Rep. Glenn Thompson's statement on President's upcoming visit to Penn State

January 28, 2011 5:31 PM

Washington, D.C. – Today, the White House announced that President Obama plans to visit Pennsylvania State University Park on Wednesday, February 2nd, to discuss America’s energy policies and the important work of the Energy Innovation Hub. In response to the visit, Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5), issued the following statement:

"I welcome President Obama’s planned visit to the Fifth Congressional District and his recent comments regarding American competitiveness and energy security. Pennsylvania was the birthplace of the oil industry over 150 years ago, is home to the world’s largest natural gas play, vast natural resources, and many pioneers in energy research. The families and businesses of the Fifth District have lead our country in domestic energy production through developments in Marcellus Shale natural gas, which will help power America for generations. This is one of the many reasons for the creation of Pennsylvania’s Energy Innovation Hub. I am hopeful during his visit that Mr. Obama will touch on the importance of domestic energy production, especially oil, coal, and natural gas – each just as critical to any credible, long-term energy plan – and what steps the Administration is taking to increase our domestic energy supply.” – Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson

Congressman Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson was first elected to the represent Pennsylvania’s Fifth Congressional District in 2008. In the House of Representatives, Thompson currently serves on the House Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Education and Labor Committees. In addition to these committee assignments, Thompson was recently appointed Chairman of the Agriculture Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy & Forestry with jurisdiction over over soil, water, and resource conservation, energy and bio-based energy production, rural electrification and forestry in general.

Environmental Justice Small Grants Program

Description

The Environmental Justice Small Grants Program (EJSG) is designed to provide funding for eligible applicants for projects that address local environmental and public health issues within an affected community. The EJSG Program is a multi-statute program designed to help communities understand and address their exposure to multiple environmental harms and risks.

Link to Full Announcement

ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE SMALL GRANTS PROGRAM

Departments of Energy and Commerce Announce New Partnership to Further Cooperation on Renewable Energy Modeling and Forecasting

WASHINGTON - The Department of Energy and the Department of Commerce today announced a new agreement to further collaboration between the agencies on renewable energy modeling and weather forecasting, which will help enable the nation's renewable energy resources to be used more effectively by business and entrepreneurs. The Memorandum of Understanding signed by Acting Under Secretary of Energy Cathy Zoi and Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., will encourage the two agencies to work together to develop and disseminate weather and climate information needed for renewable energy technologies that are dependent on short-term weather and longer-term climate trends. Better information on weather patterns and improved modeling of the variability of the wind, sun, water, ocean currents and other sources of renewable energy will ultimately increase the country's ability to efficiently and reliably integrate renewable energy into the electrical grid.

The agreement announced today builds on reports from both agencies that recognize the need for improved meteorological, oceanic, and climatological observations, modeling, and forecasting to expand the efficient use of renewable energy sources and further integrate these energy sources into the U.S. energy system. For example, DOE's 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report identifies several key research areas, such as improved wind forecasting techniques, that would enhance electrical grid system operations. NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan states that NOAA will develop integrated environmental information services for the unique needs of weather-sensitive sectors, including solar, wind, and oceanographic information critical to the development, production, and transmission of renewable energy.

The partnership will help renewable energy system designers, operators, and electric power system administrators in improving the cost effectiveness and reliability of weather-dependent renewable energy technologies. The collaboration includes a working group from DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that will identify areas for continued focus and research and help lay out next steps for improving the efficiency of renewable resources and better integrating renewable energy sources onto the electrical grid.

The group will produce an Action Plan in the coming months that will address:

• Improving renewable resource characterization models and methodologies for optimizing system reliability and performance
• Advancing meteorological and oceanic forecasting technologies, models and methodologies
• Defining national weather and oceanic monitoring systems needed to support renewable energy
• Predicting climate effects on renewable energy resources
• Coordinating both public and private sector contributions to addressing renewable resource needs.

Under the partnership, both agencies agree to provide the necessary resources to coordinate or carry out the designated tasks outlined in the Action Plan.

To learn more about wind as a renewable energy source, please visit DOE's Wind Program website.

Read more on NOAA's renewable energy program.

View the full text of the Memorandum of Understanding (pdf - 316kb).

Five Star Program

Administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation with the support of public and private partner organizations and corporations, the Five Star Restoration Program seeks to develop community capacity to sustain local natural resources for future generations by providing modest financial assistance to diverse local partnerships for wetland, riparian, and coastal habitat restoration

To be eligible for funding, projects must include on-the-ground wetland, riparian, in stream, and/ or coastal habitat restoration; integrate meaningful education into the restoration project either through community outreach, participation, and/or integration with K-12 environmental curriculum; and result in measurable ecological, educational, and community benefits.

In 2011, NFWF anticipates the following funding will be made available by program partners:

The United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Water will provide approximately $200,000 in total funding for projects in the United States, with a focus on regions not served by other funders.

Southern Company and its operating companies (Georgia Power, Alabama Power, Gulf Power, and Mississippi Power) will provide approximately $200,000 in total funding to support projects in the Southern Company service area (areas of Georgia, Alabama, the Florida Panhandle, and southeast Mississippi).

FedEx EarthSmart Outreach will provide approximately $375,000 in total funding to support urban conservation and restoration in the following eleven metropolitan areas: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, Memphis, Newark, Pittsburgh, San Francisco/Oakland, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.

The Five Star Restoration Program is open to any public or private entity that can receive grants. While partnerships are encouraged to include state and federal agencies, those entities may not serve as the grantee unless the community partners demonstrate that the state or federal agency is best suited to coordinate the community-based project.

Grants will vary in size, duration, and scale. In general, smaller scale, one-year projects will be eligible for grants of $10,000 to $25,000 each, while two-year, larger scale projects will be eligible for grants of $10,000 to $40,000 each. A minimum 1:1 match of cash or in-kind/contributed goods and services to funds requested is expected.

Visit the NFWF Web site for the complete Request for Proposals and application procedures.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

The Sustainable Forestry Initiative, an independent, charitable organization dedicated to promoting sustainable forest management, has announced its 2011 Request for Proposals for Conservation and Community Partnerships Grants.

The SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant Program is designed to foster partnerships between organizations interested in improving forest management in the United States and Canada and responsible procurement globally.

In 2011, the initiative will award up to $200,000 in new funding for projects that address current topics of importance to the SFI program, such as the role of certified forests in emerging bioenergy markets; avoidance of controversial sources such as illegal logging in the global supply chain; improved wildlife habitat management and conservation of biodiversity; and community-based projects such as those that address management of culturally important lands. Last year, SFI awarded nine grants totaling $307,500, including some multiyear projects that brought the total commitment to $675,000 over three years.

This year's funding program also features a new category to support smaller projects such as forestry education programs for children and green building projects for low-income residents. This funding category will provide five to seven grants of up to $5,000 each.

Proposed projects must be collaborative (involve more than one project partner) and include an SFI Program Participant, SFI Implementation Committee, or other SFI-affiliated organization as a partner. The lead organization for each project must be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) (or Canadian equivalent) organization. Colleges and universities are eligible to apply as lead organizations.

The 2011 RFP and the latest information about the SFI Conservation and Community Partnerships Grant program are available at the SFI Web site.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

TogetherGreen grants

[From Philanthropy News Digest]

TogetherGreen, a program of the National Audubon Society and Toyota, is accepting applications for its Innovation Grants program, which provides support for creative and ambitious projects that engage diverse communities in finding innovative solutions to environmental challenges.

Innovation Grants fund projects that conserve or restore habitat and protect species, improve water quality or quantity, and reduce the threat of global warming; engage new and diverse audiences in conservation actions; and inspire and use innovative approaches and technologies to engage people and achieve conservation results.

To be eligible for an Innovation Grant, the applying organization must constitute a branch, office, or other operational unit of the National Audubon Society (including national or state offices and field units such as Audubon centers and sanctuaries), or be an Audubon certified chapter or Audubon certified chapter-run center or sanctuary. Independent Audubon entities that wish to participate in a cooperative arrangement with the National Audubon Society for this purpose are also eligible. (Organizations that are interested in applying but are not part of the Audubon network should contact the Innovation Grants program manager.) Applicants must be 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charities and have a commitment from at least one non-Audubon partner organization to serve as a collaborator.

In 2011, the program will award at least forty grants, ranging from $5,000 to $80,000 each, with an average grant size of $25,000. In addition, the program will be offering three to five planning grants of $5,000 or less each.

Visit the TogetherGreen Web site for complete program information and application requirements.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Dept. of Energy Hosting Free Wind Power Webinars

[via Inhabitat] The US Department of Energy is kicking off the New Year on January 19, by starting up their free 2011 Wind Powering America webinar series. The series will cover all aspects of wind power in the United States and starts at 1 p.m. — it will take place the third Wednesday of every month. You can find log in info for the webinars on the Wind Powering America website. Don’t fret if you can’t make these exciting talks about wind financing funding options, small community wind, wind workforce development initiatives and a host of other other windy topics. The webinars are posted in full after they take place on the webinar archive page — they’ve even got a full backlog of last years talks if you’ve got some time on your hands.

Marcellus Environmental Fund of Western PA

The Pittsburgh-based Colcom Foundation, which focuses its national and regional philanthropic programs on environmental sustainability, natural resource preservation, land and water conservation, and efforts to establish a sustainable population, has announced the launch of the $1 million Marcellus Environmental Fund to help address the accelerating environmental impact of shale drilling in western Pennsylvania.

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations are invited to submit grant applications for projects designed to address the impact of shale drilling through public education, community engagement, best practices, baseline data collection, ongoing monitoring, land owner guidance, and collaborative projects.

Grant applications will be accepted until January 14, 2011 for grants to be awarded in February 2011, and until March 14, 2011 for grants to be awarded in May 2011.

Visit the Colcom Foundation for complete program guidelines and application requirements.

Contact:
Link to Complete RFP

Energy Efficiency tax incentives

[From ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy News] Washington, D.C. - Last month, President Obama signed into law a tax package that contains modifications and extensions to energy efficiency tax incentives for homeowners, home builders, and appliance manufacturers. Information on all of these energy efficiency tax incentives are accessible on the Tax Incentives Assistance Project (TIAP) Web site so that consumers and businesses can take full advantage of changed federal tax credits for energy-saving technologies and practices.

The new legislation includes extensions and revisions to three existing federal energy efficiency tax incentives: for manufacturers of energy-efficient appliances, a one-year extension and revisions; for new homes builders, coverage for 2010 and 2011; and for home retrofits, a one-year extension but with significant modifications from the 2010 incentives.

For appliances, the tax credits go to the manufacturer, but should be visible to consumers by reducing the cost of qualifying equipment. In 2011, the qualifying levels have been increased, and many of the incentives modified. The credits cover residential refrigerators, clothes washers, and dishwashers. In most cases, the credits are available for the very top efficiency products, typically levels more stringent than will qualify for ENERGY STAR®. For refrigerators, the incentives are $150 for a refrigerator that uses 30% less energy than federal minimum efficiency standards and $200 for a refrigerator that uses 35% less energy. For clothes washers, the incentive is either $175 for units that moderately exceed ENERGY STAR or $225 for the very highest levels of efficiency on the market. For dishwashers, the credits range from $25 for a unit that meets the July 2011 ENERGY STAR-level of 307 kWh per year to $75 for a unit that uses less than 280 kWh per year.

For new homes, the credit is unchanged from 2009 - a $2,000 incentive to the home builder for homes that use 50% less energy than a home built to the national model building code, and a $1,000 incentive for only manufactured homes if the home either meets ENERGY STAR or uses 30% less energy than national model codes.

For existing homes, there are several changes in 2011. For example, in 2011, a homeowner interested in purchasing energy-efficient heating or cooling equipment can only receive a $150 tax credit, down significantly from the credit for 30% of the cost of the equipment that was available in 2009-2010. The efficiency level of eligible equipment is generally unchanged from 2009-2010, with the exception of boilers and oil furnaces, which have to meet a higher level of efficiency.

Another example of the 2011 changes is the incentives for windows, which have become less generous but easier to qualify for. In 2011, these tax credits are limited to 10% of the material cost, up to $200. The efficiency requirement, however, has been changed to ENERGY STAR windows, a more lenient eligibility level, especially for homeowners in the South.

The TIAP Web site has additional details on the changes to the building envelope, heating and cooling equipment, new homes builder, appliance manufacturer, and other federal energy tax incentives that were extended in December. In addition, a tax incentives fact sheet with detailed information about each of the incentives for 2010 and for 2011 is also available.

Lowe's launches online voting for environmental grants

Lowe's and the Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation have announced the launch of an online giving campaign through which a total of $1 million will be awarded to four environmental organizations.

The four participating organizations — American Forests, Keep America Beautiful, the National Park Foundation, and Water.org — will each automatically receive a $100,000 grant. The remaining $600,000 will be distributed based on the percentage of votes each group receives at Lowe's Web site and on the company's Facebook page. The voting period, which opened on January 9, will close on January 21, and the final percentages for each charity will be posted on the Lowe's site by midnight on January 26.

"Lowe's wanted to start the New Year by giving back to organizations that share our commitment to sustainability and helping people in need," said Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation board chair Larry D. Stone. "Each of the four charities we selected provides a great service in its own way, and we encourage our customers and anyone committed to the environment to help us decide how to best distribute the remaining grant dollars."

“Lowe's Charitable and Educational Foundation Donating a Total of $1 Million to Four Environmental Charities Through Online Campaign.” Lowe's Companies Press Release 1/07/11.

PA Community Conservation Partnerships Program grants

 The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (Department) announces the 2011 open application period for the Community Conservation Partnerships Program (C2P2) Grants administered by the Bureau of Recreation and Conservation (Bureau). The primary open application period will officially begin January 3, 2011, and end at 4 p.m. on April 20, 2011. Depending on the funding source, eligible applicants include Commonwealth municipalities and appropriate nonprofit organizations.

 All applications must be submitted electronically through the Environmental eGrants System available at https://www.grants.dcnr.state.pa.us/index.aspx. No paper, faxed or e-mailed applications will be accepted. All grant information, project guidance documents, program policies and application instructions are available online at http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/brc/grants/. For assistance with the Environmental eGrants System, call the Department's Grants Customer Service Center at (800) 326-7734 or e-mail DCNR-Grants@state.pa.us.

 Grant assistance from the Department helps communities in this Commonwealth and organizations plan, acquire and develop recreation, park and trail facilities and conserve open space. The Bureau administers the C2P2 Program which combines several State and Federal funding sources into one grant program.

 Examples of eligible projects include community recreation projects to develop and rehabilitate parks and recreation facilities; open space conservation projects including purchase of lands in fee or with a conservation easement to protect critical habitat; developing greenways and trails; purchasing trail maintenance equipment; river conservation activities like fishing and boating access along river corridors; and partnership projects that provide education and training on natural resource, recreation, parks, greenways and trails.

 In 2011, the Department Grant Program will focus on making grant awards that create or enhance this Commonwealth's recreation and conservation infrastructure—supporting sustainable communities, economic development, healthy lifestyles and creating jobs. Specific priorities for grant projects are: park and recreational facilities that demonstrate green principles and connect children to healthy recreation and the outdoors; trails; river access projects and projects identified by regional partnerships including Conservation Landscapes Initiatives, Statewide Significant Greenways and Heritage Areas. For more information on many of these priorities visit www.paoutdoorrecplan.com.

 During January and February, free grants workshops are scheduled at the following locations throughout this Commonwealth, from 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. focusing on the Department's greening emphasis, how to develop a competitive and ready to go project and changes to the 2011 C2P2 Grants Program:

January 11, 2011—Bucks County Community College, Newtown (Snow Date: January, 12, 20110

January 14, 2011—Montgomery County Safety Training Center, Conshohocken (Snow Date: February 18, 2011)

February 1, 2011—Franklin Park Borough Activity Center, Sewickley (Snow Date: February 15, 2011)

February 3, 2011—Luzerne County Community College, Edu. Conf. Ctr., Nanticoke (Snow Date: February 4, 2011)

February 8, 2011—Clarion University, James Gemmell Student Complex, Clarion (Snow Date: February 16, 2011)

February 10, 2011—Boalsburg Volunteer Fire Company, Boalsburg (Snow Date: February 17, 2011)

 To register for these workshops, go to http://www. dcnr.state.pa.us/calendar under the Workshops-Grants Calendar. In the event of inclement weather, contact Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society (PRPS) at (814) 234-4272, and/or check the workshop status on the Department's Calendar at www.dcnr. state.pa.us/calendar, or the PRPS web site at www.prps. org/index.htm.

 Persons with a disability who wish to submit an application and require assistance should contact Darrel Siesholtz at (717) 787-7672 to accommodate their needs. Voice/TTY users should call (800) 654-5984.

JOHN QUIGLEY, 
Secretary

DOE conference

Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the opening of registration for the 12th Annual Small Business Conference & Expo being held from May 10-12, 2011, in Kansas City, Missouri. The conference will feature educational workshops, an Exhibit Hall with over 200 exhibitors and sponsors, as well as sessions where Department procurement officers will help match businesses with opportunities within DOE.

The Obama administration and the Department of Energy have continued to reinforce the important role small business plays in strengthening America's economy. The goal of the conference is to increase the access small business has to government contract and partnership opportunities.

The 12th Annual DOE Small Business Conference & Expo provides an opportunity for Small Business owners, large companies and minority education institutions to network and gain access to federal, state and local government agencies. As the largest civilian contracting agency within the Federal government, DOE has allocated billions of dollars in contracts to small businesses.

This year participants have the opportunity to take advantage of early online registration. Last year's conference attracted over 1,500 people. The small businesses attending the conference will be able to meet DOE small business program managers and learn how to engage with the Department successfully. To register, visit the 12th Annual DOE Small Business Conference & Expo website.

Growing Greener Grants

Among the grantees--Erie, Crawford, and Venango County recipients

HARRISBURG -- In announcing the latest round of Growing Greener grants—as well as funding from the federal government—Governor Edward G. Rendell said today that the commonwealth is investing in projects that provide visible and measurable improvements to the environment despite the increasingly limited nature of the funds.

All told, the Governor said the state was awarding $14.1 million for 87 projects in 36 counties that would, among other things, plant more than 100 miles of riparian buffers, improve stream banks along nearly 30,000 feet of waterway, and treat hundreds of millions of gallons of acid mine drainage each year.

Additionally, the Governor said a portion of the projects are serving to educate the public, school children and farmers about good environmental stewardship and conservation practices. Those lessons, he added, will pay lifelong dividends.