scale up Ultimately to look at structured financing and other Types of arrangements that that allow different business models to really thrive So having that certainty has been critical as scott was describing the fossil industry has enjoyed it for decades And that's fantastic and and we're thankful enough to have it through 2016 but there's um There's another provision that did expire this last year. It's called the 1603 Treasury program and the 1603 program simply provided flexibility and how you're able to use your investment tax credit And and yes, it was part of the recovery act But I got to tell you that the important part of this provision and believe me We started talking about this long before the recovery act is how it benefits small businesses just to give you an example In the solar industry alone There has enrol estimates that between 50 and 75 000 jobs have been created through the 1603 program And leveraged over 27 billion dollars in private equity But I think the most important and most telling piece of the 1603 program Is the average size of the project was $150 000. These are not huge power plants These are not huge companies developing these projects These are small businesses people who've gotten into the solar industry Who needed the 1603 program to help them finance those first series of projects that need today still exists because the tax equity markets Are still in shambles compared to where they were in 2007 So we're certainly calling on congress to extend the 1603 program as part of an extenders bill And we look forward to working with you if you happen to work on the hill And the rest of you who are in attendance today to help the solar industry grow further. Thank you very much It it is a very very exciting story Be sure and stop by the seabooth and hear more and throughout the year We at EESI will try and bring you more of this exciting solar story And we're going to hear a little bit more about that solar story from john finnerty Who's the director of business development for standard solar? Hi and welcome glad you're all here and glad you're able to see part of some of the industry in action next door The industry is a lot like washington Where there's constant change mixed with constant Issue history meaning the the same issues appear present year after year decade after decade The energy industry is is one that sees both and the renewable energy Industry is living both the renewable energy industry knows change And renewable energy policy issues have been here decade after decade This expo the 15th annual is a reminder that the renewable energy, you know, is not new and it has a solid track record The industry has marked several major performance milestones this year the EIA Um reported for the first time renewable energy generation has exceeded that of nuclear power generation And renewable energy industry is on track for you know continuing that that growth pattern I've worked with standard solar We are one of the renewable energy companies in this space delivering results From your policy work. We are a locally grown developer We have grown from a team of about eight to currently nearly 90 folks We've been a a local leader in establishing the solar pv market in this region and in in 2008 we implemented the first solar ppa in maryland Which is not far from here near andrew's air force base. This array was a big deal then And it still is in a way a big deal today It has served as a regional model for numerous solar projects to be Built in dc maryland and occasionally few in virginia By standard solar and and and several others in the industry Policy has made a difference As you know Successful policy is an industry multiplier The renewable energy industry has shown With good policy Policy is also an economic multiplier So renewable energy is accountable. It's visible It's productive affordable and delivers on national Of security goals Jobs have been created companies created companies expanded And education and energy awareness has grown with renewable energy Renewable energy is a leading contributor to achieving state and federal goals for energy consumption and reductions In energy Used within those individual states It's also been a leader in developing domestic production Energy is being saved And the cost of future energy is being reduced for the entire Economy with the projects that are being built today Energy management is is why we're here today Our work today will help protect what we pay for Energy we use and the energy we need for our businesses Facilities schools hospitals homes and installations institutions Lower energy costs are economic multipliers Your policy successes are visible around the country and here in dc This spring solar rays have gone up locally on the US district courthouse the pregnant courthouse On opm at the sutland federal center just to name a few At the pregnant courthouse, which is again just around the hill Around the corner from the hill here on constitution avenue Working with gsa. We installed about 130 kw array on the top of the roof It was in conjunction with a larger energy efficiency project there and over in that the sutland federal center again In team with gsa. We're completing a 330 kw installation providing power to the noa facility there and prior to that gsa Helped us with a 600 kw installation on the terry sanford federal building in Raleigh, north carolina These projects and others are are good examples of public policy delivering real results And gsa do d and the private sector are all working to deliver the promise of energy independence and With energy independence. We are all freed To build a strong economy with sustainable long-term growth Please continue to support renewable energy policy continue supporting the itc And continue to support Renewal efforts for the 1603 grants And we invite you to visit Any of the many active renewable energy sites in dc And throughout your districts Thanks Thank you very much john Many times we hear people talk about well, you know in terms of thinking about important technologies like wind and solar They're great But you know the wind doesn't necessarily blow all the time although the wind's blowing somewhere all the time And and in terms of solar, but what about when the sun goes down? So there are answers folks And we're going to hear about some of that from katherine hamilton Who is the policy director for the electricity storage association? Really appreciate it the electricity storage association, and we have a booth out here just as the other speakers do We represent about 150 companies Everything from small venture backed companies to large multinational corporations and fully integrated utilities So it's a very broad very diverse technology neutral industry supposing On christmas eve we had no warehouses to store our toys leading up to christmas eve and supposing christmas eve We had to build all of our manufacturing plants manufacture all of the toys build all of the roads And have all of the trucks available to deliver all of the toys to all of the good girls and boys on christmas morning Electricity is the only commodity we haven't been able to store So our electric grid looks like what our system would look like if we had to do this on christmas eve Which proves that hanukkah is probably a more energy efficient holiday anyway, but What we need this is the problem the problem is what do we do with electricity? We don't have warehouses to store it now We do have warehouses to store it right now the system works so that when you generate electricity The second it's generated you have to use it or it goes to ground So our system is overbuilt we have this huge system that has been developed To deliver electricity to every corner of our country and our planet where it is where we have electricity And the system is very centralized And doesn't suit what our needs are today. It has not adjusted to fit our needs. So what do we need? We need more diverse resources So we need solar and winds and other technologies that will help us become more diverse and to help us sort of disrupt What that system is but we need something that will help store it and warehouse it and that is electricity storage And we have now advanced batteries. We have advanced flywheels compressed air We've been doing pumped hydro for a number of years and thermal storage for forever But we need to be able to store electricity to make our grid more reliable to make it more flexible to allow renewables to integrate seamlessly on it Energy storage has zero point source emissions uses no water. These are u.s. Technologies There are no downsides to energy storage. So why isn't it everywhere? Well, this is one of the questions one of the big questions we have about policy If you have a problem that public policy can solve What does public policy do smart public policy that would include a strategy that allows for energy storage to be part of the mix We'll create markets and what is creating markets do it attracts equity Which is something we all have issues with attracting equity and debt to be able to fund to get the private sector interested in funding these technologies So what are the sort of things that we can do? We need to make sure that we can compensate for the value that all of these technologies provide to us So the value that energy storage can provide to the grid by making it more reliable allowing other resources to participate Seamlessly allow it to be a smarter grid that doesn't have to be built for today But that can be built for any day and allow other resources to accommodate for days like today The incumbent generators don't face the same issues that The new energy solutions will will encounter that we need to provide Policy provisions for so for example combined cycle natural gas is only at 42 capacity What's it doing at night? It should be charging batteries. It should be charging energy storage Energy storage will take a charge from any resource whether it's solar or wind or gas or nuclear or coal And then you can use it when you need it when the price is right and when you need When you need energy at any given time So what are some of the policies sustained research and development? So Programs like rpe department of energy all of our government programs That have that have done research have been critical to getting these folks off the ground to getting new technologies Demonstrated bringing the partnerships together for utilities to come together and demonstrate them and make sure that they work Absolutely critical renewable energy standards or a clean energy standard We need to make sure that energy storage is part of that so that as we develop energy policy. We include energy storage in that policy regulatory reform Right now. There's there a series of orders being promulgated by FERC at this very moment That are going to affect our industry and that's about making sure that we set the markets on the bulk power system That include energy storage in the mix Um investment incentives like loan guarantees have been critical for getting energy storage projects done and getting companies off the ground Tax credits. This is something that the solar industry really cares about the wind industry as well. We also care about it There is a bipartisan energy storage investment tax credit on both the house and senate side That's gaining a lot of traction that we really care about and that will help attract equity There is a master limited partnership bill That is also of great interest and that helps the renewable side as well as energy storage All of these different policy Provisions will help move the market for an industry that will help make our grid better and really make it Then all of the above energy strategy and I would say we really need to think about that in a holistic way We can't just do a couple of the above. We really need to figure out. How do we integrate all of our renewables? Energy storage new technologies disruptive technologies electric vehicles Also part of the energy mix so that we can accommodate the grid of the future And I hope you'll come and visit us at our booth right out here and ask any questions you would like. Thank you Thanks very much Catherine And now we will hear from ralph avalon who is the secretary general with the international green energy council Good morning It's time to write fast And drink from a fire hose My name is ralph avalon, and I am the secretary general of the international green energy council We are a worldwide advocacy organization promoting renewable energy We have charter chapters in 68 countries where consultants to 14 nations on energy policy And we currently have Facilitated almost two gigawatts of renewable energy installation shoveled to the ground globally Einstein once said that you can never create a solution for a problem With the same amount of energy that created it in the first place in 1980 A leader stated that the stone age did not end because the world ran out of stone I doubt that the age of oil will end because the world runs out of oil Instead technology will have moved on that leader was chic yamani the then spokesperson for opec The great green revolution is upon us and if we nurture it it will become a catalyst for change in a way We make energy water and food as well as a tool to revitalize the world economy I believe in my humble opinion that in america We are embarking on a journey that will cause this great green revolution to become what the industrial revolution was for our grandparents Government can and should be a force for good Leading a charge on caring for the environment and protecting our shared natural assets While planning to put the wheels in place to create a 21st century new green economy facilitated by energy security The decisions that we make as a nation every day from this day forward in regards to our energy Security will define us in history as either leaders or followers As a nation we cannot continue on our current energy course is dangerous to our national and economic security And its ruin is to the climate that sustains us The strategic energy decisions america makes in the next 10 years will be critical in determining Whether we will be able to achieve an affordable viable and sustainable energy future Of our failure over the past several decades to modernize our energy infrastructure The network of transmission lines gas pipelines oil refineries That transports our energy to consumers and converts raw materials into usable fuels Is a result of a lack of careful planning and a lack of a comprehensive national energy plan These challenges have developed from years of neglect and can only be addressed with the implementation of sound policy There are no easy short-term solutions Our increased dependence on foreign oil profoundly illustrates our national failure to establish a national effective energy policy If we grab hold of the common thread and pull it hard, however All these complex problems begin to unravel and we find that we're holding the answer to all of them right in the palm of our hand The answer is to end our reliance on foreign oil and begin pressing our leaders to actually lead on this agenda We're borrowing money from china to buy oil from the persian gulf to burn it in ways that destroy our planet Every bit of this has to change. Let's find more local sources of oil Let's expedite the building of new nuclear facilities and let's invest in renewable energy Some of our greatest accomplishments as a nation have resulted from commitments to reach a goal that fell well beyond the next election or administration The marshal plan social security the interstate highway systems When president john f. Kennedy challenged our nation to land a man on the moon and bring him safely back within 10 years Many people doubted that we could accomplish this goal But eight years and two months later neil armstrong and buzz aldrin walked on the surface of the moon and planted the american flag We must now lift our nation and our world to reach a goal that will change history Our entire civilization or economy depend on us now embarking on a new journey of exploration and discovery Our success depends on our willingness as a people to undertake this journey and complete it within the next 10 years It will not be easy ending our addiction to oil and other fossil fuels But by promoting renewable energy and waste to energy technologies, we can recover from this economic downturn We can rebuild american manufacturing and we can reinstate america's place as leaders of the free world Today i present to you ideas that can and must Facilitate america's rise up from our current economic crisis Ideas that can get americans back to work and restore america's economic prowess amongst the nations of the worlds Political leaders lobbyists and fossil and the fossil fuel industry can no longer refute the cold hard facts Carbon emissions in the earth's atmosphere are climbing and they are caused by man's actions And green jobs are real and they can help save america's economy More workers exist today in the wind industry than exist in the steel industry here in america So logically if we nurture this area in renewables then even more jobs can be created in wind I like mr. Russia's comments about my home state of new jersey In fact new jersey ranked seventh in the world for solar energy applications last year And the world is listening The work of retrofitting millions of buildings so that we can they can serve energy will produce millions of new jobs Between now and 2030 75 percent of all buildings on the u.s power grid will either be new or substantially rehabilitated The clinton global initiative in the u.s department of commerce estimate that for every one billion dollars that we invest in this opportunity It'll get 7 000 americans back to work It seems like any politician would race to get this done and get their constituents back to work and revitalize their state's economy, right? So what's the problem? We need to Impress upon our leaders that the new national infrastructure bank is not used just to build roads ridges and tunnels to nowhere But we revitalize the rail system the web work of rail rail here in the united states That we utilize those funds to create the infrastructure for concentrated natural gas and liquid natural gas We can push trucks down roads with concentrated natural gas and liquid natural gas We shouldn't be exporting that commodity We should pass an import carbon tax an individual american carbon tax Would pay for our own renewable energy future if america wants to create jobs Then we should pass a carbon import tax on any goods that are not manufactured here in the united states Then what then that would make the chinese to make component parts in china Ship those parts to america and create millions of jobs here in america where america can assemble Those products it would cause american companies to want to manufacture here instead of china or mexico Or elsewhere because it would lower their carbon tax and make the products more cost competitive in the american marketplace We need to extend the ipc and itc tax credits for wind and solar and perpetuity Congress needs to pass a federal renewable portfolio standard immediately We need to increase the use of renewable energy to 20 of the us electricity supply by 2020 And this would benefit the economy by creating three to five times as many jobs as similar investment in fossil fuels specifically clean coal It would save consumers by saving us four and a half billion dollars by 2020 and the environment by reducing global warming emissions from power plants 19 percent by 2020 Many political leaders dream of creating new economic sectors that create jobs while enhancing health and the quality of life It's staring them all in the face. It's called renewable energy According to experts renewable energy could provide up to 635 gigawatts of new electricity generating capacity by 2025 america needs energy that is secure reliable improves public health protects the environment addresses climate change Creates jobs and provides technological leadership america needs renewable energy We need to expedite assistance to install hybrid renewable energy on native american property here in america The 2007 energy policy and security act found that ground You'll hear from the next panel from from a speaker on how we're going to meet those goals The united states can no longer afford to drain all of its wealth to foreign sources of energy friendly or not international green energy council suggests in our liaison right now For an international collaboration to get that pipeline built from the alberta tar sands project to louisiana We also in 2008 started on a mission and established a national security national energy security agency a rand corporation for future energy policy here in united states The electrical infrastructure a grid that transmits and distributes electricity from power plants to home undergoes a lot of stress Much like a highway during rush hour the transmission lines running from power plants are too congested We rely on an electric grid that uses 19th century technology to power a 21st century economy If we keep popping up yesterday's industries, we'll end up with yesterday's economy A renewable energy powered electricity grid is the kind of energy system that is a lot like the internet People put in people take out and it offers the promise of a more durable as well as a more ecological energy future The difference between renewables is that they take days or weeks to apply instead of years it takes to build normal power plants Renewables only have the cost for technologies and installation And no more costs for future fuels or environmental costs We need to begin educating kindergarten through a high school students about energy conservation And environmental store chip is the least amount of money that this nation can spend to get the greatest result in energy conservation and reduction of carbon emissions In 1970 the united states consumed almost 14 billion kilowatt hours of electricity The department of energy predicts that by the year 2020 the u.s. Will consume over three times that amount This energy deficit Could be met and should be met by energy production from renewable energy sources We need to create a green tape regulatory process here in america for the expedition Of installed renewable energy The country's bulk power state is an interstate and in fact an international network It's all interconnected and interdependent and only strong as its weakest link Improving the reliability of power one state makes the power in nearby states more reliable as well A digitized power grid can also create millions of new green jobs and create the opportunity of a grid friendly Electric vehicle and renewable energy application scenario that can and will stabilize the us power grid Make no mistake The production of energy is a national security issue You've heard from speakers today from dod Our industry has been devoid of leadership Political leadership the good news now is that we have one of the most powerful leaders in america's history And that's the department of defense We must begin creating sustainable curricula in our colleges and universities Academia needs to expedite the creation of new curricula to educate a new generation about america's energy future This task Will not be instantaneous and without risk John f. Kennedy said all this way will not be finished in the first hundred days Nor will it be finished in the first thousand nor even perhaps in our lifetimes on this planet But we we must begin America has always led when faced with adversity. We must do it again We must show the world that here in america is where the most forward-thinking leaders the smartest minds the most skilled workers The brightest students and the most passionate people on the planet decided that we must save this world for the future of humanity The world must take advantage of this new green economy because if we fail We will have squandered a huge opportunity to both save our environment for future generations As well as an opportunity for creating millions of new jobs in this new green world Our country needs a new american dream A green dream that includes everyone in a new vision of energy security and prosperity As we evolve to meet these challenges presented by global climate change We have the opportunity to unite our nation around unprecedented labor mobilization and economic vitality thomas jefferson said over 200 years ago that every generation needs a revolution I welcome you all to the great green revolution. Thank you So I think everyone has heard in terms of the enormous opportunities how this all relates to To jobs how we can really get the economy back on a more sound Setting we do have a couple We have just a couple minutes Before the next session starts in the next room if there are any particular questions or any other Points that people wanted to make okay right here They're Because they can compete with Where is that situation How can we make the usd industry To meet that And as you pointed out, rightfully, um, we have seen a number of multiple manufacturers go out of business in the united states Either they went bankrupt or they got out of the solar business overall And the question is what's the state of affairs and what will happen in the long run? Well, we've seen in the module assembly Industry certainly decreased in the u.s. We've seen output decrease. We've actually seen polysilicon manufacturing increase in the united states We have two manufacturers Build multi-billion dollar facilities in the united states and we are actually an exporter of polysilicon to china A significant amount and in fact we had a surplus trade balance with china up and so this last year Though we were exporting a wide variety of different products But ultimately we want to make sure that we're getting high quality manufacturing jobs here in the united states When I look at at your technology that exists in this industry so much of it was developed here in the united states It continues to be developed in the united states And we want to make sure that those jobs are created here But I think ultimately it's important when we think about the solar industry There's a lot of different components and modules are a very important part of but you also have inverters We manufacture a substantial amount of the world's inverters here in the united states and export a lot of inverters But also racking all the balance of systems equipment and when you really think about A solar system is is is manufactured You know a distributed kind of fashion it's manufactured By assembling it on the roof with someone you know the various components are manufactured in different factories But ultimately the system itself is manufactured in the field. It's almost distributed manufacturing a lot of respects And and you know, I think ultimately we want to have all of those pieces of manufacturing here in the u.s We need to make sure that The loan guaranteed program continues to support the growth of the solar industry We need to make sure that this section 48 investment tax credits for new manufacturing are re-established and refunded here in the united state We have to make sure that we as an industry We as a country are welcoming these industries by providing An economic opportunity to invest here in the united states rather than then to site those factories overseas So ultimately it's a combination of federal policy State and even local policy, which is attracting these manufacturers, but I am optimistic that you will see more manufacturers here in the united states as we grow the market Just like you just made a comment about that the anti dumping law that was passed by by congress also assists in regards to the application of these chinese manufactured panels and any federal state municipal buildings that are funded by successful rps is Our organization hedged this early on when we found out that jetty and solar chinese manufacturer had achieved miraculously u l approval and shipped Almost two gigawatts of solar panels archived in in warehouses here in united states And our organization very creatively found a way to export them with opix involvement To a 2000 megawatt solar project in morocco. So we we found that they were here We got them exported from the united states out of here so they couldn't flood the market So so there's a lot of things going on behind closed doors that I think are going to assist that you know the build american sell american program Established from the anti dumping law is really going to help save a lot of those companies of solar panel manufacturers That were on the brink and and and our organization is is now created an investment forum where In bc firms are now Knowing the economic models work for ppas for solar energy We're now impressing upon them to infuse capital into these solar u.s solar panel manufacturers I think that everybody has also made clear how important the the whole value chain or the supply chain is With regard to thinking about all of the components that are involved in the manufacture of all Renewable energy technologies as well as energy efficiency technologies and we now Really are out of time and so I want to encourage you to head back over to the caucus room To hear the members of congress who will be speaking during this next hour Thank you all very very much to our panel and to all of you