08:06 China Govt: Energy-Efficiency Subsidies To Increase Demand-- Dow Jones
China's plan to subsidize makers of energy-efficient products will increase domestic demand by CNY400 billion-CNY500 billion (approx USD $58-73 bln) each year while reducing electricity consumption, the economic planning agency said Thursday. Under the plan, China will subsidize producers of energy-efficient home appliances, including air conditioners, refrigerators and personal computers, according to a statement posted on the National Development and Reform Commission's Web site. The NDRC didn't specify the amount Beijing will spend on the subsidies or provide a timeframe. China already offers subsidies for some goods, such as energy-efficient vehicles and lighting products. The program comes as China, a big exporter of electronic products, has been hurt by the world economic slump. Beijing has encouraged exporters to sell some of their products in the local market, and has made it a long-term goal to reduce pollution and use energy more efficiently.
08:06 Renewable energy industries ask Obama to speed loan guarantees - NY Times
NY Times reports worried that an important loan-guarantee program has ground to a standstill, renewable energy industry associations sent a letter Wednesday to President Obama urging him to speed the program along. The signers represented virtually every type of clean energy — wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, nuclear, combined heat and power, and biomass — and reflected the industry's concern that a loan guarantee program for clean energy projects approved in the stimulus package was stuck in the federal bureaucracy, as has been a similar loan program that predates the stimulus. The letter cited "disagreements" between the Department of Energy and the Office of Management and Budget over regulations to carry out the loan guarantees. Three months have gone by since the stimulus packaged passed, the letter stated, "and we have little confidence that ongoing discussions between D.O.E. and the Office of Management and Budget over these regulations will produce a satisfactory result in a timely manner."
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