Senator Coons leads bipartisan, bicameral letter to President Obama on MLPs, REITs

The sponsors of the Senate and House versions of the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act will hold a press conference on Wednesday morning to discuss a letter they and more than two-dozen of their colleagues are sending to President Obama this week calling for Master Limited Partnerships and Real Estate Investment Trusts to be a priority in the federal government’s “all of the above” energy strategy. 

Their letter is below:

December 12, 2012
The President
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

Over the past four years, the renewable energy sector has seen major reductions in technology costs, including a 75 percent decline in the price of solar panels and about a 25 percent decline in the price of wind turbines. But even as technology costs have dropped, the cost of capital required to deploy those technologies has remained stubbornly high – inflating overall project costs and presenting a major barrier to wider deployment.

Minor changes to the federal tax code could provide the renewable energy industry access to large pools of low-cost private capital. Already, oil, gas, and coal infrastructure projects raise cheap capital by selling shares of Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs), as do energy transmission projects using Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). Wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects cannot use these investment tools and, therefore, suffer from high costs of capital.

Opening MLPs and REITs to renewable energy would level the playing field by giving renewables the same access to low-cost capital enjoyed by oil, gas, coal and transmission infrastructure projects. Small tweaks to the tax code could attract billions of dollars in private sector investment to renewable energy deployment, reduce the cost of renewable electricity by up to one third, and dramatically broaden the base of eligible investors. In fact, bipartisan legislation has already been introduced in both the House and the Senate (H.R. 6437 and S. 3275 respectively) to allow renewable energy projects to raise low-cost capital through the MLP structure. In the case of REITs, a straight forward ruling by the Treasury Department would allow access to this investment vehicle for renewable energy projects.

We strongly support moving America towards energy independence using an “all of the above” energy strategy. Renewable energy can play a critical role in accomplishing that goal. We ask that your administration move to unlock capital markets for broad-scale investment in renewable energy and help move our country towards cleaner, more efficient energy. We stand ready to work with you to accomplish this goal.

Sincerely,

Senator Coons (D-DE)
Senator Moran (R-KS)
Representative Poe (R-TX-2)
Representative Thompson (D-CA-1)
Representative Welch (D-VT)
Representative Carney (D-DE)
Representative McCollum (D-MN-4)
Representative Moran (D-VA-8)
Representative Garamendi (D-CA-10)
Representative Schakowsky (D-IL-9)
Representative Clay (D-MO-1)
Senator Begich (D-AK)
Senator Harkin (D-IA)
Representative Kissell (D-NC-8)
Senator Murkowski (R-AK)
Senator Bennet (D-CO)
Senator Tester (D-MT)
Representative Lujan (D-NM-3)
Senator Brown (R-MA)
Representative Grijalva (D-AZ-07)
Representative Capps (D-CA-23)
Representative Connolly (D-VA-11)
Senator Franken (D-MN)
Representative Matsui (D-CA-5)
Senator Shaheen (D-NH)
Representative Watt (D-NC-12)
Representative Carson (D-IN-7)
Representative McIntyre (D-NC-7)
Representative Carnahan (D-MO-3)

Senator Coons to help introduce Clean Energy Standard Act

Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, will join several of his Senate colleagues and leaders in the energy field for a press conference on Thursday to roll out a bill that aims to set strategic, practical clean energy standards on the largest utilities.

The Clean Energy Standards Act of 2012, which comes with no cost to the federal government, has three major objectives:

• To promote a diverse set of sources of low- and zero carbon electricity generation in the U.S.
• To drive clean energy innovation and American ingenuity  
• To do so simply, transparently, predictably, and cost-effectively with a long-term market signal.

Senate Energy Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) is the lead sponsor of the bill. 

The press conference will occur a day after both senators delivered remarks supporting federal investments in the development of innovative clean energy at the third annual Department of Energy ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit.

Video, audio, and photos of Chris’ remarks will be posted to the website after the press conference.

Click here to learn more about Chris’ work advocating for clean energy. 

Senate analyzes global energy trends

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources held an oversight hearing today on the U.S. and global energy outlook for 2012. Each year, the committee holds a similar hearing to focus on recent trends in energy production and consumption in the U.S. and around the world.

“While Americans have become more aware of their energy consumption, we still have a long way to go to create a clean energy world,” Senator Coons, a member of the Energy Committee, said. “I’m encouraged by a number of the findings that were discussed in today’s hearing and will continue to work with my colleagues on the Committee to champion clean energy and energy efficiency, which will not only boost our economy and create jobs, but also increase our national security and improve our environment.”

Some of today’s noteworthy domestic findings include:

• The energy intensity of the U.S. economy is expected to decline by 42 percent between 2010 and 2035
• Oil imports, as a share of total U.S. oil consumption,  are expected to decline from 49 percent in 2010 to 36 percent in 2035, with the decline attributable to:
  
  • U.S. natural gas prices are expected to remain below $5 per thousand cubic feet
  • U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from energy-related sources are expected to remain below 2005 levels throughout the forecast period

Key findings of the latest World Energy Outlook include:

• China and India together will account for 50 percent of global energy demand growth between 2010 and 2035
• Renewable energy, followed by natural gas, will meet much of the energy demand growth over the forecast period.  In contrast, almost half of the energy demand growth between 2000 and 2010 was met with coal
• While the U.S., Europe, and Japan will all be less reliant on imported oil in 2035, China and India will be sharply more reliant on imported oil than they are today
• If the world uses less nuclear power than expected, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, demand for coal and natural gas will increase, and greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector will also increase

A panel of four witnesses testified at the oversight hearing: The Energy Information Administration’s Acting Administrator and Deputy Administrator Dr. Howard Gruenspecht; the International Energy Agency’s Deputy Director Ambassador Rickard Jones; PFC Energy’s Partner and Head of Financial Advisory Mr. Roger Diwan; and Cambridge Energy Research Associates’ Managing Director Mr. Jim Burkhard.

Click here to learn more about Chris’ work to advance clean energy initiatives.

Advancing clean energy through solar power

While Capitol Hill continues to be the center of continuing debate regarding the way forward for our economy, scores of Americans in Delaware and across the country are taking decisive measures to advance clean energy solutions through solar power.

In order to reengage and revitalize our workforce, and facilitate a long-term sustainable energy industry, the United States must invest in clean alternative energy sources. Over the last year, solar power has emerged as one the fastest growing industries in America.  According to the Solar Foundation, a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of global energy needs through greater use of solar energy technologies, more than 100,000 jobs have been created within the solar industry. Between August 2010 and August 2011, an estimated 6,735 new solar jobs were created, accounting for an industry growth of 6.8 percent. 

Delaware has taken an active role in bolstering the growing solar industry sector. SolarDock, a Delaware-based solar company, has expanded 400 percent since 2007 and boasts clients that include Fortune 500 businesses, manufacturing and warehouse facilities, schools and universities, retail centers and medical facilities.

The rise of the solar industry has translated into lower unit costs and greater accessibility for consumers.  According to the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab’s “Tracking the Sun IV” report the average cost of installing residential and commercial solar photovoltaic systems in the U.S. dropped a record 17 percent in 2010, and it continued to drop an additional 11 percent through the first-half of 2011.

Delaware is also on the leading edge of solar technology research.  The University of Delaware’s Solar Energy Program continues to build upon groundbreaking research in the efficiency of solar cells.  In September, UD’s solar program was successful in winning $7.8 million in research funding through a recent Department of Energy’s solar Sunshot Awards announcement.

Just as Delaware has remained on the forefront regarding clean energy, Chris has remained a staunch advocate of investing in innovative, efficient, and ecologically friendly pathways forward in energy development.  In his role as a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, he is committed to finding practical ways to incentivize investments in clean energy projects and boost commercialization of alternative energy industries. 

To learn more about Chris’ energy priorities and his work on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, click here.

What We're Reading: Keeping cool under a green roof

From Tuesday’s News Journal: Following Senator Coons’ participation in a briefing on “cool roofs” at the Environmental and Energy Study Institute this past Thursday, many of us on staff have been thinking excitedly about the future of urban energy conservation and the potential we have right over our heads.  Wade Malcolm at The News Journal explores the emerging “green roof” movement in an article today about the University of Delaware’s first green roof, which covers the Colburn Laboratory and was designed and planted by students, faculty, and staff. 

On a warm fall day in 2008, Annette Shine sat in a classroom teaching a course she likes to call “how not to blow up a chemical plant.”  Her group of University of Delaware chemical engineering students struggled to learn the difficult material in a sweaty, 86-degree room.  The building's ventilation system had been switched over to heat for the winter, so forget about air conditioning. Shine opened a window, but construction nearby made too much noise. So she and her students treated it as an engineering problem, and eventually, they came up with a solution.  Grow a garden on the roof.

This fall, people looking over a one-story wing jutting out from the south side of Colburn Laboratory will see an array of colorful plants covering the flat tar roof.  The 14,000 square feet of small sedums planted in trays with 4 to 8 inches of soil will be UD's first “green roof.”  “There was no good way to cool the building if it got hot certain times of the year,” said Shine, an associate professor. “And it's a popular classroom even though it can be uncomfortable, so this will help.”  Rooftop vegetation has sprouted on campuses across the country, from community colleges to Ivy League institutions.

…

The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Laboratory, currently under construction on Academy Street, is being built to accommodate a green roof. Nelson hopes the visibility of the Colburn Lab project will inspire more greening elsewhere in the university. “We wanted the first one to be in a visible place to kind of market it to the rest of campus,” [assistant professor of landscape design Chad] Nelson said.

The process was not without its challenges. It required a structural engineering study to ensure the roof wouldn't collapse under the weight of the garden, and facilities personnel wanted assurances that the plants would not become a maintenance hassle. Shine credited the students for helping her through the long process. “Chad and I provided continuity, but the students did a lot of the legwork,” she said.

Read the full story in The News Journal.  To learn more about Chris’ work as a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, click here.  

Incentivizing offshore wind power development

Senator Coons joined Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), and a bipartisan group of original cosponsors in introducing the Incentivizing Offshore Wind Power Act this week. This legislation would encourage the development of offshore wind projects by extending the current investment tax credit for offshore wind power beyond the current 2012 deadline.

Chris spoke highly of the burgeoning industry and its potential impact on the country:  “An investment in offshore wind energy is an investment in our country's economic future and national security,” Chris said. “I've seen the opportunities from the NRG Bluewater Wind project off Delaware's coast and understand the hurdles this company and many other developers are facing to get their projects off the ground.  However, I’m encouraged by this bipartisan legislation to expand offshore wind energy through targeted tax incentives.  By tapping the offshore wind energy sector, we are further ensuring our country remains a leader in clean, renewable energy development that will create a wealth of new high-tech jobs in the region.”

Offshore wind offers enormous potential for producing clean domestic energy and quality, middle-class jobs in areas located close to population centers along Delaware’s coast. Our coastal waters contain a vast, untapped resource for clean, domestic power, as wind blows faster and more uniformly at sea than it does on land.  According to the University of Delaware, wind off the Atlantic Coast has the potential to generate enough power to replace about 300 coal plants and to support the energy needs of nine states from Massachusetts to North Carolina. 

In May 2007, NRG Bluewater Wind entered into an agreement with Delmarva Power to construct a wind park off the Delaware coast, making the state one of the pioneers in the nation in wind energy technology deployment.  NRG Bluewater Wind has estimated it will create 1,200 jobs in Delaware during the design and construction phase and approximately 300 jobs for operation and maintenance throughout the life of the project.  The company’s proposed offshore wind park would produce enough energy to power 100,000 homes across the state.

“Two hundred years ago the trade winds first brought commerce to this country,” Chris has said last November about the NRG Bluewater Wind project, “and today we're harnessing those same trade winds to create green energy in Delaware and along the Atlantic Coast, an investment that will play a central role in our continuing economy recovery.”

For more information about Chris’ work on renewable energy, click here.  

Energy and Natural Resources hearings: Energy efficiency and rare earth minerals

On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, of which Senator Coons is a member, held two hearings on closely related issues important to our long-term security and economic prosperity.  

The morning hearing focused on energy efficiency and examined two bills Chris has cosponsored.  The first one, the Reducing Federal Energy Dollars Act (S. 963), was sponsored by Senator Tom Carper and would help improve the energy efficiency of federal agencies and the government buildings and facilities that house their offices.  The second is the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S. 1000).  That bill would strengthen building codes, set new efficiency standards for appliances, encourage more efficient manufacturing, and require certain federal investments in energy efficiency..  Together, these bills will help increase our use of renewable energy. 

Delaware is already at the forefront of clean energy technology development.  By partnering government and the private sector, making strategic investments in education, infrastructure, and research, Delaware is becoming a regional center for high-tech and clean energy innovation. Chris has already sponsored efforts similar to this in Delaware, instituting energy audits to identify potential gains in efficiency at New Castle County buildings among other conservation measures. 

In a second hearing Thursday afternoon, Chris and other Committee members listened to expert testimony regarding rare earth minerals, their critical position in the economy, and the need to secure our access to these increasingly critical resources.  Today, despite controlling less than half of the estimated global reserves of rare earth minerals, China produces nearly all of them.  A monopoly by any one nation over the production of rare earth minerals has serious long-term strategic implications, particularly because certain rare earth minerals are used in the production of clean energy technology components, such as wind turbines.  This will have significant implications for Delaware high-tech manufacturers over the long term. 

Chris has spoken frequently about the importance of alternative energy research, development, and deployment, which he cites as critical not only for our long-term economic competitiveness but also to Delaware’s economy.  He believes that we need to reduce our dependence on foreign imports of fossil fuels and develop an array of clean, domestic energy technologies.  Increasing energy efficiency is a central component of this strategy because the savings represent a large domestic source of energy.  By pursuing a combined strategy of energy efficiency and a secure supply of key manufacturing resources, we can help foster and sustain the kind of innovation-based economic growth and job creation that will enable us to continue competing in the global marketplace and win the future. 

To learn more about Chris’s work on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, click here. 

Senator Coons offers support for DoE Office of Science

Senator Coons today joined several of his colleagues in signing onto a letter to the Senate Energy and Water (E&W) Appropriations Committee in support of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science.

"The DOE Office of Science has been integral to the development of several innovative technologies," Senator Coons said, "including MRI machines and PET scans, leading supercomputing research, new composite materials for military hardware and motor vehicles, medical and industrial isotopes, drop-in biofuel technologies, DNA sequencing technologies, more aerodynamic and fuel efficient long-haul trucks, electric vehicle battery technology, an artificial retina, newer and safer nuclear reactor designs, 3-D models of pathogens for vaccine development, tools to manufacture nanomaterials, and better sensors and detectors for biological, chemical, and radioactive materials.”

The DOE Office of Science also supports a first-rate workforce of research scientists, engineers, and support personnel who work as teams on long-term solutions to some of the nation’s greatest challenges. Moreover, it plays a unique and critical role in the education of the next generation of American scientific talent, including thousands of graduate students and postdoctoral researchers at hundreds of U.S. institutions who depend upon DOE Office of Science support and facilities for their research and training. For Fiscal Year 2010, the Office of Science funded 17 research projects at The University of Delaware totaling nearly $4 million.

Support for the DOE Office of Science is consistent with Chris’ leadership in using the best possible science to solve the nation’s most pressing problems and to boost the U.S. innovation economy to compete in the 21st century.

Delaware Children's Museum gets new solar array

WILMINGTON — Senator Coons headed up to the roof of the Delaware Children’s Museum on Friday to help install SolarDock panels — a unique patented, completely non-roof penetrating commercial racking system. As a member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Chris has emerged as an outspoken advocate for research and investment in clean energy technology.

The company’s headquarters are located in Wilmington. It is recognized among leading integrators, installers and distributors as the next generation in flat-roof and ground-mount solar systems.  The company has grown 400 percent since 2007 with clients that include Fortune 500 businesses, manufacturing and warehouse facilities, schools and universities, retail centers and medical facilities.

Chris joined Governor Jack Markell and Delaware Children Museum’s Executive Director Julie Van Blarcom for the installation.

Chris answers new batch of constituent correspondence

In the second installment of Senator Coons' "Correspondence from the Commute" video series, Chris responds to constituents' questions about the energy efficiency of light bulbs, the Defense of Marriage Act, the Republicans' reckless budget proposal, education reform, high-speed rail and the Blue Rocks' home opener.

Chris recorded this batch of videos last Thursday morning, aboard his Acela train from Wilmington.

“This month I heard from a lot of constituents concerned about the reckless cuts in the Republicans’ budget proposal,” Senator Coons said. “While Congress must tackle long-term deficit reduction that examines both expenditures and revenues, the House proposal would gut programs that are important to a lot of Delawareans, and they’re speaking up about it. I genuinely appreciate that feedback and hope Delawareans continue to advocate for the programs and projects that are most important to them.” 

Videos released today include responses to:

• Keith from New Castle about the BULB Act and energy-efficient light bulbs
• John from Wyoming, Del. about the Defense of Marriage Act
• Mary Jane from Milton about proposed cuts to the Corporation for National and Community Service
• Brandon from Newark about high-speed rail
• Sara from Newport about the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the value of museums to students’ learning
• Dave from New Castle about the Blue Rocks’ home opener