ANALYSTS EXPECT DROP IN AUGUST AUTO SALES
August 27, 2010 – Latewire from Manufacturing.net
August auto sales are expected to be much lower than the year-ago month, when sales were pumped up by government's Cash for Clunkers trade-in program ... continue
BERNANKE SAYS FED WILL TAKE ACTION IF ECONOMY FALTERS
August 27, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
Chairman says Fed will consider making another large-scale purchase of securities if slowing economy deteriorates significantly and signs of deflation flare ... continue
BIDEN REPORT: U.S. TO HALVE COST OF SOLAR POWER BY 2015
August 27, 2010 – UAE Weekly Energy Briefing - By Tim Sloan, AFP/Getty Images
Vice President Biden released a report Tuesday that says the United States is on track, within five years, to halve the cost of solar power -- putting it on par with grid electricity -- and slash by 70% the cost of batteries for electric vehicles.
The report says the Recovery Act's $100 billion for innovation is creating jobs and accelerating scientific and technological advances that will cut consumer costs, save lives and keep the USA competitive.
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"From the beginning, we have been a nation of discovery and innovation – and today we continue in that tradition as Recovery Act investments pave the way for game-changing breakthroughs in transportation, energy and medical research," Biden said in announcing the report. He was joined by Energy Secretary Steven Chu.
Because of the three-year Recovery Act, often criticized for its overall $787 billion pricetag, the report says the USA is on track to achieve four major innovation breakthroughs:
- Halving the cost of solar power by 2015, putting it on par with the cost of retail electricity from the grid. The cost of power from rooftop solar panels will drop from $0.21 per kWh in 2009 to $0.10 per kWh in 2015, which is equivalent to typical household electricity rates. The cost of power from utility-scale solar projects would drop from $0.13 per kWh today to $0.06 in 2015, which is equivalent to the cost of wholesale utility power.
- Cutting the cost of batteries for electric vehicles by 70% from 2009 to 2015, putting the lifetime cost of an electric vehicle on par with that of its non-electric counterpart. This means that the cost of batteries for the typical all-electric vehicle will fall from $33,000 to $10,000, and the cost of typical plug-in hybrid batteries will drop from $13,000 to $4,000. ... At those battery costs, electric-drive cars actually will be less expensive over the life of the car than similar non-electric vehicles. What's more, these investments will make these less-expensive batteries lighter and more durable.
- Doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012, a breakthrough that would not be possible without the Recovery Act. Over $23 billion of Recovery Act investments support renewable energy. Many of these investments are directly contributing to the doubling of U.S. renewable energy generation capacity from wind, solar, and geothermal by 2012. This means installing as much renewable energy generating capacity in the next three years as the U.S. had in the previous thirty.
- Bringing the cost of a personal human genome map to less than $1,000 in five years, allowing researchers to sequence 50 human genomes for the same cost as sequencing just one today. The promise of being able to compare entire human genomes is boundless. Today, with the help of the Recovery Act, the National Institutes of Health are on track to slash the cost of DNA sequencing to $1,000 per genome - fifty times cheaper than what is currently possible.
ECONOMY SLOWS AS TRADE GAP WIDENS
Nation's gross domestic product grew at 1.6 percent annual rate in April-to-June period, much slower than the first quarter's 3.7 percent pace ... continue
FACT CHECK: WHITE HOUSE CLAIMS FOR STIMULUS RELY ON ROSY ASSUMPTIONS, BEST-CASE SCENARIOS
August 27, 2010 - latimes.com FREDERIC J. FROMMER - Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration claimed this week that $100 billion invested in innovative technologies under the economic stimulus law is "transforming the American economy" by putting the nation on track for technological breakthroughs in health care, energy and transportation.
But an examination of details in the 50-page report unveiled Tuesday by Vice President Joe Biden reveals something a bit different: a collection of rosy projections that ignore many of the challenges, pitfalls and economic realities in all those areas.
A look at how the administration's claims compare to the facts:
EDITOR'S NOTE — An occasional look at government assertions and how well they adhere to the facts.
Increasing renewable energy
The claim: Thanks to the stimulus, the United States is on track to "doubling U.S. renewable energy generation capacity and U.S. renewable manufacturing capacity by 2012."
The facts: While the Recovery Act has helped increase renewable energy, the fact that it is a one-time jolt makes it difficult to project that the growth will continue for the next couple of years. George Sterzinger, executive director of the Renewable Energy Policy Project, a Washington think tank that promotes renewable energy, said the Recovery Act's cash grant program for renewable energy projects "jump-started a lot of stuff. But there's nothing beyond that."
Sterzinger added that it would be a mistake to link the growth in renewable energy generation to the growth in American-made renewable energy equipment. While the U.S. could probably meet the first goal, he said, it isn't likely to meet the second because much of the equipment is made overseas.
Robert L. Nelson, a partner at the Akin Gump law firm who co-chairs its renewable energy group, said that the manufacturing claim reminded him of a story told in the old Soviet Union. A commissar, or government official, asks a farmer how good next year's crop will be. The farmer says it will be 10 times as good as last year's. The commissar thinks to himself, "Ten times zero is zero."
Nelson said, "When you're looking at where the U.S. is starting from, doubling isn't all that meaningful a statistic."
Cutting the cost of solar power
The claim: Government stimulus money will lead to "cutting the cost of solar power in half by 2015, putting it on par with the cost of retail electricity from the grid."
The facts: That projection assumes a huge payoff from stimulus spending on technology improvements in solar energy. Nelson, who has worked in renewable energy for 25 years, called the prediction "highly unlikely," unless there is a big increase in utility-scale solar power projects.
Sterzinger said there was too much uncertainty in the world economy to make such a prediction."
Projecting from the last few years looks at the effects of a global recession that lowers material costs and a temporary glut of module manufacturing capacity," he said. "They have influenced cost but are not based on any technology innovation."
Quicker, cheaper genetic mapping
The claim: Stimulus funding is spurring National Institutes of Health research to make unraveling people's individual genetic codes, or genomes, easy and cheap enough that the number completed could "dwarf, by 50 times or so" the number so far finished.
The facts: NIH research kicked off the revolution in human genome sequencing and continues to play a crucial role, but it has lots of help today from universities, international research foundations and even private companies jockeying to sell better gene-scanning machines.
It cost about $3 billion and a decade of government research to come up with the first draft of a human genome in 2000. Last year, a Stanford University professor reported that he sequenced his genome in a week at a cost of $48,000, using a $1 million machine. Many specialists believe the price may drop to less than $1,000 in a few years. The more sequencing scientists do allows them to better explore variations that contribute to disease.
As promising as personal genome sequencing is, people need to understand that it's basically a first step. The bigger challenge, still in its infancy, is deciphering what the genetic variations mean and how that information might be harnessed for better care.
High-speed rail
The claim: "With $8 billion in funding, the Recovery Act is beginning to make high-speed rail a reality across the country." Projects selected for funds represent "strategic investments" that will yield high-speed service or lay the groundwork for future service.
The facts: The largest project is one that would connect San Francisco with Los Angeles, using trains traveling up to 220 mph. But some of the projects getting stimulus money would primarily upgrade existing freight rail tracks so they could be used for faster passenger service, reaching speeds of up to 110 mph at least part of the time — well short of the speeds in other developed countries.
Not everyone shares the White House's optimism about the prospects for high-speed rail. A recent analysis by the Government Accountability Office concluded that building high-speed rail service in the U.S. "is a difficult, multiyear effort" that hinges on financing that goes "far beyond the funds provided by the Recovery Act in a time of continuing federal and state deficits."
Another challenge for some projects will be meeting the 2017 deadline to spend Recovery Act funds, the GAO said. The capacity to manufacture passenger rail cars and other high-speed equipment exists in the U.S. But it may take years to design and test new rail cars that meet U.S. crashworthiness standards, which are different than much of the rest of the world.
Health information technology
The claim: Stimulus spending is "a significant boost" to goals of converting to electronic health records, computerized prescriptions and remote treatment of patients in hard-to-reach locations.
The facts: The effort to get doctors' offices and hospitals using electronic medical records is in its earliest stages. Economic dividends from greater efficiency and fewer costly medical mistakes could be years away.
And there's plenty of potential for glitches. People involved with the issue give the administration high marks for trying, but many do not expect Obama's goal of getting all of America's medical records computerized within five years to be met.
For one thing, about 90 percent of roughly $20 billion the stimulus legislation allocated for this purpose has yet to be spent.
Most of the stimulus money is to help doctors and hospitals defray the cost of installing computer systems, but the Health and Human Services Department only recently spelled out the capabilities that those systems will have to have in order to qualify for federal money. No systems have yet been certified as meeting the required capabilities.
Electric vehicles
The claim: The stimulus has helped produce "significant steps toward affordable electric cars that can drive 300 miles on a single charge, powered by $10 of clean electricity instead of $50 dollars of oil. Ultimately this means consumers may have the choice among a range of vehicles from a combustion vehicle with over 50 miles per gallon or an electric-drive vehicle for the same price."
The facts: While strides are being made, this vision of the future rests on assumptions that many regard as overly optimistic. Even a White House task force on the auto industry's recovery said while General Motors' extended-range plug-in hybrid, the Volt, "holds promise, it will likely be too expensive to be commercially successful in the short term." At $41,000, the Volt is about twice the price of a conventional midsize car. The price of electric cars will drop, but automakers are years from being able to sell them at the same price as cars with internal combustion engines.
Another hurdle is fuel prices, which are relatively low and provide little incentive to consumers to spend thousands of dollars extra for a hybrid or even more for a plug-in car; it would take years for the fuel savings to outweigh the higher price.
And there are questions about whether the large lithium ion batteries needed for electric cars are durable, safe and affordable enough for widespread use.
___
Associated Press writers Lauran Neergaard, Joan Lowy and Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.
UTAH'S FASTEST GROWING COMPANIES CREDIT EMPLOYEES FOR GROWTH
August 27, 2010 – UB Daily
Each year Utah Business takes a look at Utah’s fastest growing companies and on Thursday, August 26, Jason Perry, the Governor’s Chief of Staff, joined the magazine in congratulating the companies that made the Fast 50 and Emerging 8 lists for 2010. Perry addressed the group on behalf of Gov. Gary Herbert at the awards luncheon, first thanking all the businesses for their efforts.
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INC. MAGAZINE UNVEILS ITS FOURTH ANNUAL EXCLUSIVE LIST OF AMERICA'S FASTEST-GROWING PRIVATE COMPANIESTHE INC. 500 AND 5000
August 27, 2010 – Daily Pulse
In the top 500 companies ranked by their three year sales growth from 2006-2009, Utah boasted 14 firms who generated combined sales revenue of $247 million. All 81 Utah companies that made the top 5000 fastest growing companies in the country generated $1.724 billion in revenues.
THREE USTAR TECHNOLOGY COMMERCIALIZATION GRANTS AT UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY RECEIVE FUNDING
August 27, 2010 – Daily Pulse- Jacoba Poppleton, USU
Innovations targeting markets for new antifungal agents, wastewater backflow prevention and synthetic diesel were approved in the most recent USTAR Technology Commercialization Grant round at Utah State University.
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UTAH GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT LEADERS INVITED TO COLLABORATE
August 27, 2010 – UB Daily
Utah Fund of Funds 2010 Middle Market Symposium Brings Top Utah Business, Investment, Government Leaders Together for Collaborative Learning and Networking . 2010 Middle Market Symposium will be held September 8-9 in Deer Valley,Utah . Second annual event will bring together leading business owners and executives from Utah companies with revenues of at least $10 million to network, learn from one another and from top regional and national investors .
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"VERIFY UTAH," UTAH DOCUMENTED EMPLOYER REGISTRY NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AT HTTP://VERIFY.UTAH.GOV
August 27, 2010 - Business Wire
SALT LAKE CITY--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Francine A. Giani, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Commerce, announced today that "Verify Utah," the Utah Documented Employer Registry is up and running online for Utah businesses to voluntarily register that they have confirmed new employee immigration status through the federal E-Verify program.
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VOLKER PANEL APPROVES TAX REFORM REPORT
August 27, 2010 – Today in Manufacturing.net
The President's Economic Recovery and Advisory Board (PERAB) (aka the Volcker panel) today approved a report <http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/PERAB_Tax_Reform_Report_for_final_vote.pdf> outlining various options for reforming the U.S. tax system. The report, which originally was due out in December 2009, was approved by the panel during a meeting that was open to the public via live audio stream. The report outlines a number of proposals to simplify and reform the federal tax system, both on the corporate and individual side. On the corporate side, the report discusses a cut in the corporate tax rate as well as several options that could be used to broaden the base, including limiting businesses' ability to deduct interest expense. The public is invited to submit written statements to the Advisory Committee through the Public Comment tool on the PERAB website<http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/perab/comment>.
WEST CAN LEAD THE NEW ENERGY ECONOMY
August 27, 2010 – UAE Weekly Energy Briefing - By Criag Cox
The West, with its wealth of wind, solar, geothermal and other clean, renewable energy resources, is poised to lead the nation toward a new energy future. But achieving that vision will require continued collaboration and a balanced approach that offers tremendous new economic and environmental benefits.
Recently, Sen. Harry Reid, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a pilot solar project on federal land in Nevada. This is a great example of a good project in a good place. The federal agencies, state and local governments, utilities and other involved stakeholders agreed to build the project on a so-called “brownfield,” a place that has already been disturbed. In this instance, the site had been used for nuclear testing; the Department of Energy now plans to develop and test innovative solar energy projects there.
With the support of industry, conservationists and local and federal government, brownfields are also being considered as potential sites for new renewable energy projects in Arizona. Putting projects on land that has already been impacted, such as landfills, abandoned airfields and mine lands, gravel pits, trash dumps and other isolated Bureau of Land Management lands in urban areas, is an approach consistent with Salazar’s commitment to responsible energy development.
We can make smart decisions that keep renewable and transmission projects on track by doing the hard work up-front, and ensuring that everyone has a seat at the table. This avoids costly delays and lawsuits that undermine industry confidence, allows preservation of the environment and creation of new jobs, and helps to protect consumers against the costs of coming restrictions on greenhouse gas emissions.
The challenge now in Nevada is figuring out how to transmit power from the solar project to residents in a way that is cost-effective but also environmentally friendly. Again, with collaboration, it can be done.
I serve on a West-wide task force looking at transmission planning and siting issues. Since new transmission capacity is essential for most new energy development, it is becoming a priority for states nationwide.
At the table with me are federal government agencies, state agencies, conservation organizations, energy corporations and consumer groups. We agree that new transmission must be planned collaboratively and proactively, so that the fewest possible new high-voltage lines can provide the most benefits for residents while permitting the many benefits of new renewable energy production to be realized most effectively.
Salazar has proposed fast-tracking several transmission projects in Nevada, Idaho and California, and two dozen solar, wind and geothermal projects across the West. Decisions about these new clean-energy investments will have large-scale and long-lasting impacts on our environment and our economy.
The Gulf oil spill is an important reminder that we need to take steps to protect our natural resources and communities as we consider where to locate new energy developments and transmission lines. Mistakes made in haste today can compromise the economic return on our investment tomorrow.
Working together is the best way to make sure we get new renewable and transmission projects right from the start. By bringing industry together with federal and state government, conservationists and local stakeholders, that vision is becoming a reality — advancing the West’s competitive advantage as an international leader in the new energy economy.
Craig Cox is the executive director of the Interwest Energy Alliance, a nonprofit trade association that brings together industry and nongovernmental groups to facilitate clean-energy project development throughout the interior West.
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