steven chu

Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $17.1 million loan guarantee has been finalized for the AES Westover facility. The loan guarantee will support the construction of a 20 megawatt (MW) energy storage system using advanced lithium-ion batteries. The AES project, located in Johnson City, New York, will help provide a more stable...[read more]

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a $1.45 billion loan guarantee has been finalized for Abengoa Solar Inc.'s Solana project, the world's largest parabolic trough concentrating solar plant. Located near Gila Bend, Arizona, the 250-megawatt (MW) project is the first large-scale solar plant in the United States capable of...[read more]

In a previous post on the ANS Nuclear Cafe, I discussed how a Clean Energy Standard (CES) that included nuclear energy would be more effective (as well as more fair) than a portfolio standard that includes only “renewable” energy sources. There have been encouraging signs recently that this CES concept is gaining traction in Washington....[read more]

A top level summit draws a crowd, but did it accomplish anything? The period prior to the start of a new Congress, following a mid-term election, is ideal for interest groups of all persuasions to hold “summits” to get their ideas into the legislative mix. So it was for the nuclear energy industry which gathered under the umbrella of the...[read more]

By Daniel GoldfarbOriginally Published at Americans for Energy LeadershipJust days after Secretary Chu's declaration that America is facing a "Sputnik moment", more proof continues to surface of China's widening lead in the clean energy race. Ernst and Young's quarterly "country attractiveness" index has confirmed that not only is China...[read more]

When it comes to innovation, Americans don’t take a back seat to anyone – and we certainly won’t start now.  From wind power to nuclear reactors to high speed rail, China and other countries are moving aggressively to capture the lead. Given that challenge, and given the enormous economic opportunities in clean energy, it’s...[read more]

U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced a conditional commitment to provide a partial guarantee for a $1.3 billion loan in support of the world's largest wind farm to date. The loan will finance the Caithness Shepherds Flat wind project, an 845 megawatt wind-powered electrical generating facility located in eastern Oregon...[read more]

Financing may dry up if nations don’t act soon By Dan Yurman On September 20, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu brought a suitcase full of  carrots and sticks to the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Getting his luggage through airport security and customs was easy. The hard part is getting the other...[read more]

I posted yesterday the news account of the White House decision to put solar panels back on the White House.  I had thought that the WH spinmeisters might not want to do this for fear  of being associated with the presidency of Jimmy Carter, which first put up solar panels before Reagan tore them down.  But in fact most...[read more]

The Obama administration has announced plans to install solar panels on the White House. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Council of Environmental Quality Chair Nancy Sutley made the announcement this morning during a federally-sponsored GreenGov Symposium at George Washington University.[read more]

He tells Sec. Chu U.S. energy policy is “stupid” You don’t get harsh words, almost a temper tantrum, from the CEO of a firm that is doing well. When the financials are deep in the black, what you get are corporate PR statements with all the excitement of a stack of oatmeal cookies. Current stockholders and future investors line up for...[read more]

This is from US President Obama's interview in Rolling Stone: When I ask him [Stephen Chu] how we are going to solve this problem internationally, what he'll tell you is that we can get about a third of this done through efficiencies and existing technologies, we can get an additional chunk through some sort of pricing in carbon, but...[read more]

Rendering of Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster at Navy Yard"I'm a bit like Ryan Howard," Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter told the crowd at the Navy Yard. "I get to bat clean-up and take us onto the championship." The Mayor's reference to the city's major league baseball team seemed a good analogy for a championship he has long...[read more]

Energy Sec. Chu calls for support three short-listed new reactor projects Congress will get a pair of requests for new energy loan guarantees of $9 billion each – one for nuclear energy and one for renewable energy technologies including solar and wind. The move comes as the gulf oil spill continues to spiral out of control bringing...[read more]

Solar research received a nice boost from Energy Secretary Steven Chu on Earth Day. The Department of Energy allocated $200 million for research and development of solar power and a variety of water power technologies. The funding is aimed less at discovering new innovations and more toward improving processes to accelerate the...[read more]