Hi, all. Today’s report features:
• Infrastructure for the 21st century: Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the Administration's plan to invest in roads, bridges and high-speed rail; overview of six-year plan.
• White House press briefing: Mr. Gibbs takes questions on Egypt, the President’s meeting with House Republicans, help for states proposed in the President’s budget, and other subjects.
• Energy news: Details of DOE’s SunShot initiative to reduce costs of photovoltaic energy systems; Energy and Interior announce major steps in developing offshore wind energy projects; DOE makes its Jaguar Supercomputer available to companies for developing and testing new products to be made in the U.S.
• Labor news: Dr. William Spriggs writes about his life and work as part of the Celebrating Black History Month series; DOL grant news.
• The fight against child marriage: Secretary of State Clinton recounts the story of Nujood Ali, a 9-year-old girl in Yemen who was forced into marriage and obtained a divorce thanks to attorney Shada Nasser.
• INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY •
White House, Feb. 8, 2011:
Building a 21st Century Infrastructure
Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the Administration's plan to build a 21st century infrastructure with investments in roads, bridges and high-speed rail as he visits Philadelphia's 30th Street Station.
Office of the Vice President, Feb. 8, 2011:
Vice President Biden Announces Six Year Plan to Build National High-Speed Rail Network
Plan Lays Out Vision for Long Term Infrastructure Investments Needed to Win the Future
Philadelphia, PA - Vice President Joe Biden today announced a comprehensive plan that will help the nation reach President Obama’s goal of giving 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years, as outlined in his State of the Union address. The proposal will place high-speed rail on equal footing with other surface transportation programs and revitalize America’s domestic rail manufacturing industry by dedicating $53 billion over six years to continue construction of a national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network. As a part of President Obama’s commitment to winning the future by rebuilding America’s roadways, railways and runways, the plan will lay a new foundation for the nation’s economic opportunity, job creation, and competitiveness.
The Vice President made the announcement with Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood during a visit to Philadelphia’s historic 30th Street Station, where passengers traveling from Pittsburgh and Harrisburg on Amtrak’s Keystone Corridor connect to high-speed Acela service to Boston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Since track improvements raised speeds between Harrisburg and Philadelphia to 110 mph in 2006, the Keystone Corridor has seen rail ridership rise by 57 percent. In fact, more passengers now travel from Harrisburg to Philadelphia – and from Philadelphia to New York City and Washington D.C. – by rail than by plane.
"As President Obama said in his State of the Union, there are key places where we cannot afford to sacrifice as a nation – one of which is infrastructure," said Vice President Biden. "As a long time Amtrak rider and advocate, I understand the need to invest in a modern rail system that will help connect communities, reduce congestion and create quality, skilled manufacturing jobs that cannot be outsourced. This plan will help us to do that, while also increasing access to convenient high speed rail for more Americans."
As the first step in this comprehensive, six-year plan, the President’s Budget for the coming fiscal year would invest $8 billion in expanding Americans’ access to high-speed passenger rail service. In order to achieve a truly national system, these investments will focus on developing or improving three types of interconnected corridors:
•Core Express: These corridors will form the backbone of the national high-speed rail system, with electrified trains traveling on dedicated tracks at speeds of 125-250 mph or higher.
•Regional: Crucial regional corridors with train speeds of 90-125 mph will see increases in trips and reductions in travel times, laying the foundation for future high-speed service.
•Emerging: Trains traveling at up to 90 mph will provide travelers in emerging rail corridors with access to the larger national high-speed and intercity passenger rail network.
This system will allow the Department – in partnership with states, freight rail, and private companies – to identify corridors for the construction of world-class high-speed rail, while raising speeds on existing rail lines and providing crucial planning and resources to communities who want to join the national high-speed rail network. With rail ridership reaching all-time highs in many areas of the country during 2010, these investments will ensure that more Americans have the option of taking a train to reach their destination.
"In America, we pride ourselves on dreaming big and building big," said Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood. "This historic investment in America’s high-speed rail network keeps us on track toward economic opportunity and competitiveness in the 21st century. It’s an investment in tomorrow that will create manufacturing, construction, and operations jobs today."
This long term commitment builds on the $10.5 billion down payment the Obama Administration already devoted to a national high-speed rail system – including $8 billion of Recovery Act funds and $2.5 billion from the 2010 budget. These investments are already paying economic dividends in places like Brunswick, Maine, where construction workers are laying track that will provide the first rail service since the 1940s from Brunswick to Portland to Boston. Private dollars are also gravitating toward Brunswick’s station neighborhood, as investors have financed a number of businesses and residential condos, a new movie theatre, a new 60 room hotel, and a 21st century health clinic. Similar high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects across the country will create jobs not only in our manufacturing sector, but also in the small businesses that open near modernized train stations. They will connect large metropolitan communities and economies through a safe, convenient, and reliable transportation alternative. They will ease congestion on our roads and at our airports. And they will reduce our reliance on oil as well as our carbon emissions.
By clarifying the long-term federal role in passenger rail, this six-year program will provide states and cities with the certainty they need to make long-term transportation plans for their communities. It will provide businesses the confidence they need to hire American workers. Strong Buy American requirements will create tens of thousands of middle-class jobs in construction, manufacturing, and rail operations. And the proposal will open the door to new public-private partnerships, and attract significant private investment in developing and operating passenger rail corridors.
The proposal announced today by the Vice President also streamlines the Department of Transportation’s rail programs, making it simpler for states, cities, and private companies to apply for grants and loans. For the first time, all high speed and intercity passenger rail programs will be consolidated into two new accounts: a $4 billion account for network development, focused on building new infrastructure, stations, and equipment; and a $4 billion account for system preservation and renewal, which will maintain state of good repair on Amtrak and other publicly-owned assets, bring stations into Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, and provide temporary operating support to crucial state corridors while the full system is being built and developed.
• WHITE HOUSE PRESS BRIEFING •
White House, Feb. 8, 2011:
2/8/11: White House Press Briefing
White House Press Briefings are conducted most weekdays from the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room in the West Wing.
Office of the Press Secretary, Feb. 8, 2011:
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, 2/8/2011
MR. GIBBS: Let me -- I do have one quick scheduling announcement. Tomorrow afternoon at 12:30 p.m., the President will host Speaker Boehner, Majority Leader Cantor and Majority Whip McCarthy for lunch here at the White House....
Well, look, I think that the President looks forward to discussing all issues foreign and domestic. Obviously, without a doubt, there will be I think a heavy discussion on the economy and on spending. And I think the President will have a chance to talk to -- through -- with them many of the things that he outlined in the State of the Union, and I have no doubt that they have their cares and concerns as well....
Q: Is the President concerned that if Mubarak steps down ahead of September that that could undermine reforms in Egypt or hurt the chances of free and fair elections?....
MR. GIBBS: Well, look, who leads Egypt and who leads Egypt when is a determination that can only be made by the Egyptians. What we’ve talked about throughout this process, and what I talked about extensively yesterday, was not about personalities but about a genuine and real process that leads us to those free and fair elections, a process that takes place without delay and produces immediate and irreversible results, progress for the people in Egypt.
I think there’s a series of things that they have to do along the way. The dialogue has to be real in order to produce that real change. I think, first and foremost, as we’ve talked about throughout this, the government has got to stop arresting protesters and journalists, harassment, beatings, detentions of reporters, of activists, of those involved in civil society. We would call on all of those prisoners, as we have, to be released immediately.
We believe that there has to be a process, that in this process that results in free and fair elections, that the emergency law be lifted, as we’ve talked about many times; that specific constitutional changes are made; and that we take concrete steps, as I’ve said, to free and fair elections.
And I will also add this. I think the rhetoric that we see coming out now that simply says that somehow what you see on TV has been drummed up by foreigners is at great odds with what we know is actually happening on the ground.
So I think that the process of who leads Egypt will be determined by Egyptians, but what we need to see now is continued progress by the Egyptian government to make these important real changes that demonstrate progress for the people....
We’re not here to determine who leads Egypt. We are -- and I think the President was quite, quite clear -- the people of Egypt are not going back. They’ve moved forward and they’re going to continue to move forward, and they’re going to need to see progress from their government....
....But one of the messages that Vice President Biden and a whole host of government officials have delivered at all levels of the Egyptian government are many of the things that I outlined: stopping the beatings and harassment and detentions; the release of those that have been held or detained; the release of political prisoners; lifting the emergency law; concrete constitutional changes that need to take place and concrete steps that move us toward that free and fair election.
And as I said, most of all, I think the notion somehow that what we’re seeing is drummed up by foreigners is -- there’s absolutely no evidence that that’s the case.
Yes.
Q: Robert, Egyptian Vice President Suleiman has said that there is a timetable for a peaceful transfer of power, and he said today that this process is on the right path. Is the President satisfied that the process is on the right path, or does he want to see something more tangible?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I think less important is what we think and more important is what the people of Egypt think. There were certainly reports that those that are out protesting today exceed what we’ve seen in the past several days. I think that is as good an answer for the Vice President of Egypt about the progress that the people in Egypt see and feel. It has to be tangible. It has to be real. It has to be immediate and irreversible.
Yesterday I think the Vice President -- Vice President Suleiman made some particularly unhelpful comments about Egypt not being ready for democracy, about not seeing a lift of the emergency law. And I don’t think that in any way squares with what those seeking greater opportunity and freedom think is a timetable for progress.
But again, I think that’s going to be determined by -- that’s going to be determined by the Egyptian people. Whether or not the government is taking those concrete steps can’t be arbitrated by us. We can’t do play-by-play on each and every step that they take. That’s going to be determined by the reaction in Cairo and throughout Egypt by the people....
We have a stake in stability in Egypt, in regional stability. I think that’s been a cornerstone of what we’ve seen over the past three decades.
As I said here on Friday and I think as you’ve heard the President say, the threat of instability -- and you see this again today with the swelling crowds -- the threat of instability is in not making that progress and in not letting the people in Egypt see that the steps that are being taken along that process are real, it’s something that they can feel, and it’s something that will end in -- will end in free and fair elections based on a discussion that is had with a broad range of Egyptian society.
Q: Just on one other topic briefly. On the proposal for the aid to states, are you concerned that critics may --
MR. GIBBS: On aid to states?
Q: The jobless aid to states --
MR. GIBBS: Right, right, oh, I see.
Q: -- that the President is going to propose in the budget. Are you concerned that critics may call this a bailout for the states?
MR. GIBBS: No, in fact, in many ways it prevents in the future from having exactly to do that. Obviously some states have experienced even greater economic downturns than we have on average at a national level. It’s put pressure on the unemployment insurance funds.
The President’s proposal does two things that are most important. It prevents increases in the federal tax that goes to the unemployment insurance fund, and that’s tremendously important given where we are economically, but it prevents -- it prevents future state bailouts, because in the future, states are going to have to rationalize what they offer and how they pay for it.
We are giving help to some states who have had to borrow and not been able yet to pay back, which would legally result in an increase in the federal share that has gotten through tax -- a tax on businesses, which we don’t think makes any sense right now.
So let’s, in states that are overdrawn on this, ensure that we don’t place an extra burden on them. Let’s give them some time, in an economic downturn, to have what they need to effectively meet the needs of those that are unemployed and give them an understanding that in the future, as I said, they’re going to have to rationalize what is offered and how they come up with the funds to pay for what is ultimately offered....
Q: Has the President gone to his intelligence community and sort of pressured them to take a look at some other hotspots, perhaps, to see if something like what happened in Egypt could be at risk of breaking out in other countries?
MR. GIBBS: Well, without getting in specifics on intelligence, obviously the intelligence community provides daily an update on what it sees happening in countries both in the Middle East and throughout the world.
Q: But has the President applied more pressure now to say, hey, I need you to go and take a look at this in a much more focused way?
MR. GIBBS: The premise of your question is somehow that that hasn’t already happened....
Q: The protesters say they understand the United States is not in a position to determine what happens here, but on the other hand, they are so deeply frustrated that the President says the right things about human rights and universal rights and freedom of speech and everything else, and then they don’t understand how he can then not demand that Mubarak and Suleiman get out of there, since they’re the people who have implemented this oppressive system for so long.
MR. GIBBS: But then, I guess the question would be -- I guess you’d ask the question -- well, then, would you have us determine who that next person is? Would you have us determine what this council looks like that does this? Would you have us determine what that council can debate matches the definitions of freedom of access and freedom of speech and freedom of assembly?
That is not a task or a series of tasks that I think many in Egypt want us to do. And I don’t think that the cares and concerns of those that we see each day is going to be met by a process that is dictated by somebody else. It has to be a process that involves directly the Egyptian people.
And again, we will see based on what happens with those that continue to protest, whether the pace of what we understand -- we all understand needs to happen, what the government of Egypt has acknowledged needs to happen. We will all understand if the pacing meets the demands....
Q: A quick follow-up based on the O’Reilly interview. (The President) said that he did not raise taxes. A taxpayer group says, in effect, he has raised taxes on a couple things; he’s also cut taxes. I’m wondering, do you guys disagree with that assessment?
MR. GIBBS: I’ve not seen what the group has said. I would note that I think the Congressional Budget Office released figures yesterday that show that for the third consecutive year the American people are paying less in taxes than they did during the previous administration....
Q: Very quickly, has the President voted yet in Chicago?
MR. GIBBS: The President requested, as the First Lady did, requested an absentee ballot. I do not know if that has been filled out, but I can put that on the list. (Answer provided later: The President has not yet voted in Chicago’s municipal election.)...
Q: On the unemployment insurance proposal, are you at all concerned that this is going to be read as an increased tax on business at a time when the administration is working hard to mend its relationship with the business community?
MR. GIBBS: No, because, look, this specifically -- this policy, if enacted, would prevent further federal tax increases, would help states make up for the shortfalls they have and give them time, as I said, to rationalize what they offer and how they pay for it.
In other words, you have in 2011 and 2012 and parts of 2013 the ability to make the type of structural changes that a state would need to make in order to ensure that, again, what they offer and how they pay for it, that that’s met up so that we can do this responsibly.
Q: Do you think that the states are going to take up the opportunity to increase the tax?
MR. GIBBS: That’s -- I think what you have to -- what we think has to happen in those out-years is that you cannot continue to offer something at a state level, right, that is not ultimately supported by the base with which you’re funding it, right?
Look, those are the discussions that are happening at -- have happened for many years at the state level. They’re happening now at the federal level in terms of getting our fiscal house in order. I think that whether it happens at the federal level or the state level, we can’t -- we have to make some tough decisions about ensuring that we can pay for what we’re offering.
Q: And just one other issue. How does that -- in terms of the announcement from the Vice President today about the rail investment, how would you pay for that?
MR. GIBBS: That will be in the budget on Monday....
Q: Robert, is it accurate to say that the administration has extended its -- for want of a better expression -- expectation timetable for change in Egypt?
MR. GIBBS: I think that -- I think it is accurate to say that Vice President Biden, in discussions with Vice President Suleiman and discussions that we’ve had government-to-government -- we want to understand that they have a timetable to make change, yes....
Q: On the unemployment insurance aid to states, is that the primary way that the administration sees the federal government aiding states with their fiscal situations?
MR. GIBBS: Well, look, this was obviously a particular situation because, as Laura mentioned in her question, if you -- if states are borrowing off of a UI account, not able to pay that back, then the law says that the rate has to increase at a federal share on businesses. We don’t think that makes sense right now. We think that we ought to make sure that that doesn’t happen, that states have a chance to rationalize, again, what they offer, and that in the meantime we’re helping other states that might fall into things that you’ve seen in Michigan, in South Carolina and Indiana, with that fund....
Well, I think that without getting into a specific word or series of words, obviously I think in each stage of -- or each year that we’ve been in office, you’ve seen tremendous shortfalls. Obviously there are a number of states that are experiencing particularly acute shortfalls. And that has an impact on the economy....
Q: .... If Israel is threatened by any of these new governments or by Hamas or Hezbollah, if its existence is in danger, would the U.S. come to Israel’s assistance?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I think regardless of the situation facing any government in the region, our friendship and our -- our friendship, our partnership and our alliance with Israel is unchanged....
Q: .... how do we actually know what the Egyptian people want?....
.... You could get people out on the Mall with lots of signs; that doesn’t mean that the majority of American people support whatever they’re out there for.
MR. GIBBS: Keith, you are enumerating far better than I could why it is not for us to arbitrate. Now, if somebody holds a sign up on the Washington Mall, it may not constitute the majority of opinion in this country but it probably constitutes the majority of the opinion that that person holds. And guess what. This is a great and exciting country that allows anybody to walk out on the Mall with a sign that expresses their viewpoint.
But that is -- what you are saying is the exact reason why our government isn’t going to determine the definition of individual or group freedoms in a country like Egypt. We can talk about the universal values of free speech, of freedom of assembly, freedom to communicate across the Internet or social networking, but it is not up to -- and it should not be up to our government or some entity in our government to determine what the scope of freedom of speech looks like in Egypt.
That is for the precise reason that we give the answer that this is up to Egyptians. It’s not a way of just simply saying that phrase over and over again. It’s what we believe.
Q: But you’re not just saying that -- you’re insisting on them doing certain things, and you’re justifying it based on the will of the Egyptian people. I’ve heard you say it many times. We’re not just --
MR. GIBBS: Keith, I think you should just go get any newspaper or turn on any television set inside of this building and I think you’ll see many -- do I know every person’s concern in Egypt? I will go way out on this limb and say, I do not. But again, I don’t think you have to have -- you could pull up your rabbit ears and figure out what people are concerned about in Cairo because it’s all over the TV....
Q: And I want to ask -- I want to ask you something about your departure.... But from day one you have enjoyed that podium -- beyond the professionalism --
MR. GIBBS: Let me -- as I’ve said a hundred times, well, probably 10,000 times, if you didn’t enjoy some element of this, you’d do it for about three days, and you would turn in your pass and hope no one ever found you again. (Laughter.) ....
Q: There’s some skepticism about the President’s call for corporate tax reform because he hasn’t produced key specifics, like what the rates should be, what the treatment of foreign taxes should be, what is the difference between a preference and a loophole. It isn’t really -- how long do we have to wait for the specifics of his plan?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I think it’s important to understand that this is not going to be we put out a plan, we say, hey, this is our plan, take this or leave this. I think the President started a series of discussions about this with business leaders at the Blair House. Those conversations -- and with Secretary Geithner -- have continued to happen. This is a process that is not going to -- not going to take a matter of days or weeks; it’s going to take months if not years. So I think this is a long process that will involve stakeholders at all levels with both political parties weighing in on their ideas about how we meet the goal of reforming the way corporate taxes are done, lowering that rate, but keeping it deficit neutral....
Q: Going back on Egypt. You said many times that you credited the Egyptian army. Considering the history of the Middle East, many of the current and previous leaders came from in the military coup d’état. Three of them are in charge of the transition now in Egypt -- Suleiman, Shafik and Tantawi are military men. Do you really trust them they will lead the transition to free and fair election?
MR. GIBBS: Well, two things. One, I think we have rightly, I think, given some praise to the actions that haven’t been taken, that many feared might be taken with an army deployed and hundreds of thousands if not millions of protestors. I think it’s important, also, that we have -- we talked about today and we have talked about this previously, about continued restraint and adherence to nonviolence and assurance that anything involving harassment or beating or detention is ended immediately.
So we will continue to watch, as I’ve said throughout this, the process of their reaction.
Secondly, again, I think the determination about the progress that’s being made toward free and fair elections will be determined by those in Egypt....
Q: Thanks, Robert. You started off by calling for the arrest of journalists to stop, and our own reporting shows that the military police was involved. Do you still think the Egyptian military showed professionalism, impartiality and restraint?
MR. GIBBS: Well, I would refer you to what I said a second ago, which is obviously the restraint that we saw in Tahrir has been important. Without getting into who may or may not be involved, any involvement -- look, the government of Egypt has a strict responsibility to its citizens to assure their safety and security, to ensure that they’re able to exercise their right to protest in a peaceful way.
And that goes for foreign journalists who are there to cover that story. I watched yesterday a couple of interviews with two journalists from FOX that -- I mean, the pictures were hard to watch, the after-effect several days later of whomever that was, beating, detaining, harassing those reporters -- and that has to stop regardless of who is either in charge of or involved in that...
Q: There’s been talk on the Hill about reopening up the individual mandate in health care legislation....
MR. GIBBS: Sam, we -- look, we -- the President had to make a conscious decision about how to ensure that the legislation would prevent the problem that we’ve seen with free riders; in other words, people that never think they’re going to get sick and don’t get sick, but they get hit by a bus and show up at the emergency room, and then they charge us basically to pay for it.
The protections that we will have as part of this law that are derived from ensuring that it’s not just a certain segment of the population that’s covered but that everybody has coverage is an important foundation in this law.
The President supports it. We’ve gone to court to maintain it. And as the President has said, we will work with those who want to see improvements in this law regardless of policy -- I’m sorry, regardless of party. But we believe that individual responsibility is a foundation for this.
Q: Have you not seen another provision that can do what that provision does?
MR. GIBBS: I think if we thought there was a better way of doing it, we would have done it that way..
A question about the President quitting smoking.)
MR. GIBBS: They did around the same time. I will say this. I think -- and I didn’t mean to be -- I didn’t actually mean for what I said about the First Lady to be humorous as much as -- I think that when somebody decides to quit smoking, to try to overcome the physical addiction that they have, they do it not just because they want to, but because others want them to, and because others around them give them the type of encouragement that they need to break what is a tough habit to break.
Thanks, guys.
• ENERGY NEWS •
Department of Energy, Feb. 8, 2011:
Energy 101: Solar PV
Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems can generate clean, cost-effective power anywhere the sun shines. This video shows how a PV panel converts the energy of the sun into renewable electricity to power homes and businesses.
Department of Energy, Feb. 4, 2011:
DOE Pursues SunShot Initiative to Achieve Cost Competitive Solar Energy by 2020
Announces $27 Million in Projects to Advance Solar Development and Manufacturing
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced additional details of the Department of Energy's "SunShot" initiative to reduce the total costs of photovoltaic solar energy systems by about 75 percent so that they are cost competitive at large scale with other forms of energy without subsidies before the end of the decade. By reducing the cost for utility scale installations by about 75 percent to roughly $1 a watt - which would correspond to roughly 6 cents per kilowatt-hour - solar energy systems could be broadly deployed across the country.
This will increase American economic competitiveness and help the U.S. regain leadership in the global market for solar photovoltaics. As part of the SunShot initiative, Secretary Chu announced today that the Department of Energy is awarding $27 million in projects to support the development, commercialization, and manufacturing of advanced solar energy technologies.
"America is in a world race to produce cost-effective, quality photovoltaics. The SunShot initiative will spur American innovations to reduce the costs of solar energy and re-establish U.S. global leadership in this growing industry," said Secretary Chu. "These efforts will boost our economic competitiveness, rebuild our manufacturing industry and help reach the President's goal of doubling our clean energy in the next 25 years."
The SunShot program builds on the legacy of President Kennedy's 1960s "moon shot" goal, which laid out a plan to regain the country's lead in the space race and land a man on the moon. The program will aggressively drive innovations in the ways that solar systems are conceived, designed, manufactured and installed.
In addition to investing in improvements in cell technologies and manufacturing, the SunShot initiative will also focus on steps to streamline and digitize local permitting processes that will reduce installation and permitting costs. To achieve the SunShot goal of reducing the total installed cost of large scale solar electricity by about 75 percent, DOE will be working closely with partners in government, industry, research laboratories and academic institutions across the country.
SunShot will work to bring down the full cost of solar - including the costs of the solar cells and installation - by focusing on four main pillars:
• Technologies for solar cells and arrays that convert sunlight to energy;
• Electronics that optimize the performance of the installation;
• Improvements in the efficiency of solar manufacturing processes;
• Installation, design and permitting for solar energy systems.
For more information and to follow the initiative's progress, visit the SunShot Initiative webpage.
As part of the launch of the SunShot initiative, DOE is also announcing $27 million in awards to nine new projects. This funding includes support for five projects that are receiving $20 million to further develop U.S. supply chains for PV manufacturing. This includes support for companies across the solar energy supply chain, including U.S. material and tool suppliers and companies that are developing technologies that can be adopted directly into current manufacturing processes. For more information and a list of awardees, read the $20 million investment excerpt from the EERE Network newsletter.
Additionally, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory is investing $7 million to fund the latest round of the successful PV Incubator program, which helps to shorten the commercialization timeline for promising emerging solar technologies. The companies work closely with DOE national laboratories to scale their technologies and manufacturing processes and move the products from pre-commercial and prototype stage to pilot and full-scale manufacturing operations. For more information and a list of awardees, read the $7 million investment excerpt from the EERE Network newsletter.
The SunShot initiative builds on the Department's significant research and development (R&D) efforts in solar energy over the past decade, conducted in partnership with American universities, national laboratories and the private sector. In the last ten years, DOE has invested more than $1 billion in solar energy research that has been leveraged with significant private industry funding to support more than $2 billion in total solar R&D projects. This includes investments by DOE's Office of Science, Solar Energy Technologies Program, and ARPA-E, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy. Innovations in both science and technology have driven the cost of solar down 60 percent since 1995, and have yielded a number of critical breakthroughs in solar PV performance and cost. Read the fact sheet (PDF - 26kb) detailing some of the Department's past and current work in solar energy.
Department of Energy, Feb. 8, 2011:
Energy 101: Wind Turbines
See how wind turbines generate clean electricity from the power of the wind. Highlighted are the various parts and mechanisms of a modern wind turbine.
Department of Energy, Feb. 7, 2011:
Salazar, Chu Announce Major Offshore Wind Initiatives
Strategic plan, $50 million in R&D funding, identified Wind Energy Areas will speed offshore wind energy development
Norfolk, VA - Unveiling a coordinated strategic plan to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Secretary of Energy Steven Chu today announced major steps forward in support of offshore wind energy in the United States, including new funding opportunities for up to $50.5 million for projects that support offshore wind energy deployment and several high priority Wind Energy Areas in the mid-Atlantic that will spur rapid, responsible development of this abundant renewable resource.
Deployment of clean, renewable offshore wind energy will help meet the President's goal of generating 80 percent of the Nation's electricity from clean energy sources by 2035.
"The mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Areas are a key part of our 'Smart from the Start' program for expediting appropriate commercial-scale wind energy development in America's waters," Secretary Salazar said. "Through the Strategic Work Plan, the United States is synchronizing new research and development initiatives with more efficient, forward-thinking planning so that we can help quickly stand up an American offshore wind industry. This initiative will spur the type of innovation that will help us create new jobs, build a clean energy future, and compete and win in the technologies of the 21st century."
"Offshore wind energy can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, diversify our energy supply, and stimulate economic revitalization," said Secretary Chu. "The Department of Energy is committed to working with our federal partners to provide national leadership in accelerating offshore wind energy deployment."
The joint National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States made public today is the first-ever interagency plan on offshore wind energy and demonstrates a strong federal family commitment to expeditiously develop a sustainable, world-class offshore wind industry in a way that reduces conflict with other ocean uses and protects resources. The plan focuses on overcoming three key challenges: the relatively high cost of offshore wind energy; technical challenges surrounding installation, operations, and grid interconnection; and the lack of site data and experience with project permitting processes.
In support of this Strategic Work Plan, Secretary Chu announced today the release of three solicitations, representing up to $50.5 million over 5 years, to develop breakthrough offshore wind energy technology and to reduce specific market barriers to its deployment:
Technology Development (up to $25 million over 5 years): DOE will support the development of innovative wind turbine design tools and hardware to provide the foundation for a cost-competitive and world-class offshore wind industry in the United States. Specific activities will include the development of open-source computational tools, system-optimized offshore wind plant concept studies, and coupled turbine rotor and control systems to optimize next-generation offshore wind systems.
Removing Market Barriers (up to $18 million over 3 years): DOE will support baseline studies and targeted environmental research to characterize key industry sectors and factors limiting the deployment of offshore wind. Specific activities will include offshore wind market and economic analysis; environmental risk reduction; manufacturing and supply chain development; transmission planning and interconnection strategies; optimized infrastructure and operations; and wind resource characterization.
Next-Generation Drivetrain (up to $7.5 million over 3 years): DOE will fund the development and refinement of next-generation designs for wind turbine drivetrains, a core technology required for cost-effective offshore wind power.
Today Salazar also identified four Wind Energy Areas offshore the mid-Atlantic as part of Interior's 'Smart from the Start' approach announced in November 2010 that uses appropriate designated areas, coordinated environmental studies, large-scale planning and expedited approval processes to speed offshore wind energy development. The areas, on the Outer Continental Shelf offshore Delaware (122 square nautical miles), Maryland (207), New Jersey (417), and Virginia (165), will receive early environmental reviews that will help to lessen the time required for review, leasing and approval of offshore wind turbine facilities.
In March, Interior also expects to identify Wind Energy Areas off of North Atlantic states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and launch additional NEPA environmental reviews for those areas. A similar process will occur for South Atlantic region, namely North Carolina, this spring.
Based on stakeholder and public participation, Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) will prepare regional environmental assessments for Wind Energy Areas to evaluate the effects of leasing and site assessment activities on leased areas. If no significant impacts are identified, BOEMRE could offer leases in these Mid-Atlantic areas as early as the end of 2011 or early 2012. Comprehensive site-specific NEPA review will still need to be conducted for the construction of any individual wind power facility, and BOEMRE will work directly with project managers to ensure that those reviews take place on aggressive schedules.
Under the National Offshore Wind Strategy, the Department of Energy is pursuing a scenario that includes deployment of deploying 10 gigawatts of offshore wind generating capacity by 2020 and 54 gigawatts by 2030. Those scenarios include development in both federal and state offshore areas, including along Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts as well as in Great Lakes and Hawaiian waters. Those levels of development would produce enough energy to power 2.8 million and 15.2 million average American homes, respectively.
Today's announcement is the latest in a series of Administration actions to speed renewable energy development offshore by improving coordination with state, local and federal partners, developing wind research and test facilities for new technologies to reduce market barriers, identifying priority areas for potential development and conducting early environmental reviews.
Read a National Offshore Wind Strategy fact sheet (pdf - 68 kb).
View the complete National Offshore Wind Strategy: Creating an Offshore Wind Industry in the United States (pdf - 1.3 MB).
Read more information on the Smart from the Start Initiative (MS Word - 25 kb).
See a map of the mid-Atlantic Wind Energy Areas (pdf - 1.1 MB)
More information is available on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement's Renewable Energy webpage and DOE's Wind & Water Power Program webpage.
The White House Blog, Feb. 8, 2011:
Supercomputers, Semi Trucks, and America’s Clean Energy Future
Posted by Dan Leistikow, Director of Public Affairs for the U.S. Department of Energy
To strengthen our economy and win the future, President Obama is calling for investments in innovation and technology leadership.
Today’s announcement from the Department of Energy is a perfect example of how these investments in innovation can create jobs and make America more competitive.
The Department’s Jaguar Supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is one of the fastest, most powerful machines in the world – roughly equivalent to 100,000 times the computational power of typical home laptop. We are making the supercomputer available to innovative companies – large and small – who are using it to develop and test new products that can be manufactured in the United States.
A small company in South Carolina and Georgia, the BMI corporation, has used the Jaguar to develop some aerodynamic components that can be attached to the undercarriage of a semi truck to reduce wind resistance. They used highly sophisticated computer modeling to simulate the airflow and optimize the design.
The result is a new product being manufactured in Georgia that will make semi trucks 7 to 12 percent more fuel efficient. The potential impact is huge – outfitting all of America’s 1.3 million Class 8 semi trucks with this kind of technology would save about 1.5 billion gallons of diesel fuel each year, meaning an annual savings of about $5 billion.
The company was able to use the supercomputer to dramatically reduce both the time and cost of moving from a concept to a specific design that was ready to be manufactured. Originally, the process was supposed to take 3 1/2 years. With the partnership of the Department of Energy and the Jaguar Supercomputer, they did it in 18 months.
In the process, they’ve developed a product that will create American manufacturing jobs, make trucking companies more competitive, cut costs forbusinesses across the country by making shipping less expensive, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
Not bad at all.
• LABOR NEWS •
White House Blog, Feb. 8, 2011:
Dr. William Spriggs's Story: Working Hard for America's Workforce
Posted by Dr. William Spriggs, Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Labor
Editor's Note: This post is part of the Celebrating Black History Month series, highlighting the contributions of African Americans whose work is helping advance the President's goal of winning the future.
My parents had the greatest influence on who I am today. My father was a Tuskegee Airman and earned a PhD in Physics, and taught college for many years. My mother, also a World War II veteran, was a school teacher and taught me to read and write. They both instilled in me the values of hard work, honesty, and being humble; as well as my faith. My mother completed college while I was in elementary school, and I remember studying history together. She would check out children’s books covering the topics she was learning about. Growing up when I did during the height of the Civil Rights movement and the 100th anniversary of the American Civil War were important influences on me.
I was born in Washington, DC and attended the public elementary schools in Northeast and Southeast Washington before my family moved to Norfolk, and then Virginia Beach. After high school I attended Williams College, and then graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. There I earned a Masters and PhD in economics, served as the co-president of the Teaching Assistants’ Association, American Federation of Teachers Local #3220, and most importantly met my wife of 25 years.
For six years I headed the National Urban League’s Institute for Opportunity and Equality, which was the Washington office for the National Urban League. As the Director I had the opportunity to hire and work with and learn from some amazing young bright minds including Dr. Maya Rockeymoore, a noted and outstanding voice on important issues to the African American community; Cheryl Hill Lee, who now heads the U.S. Census Bureau’s office on state and local finance; and Dr. Valerie Wilson a noted young economist and current Research Director for the National Urban League. And it was a big honor to be mentored by Hugh Price, the President of the National Urban League during most of my time there. The opportunity he gave me to work with the League placed me working alongside the Congressional Black Caucus, Civil Rights icons like Dr. Dorothy Height and Rev. Joseph Lowery, and labor leaders like Norman Hill and Bill Lucy.
I am on leave from the Department of Economics at Howard University, and have taught over 2,000 African American students economics and statistics at North Carolina A&T State University, Norfolk State University, and Howard.
To me Black History month means trying to write African Americans back into the history books. It means correcting myths and stereotypes that make African Americans less a part of American history, and Africans less a part of world history. It means celebrating all that America can be, and lifting up all that humans can be.
The Department of Labor plays an extremely valuable role in accomplishing lifting people up and I’m proud to be part of a team that is helping get America back to work, expanding opportunities for all Americans, keeping workers safe, and ensuring that you can provide for your family and keep what you earn.
That means paying special attention to fairness in hiring practices of those companies that benefit from government contracts, developing the best policies to get disabled Americans a fair chance at work, connecting our Veterans to job opportunities, and insuring women are treated fairly on the job. That also means providing support to states to help the unemployed, grants to provide job training, and running successful programs like Job Corps to help disadvantaged young people get a solid footing on their future.
As Assistant Secretary for Policy, I have the opportunity to help develop policies, evaluate programs, and shape regulations that are doing all of this – and strengthening the workforce of tomorrow. That workforce is going to be much more diverse than today’s. As we work to win the future, it’s important to me that we build pathways to support that diversity and ensure that we’re helping all of our communities.
Williams College, Oct. 14, 2010:
William E. Spriggs '77: Williams Bicentennial Medalist 2010
Assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Labor, eonomics professor at Howard University, former chair of the healthcare trust for Ford Motor Company's United Auto workers retirees. Here he shares thoughts upon receiving a Williams Bicentennial Medal "for distinguished achievement in any field of endeavor."
Department of Labor, Feb. 8, 2011:
Secretary of Labor announces continued assistance for Ohio workers laid off from jobs at Wilmington Air Park
TOLEDO, Ohio— While in Ohio today, Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis announced a $2,932,835 National Emergency Grant supplemental award to provide services to an additional 729 workers affected by layoffs at Wilmington Air Park in Wilmington, Ohio. Following an initial grant in November 2008 and one other previous award of supplemental funding with dislocated workers added as more layoffs occurred, a total of approximately 2,360 individuals now will be served.
"President Obama and I are committed to helping Ohio's families get back on their feet and to getting all Americans back to work," said Secretary Solis. "This supplemental funding expands greatly needed re-employment assistance for workers in the Buckeye State. It also ensures that those already benefitting from employment and training services can continue this preparation for new, family-supporting jobs."
The supplemental funding announced today is being awarded to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
In November of 2008, an initial award of $3,877,672 provided assistance to about 386 workers impacted by the first layoffs from DHL Express, ABX Air Inc. and ACS Business Process Solutions. The grant later was expanded, with supplemental funding of $4,442,207 in November 2009, to include re-employment services for workers laid off from ASTAR Air Cargo Inc. and DHL North America.
The newest group of workers to be served under this National Emergency Grant have been laid off from those five companies, as well as AVI Food Systems Inc.
National Emergency Grants are part of the secretary of labor's discretionary fund and are awarded based on a state's ability to meet specific guidelines. For more information, visit www.doleta.gov/NEG.
Department of Labor, Feb. 7, 2011:
US Department of Labor announces availability of funds to help young adult offenders get on right track
WASHINGTON— The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the availability of approximately $20 million in grants through its Civic Justice Corps program. Projects funded through these grants will help juvenile offenders gain valuable jobs skills, and participants will demonstrate accountability for their actions through community service.
"Some young people stray from the paths of career, family and community, but that need not dictate the rest of their lives," said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. "Connecting young offenders with opportunities to acquire solid job skills is a crucial step toward ensuring their long term economic self-sufficiency and allows them to take a positive role in our society."
Awarded through a competitive process, the grants will prepare participants for employment and reduce recidivism. These goals will be accomplished through on-the-job training, job placement, subsidized jobs and service projects that allow young offenders to take a positive role in their communities. Participants will improve their skills, and enhance their future educational and career opportunities, through the work experiences, vocational training and academic interventions made possible by these grants.
The department expects to award a minimum of 13 grants through this funding opportunity. Any nonprofit organization, unit of state or local government, and Indian or Native American entity eligible for grants under the Workforce Investment Act's Section 166 may apply for these grants....
• THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD MARRIAGE •
Department of State, Feb. 8, 2011:
The Fight Against Child Marriage
By Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton
At a recent town hall meeting in Yemen, I reconnected with two of my heroes.
Nujood Ali was just nine years old when she was forced by her own family to marry a man three times her age. As is the case with so many child brides, Nujood had to drop out of school against her will, and she was physically abused. Wanting to find a way out of her misery and suffering, Nujood boarded a bus and found her way to the local courthouse.
Everyone towered above her and paid no attention to her until a judge asked the young girl why she was there. Nujood said she wanted a divorce. Female attorney Shada Nasser took Nujood’s case and others like it. Today, thanks to Shada’s work, girls across Yemen have been given their childhoods back. They are back in school, where they belong.
Child marriages like Nujood’s are tragically common in many societies. In Yemen, for example, among the poorest one-fifth of girls, more than half marry before the age of 18. Of course, every society approaches marriage differently. But all societies also agree on the need to protect children. Which is why we must help young women like Nujood to make the case in their own societies that child marriage is unjust and unwise.
Stopping child marriage is not just a must for moral or human rights reasons—it lays the foundation for so many other things we hope to achieve. Primary education. Improved child and maternal health. Sustainable economic development that includes girls.
Child marriage is both a consequence and a cause of poverty. In some cases, girls are sold into marriage simply to resolve a debt. Once married, child brides often lack status and power within their marriages and households. Their youth leaves them even more vulnerable to domestic violence, marital rape and other sexual abuse. They become isolated from their family, friends and community. On average, child brides become less healthy, and their kids grow up less healthy and poorer.
We are working every day to turn the tide. But we cannot do it alone. We are reaching out to women and girls, fathers and brothers, religious leaders and all who can help us to convince societies that this particular tradition is better left behind. Many people, even in conservative societies, are taking up the banner—not just as a matter of women’s rights but also as a matter of human rights and economic development. Governments, too, are taking steps to raise the minimum age of marriage. We need to help those who support our cause to win arguments within their societies. And we need to make our case far and wide to plant the seeds that will one day convince the rest.
When I first met Nujood and Shada two years ago, I was struck by their courage and by the power of their inspiring story. It seems I wasn’t the only one. These young women have brought hope to those suffering inside forced marriages. They have raised awareness of the emotional, psychological, educational, economic and even physical dangers of marrying too early in life. And they have inspired so many of us to redouble our efforts to protect young girls like Nujood.
Every day—in every country—people are standing up for the rights of women. In some places, this means ensuring that daughters as well as sons have enough to eat. In others, it means demanding equal pay for equal work. Everywhere, people are rallying around the belief that women’s rights are human rights. They are coming to grips with what it means that societies cannot flourish if half their people are left behind. They are leading the fight to protect and promote human rights and opening up the doors of opportunity for everyone.
The story of Nujood and Shada continues to change lives. Nujood is back in school, representing the dreams of so many young girls in Yemen and across the world. Shada continues to fight for Yemen’s young girls. Other child brides have heard their story and come forward to declare that girls should have the right to decide when and whom to marry. All because a young girl stood up to injustice and a brave woman stood behind her.
I often say that one of my goals as Secretary of State is to help people everywhere live up to their God-given potential. Few have fought as hard for it as Nujood Ali and Shada Nasser. I’m honored to know them. We all should share their cause.