Dow CEO Urges U.S. to Aid Green Energy Industry

The Detroit News

Washington -- The head of Midland-based Dow Corning Corp. today urged Congress to help U.S. companies aggressively develop solar, wind and other renewable energy through tax breaks and other policies different countries are using to boost their green industries.

"It is time for America to enact policies that will essentially assure this industry grows here," said Dow president and CEO Stephanie A. Burns, who added her company is investing $5 billion in solar technology.

At a House Ways and Means hearing on green energy, Burns called on Congress to create a tax structure that encourages investment in renewables and to promote awareness among domestic consumers to spur demand.

The hearing, chaired by Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, featured testimony by billionaire oilman and green fuels champion T. Boone Pickens.

Levin called the hearing to gather ideas from Obama administration officials, green-energy experts and business leaders about ways Congress can help the United States move more quickly to reliance on renewable energy sources, such as solar and hydrogen fuel cells.

Already, the federal government is taking steps. The $787 billion economic stimulus bill, for example, included $2.3 billion in investment tax credits for manufacturers that retool and expand facilities in the United States to produce advanced energy equipment. President Barack Obama has called for $5 billion more in such tax credits.

Witnesses urged more steps to ensure the United States can compete in the green-energy arena with China, which is furiously pursuing green technologies, and other countries.

"While jobs are created when we construct a solar facility," Levin said, "still more jobs are created when the components that are used in that facility are manufactured here in the United States.

"If we are not aggressive about expanding our green manufacturing capacity, these manufacturing jobs will be created overseas and the United States will become more reliant on products that are produced outside of our borders," Levin said.

But Rep. Dave Camp of Midland, the ranking Republican on the committee, warned against taking away favorable tax policies for the oil and gas and the coal industries, which produce most of the nation's energy.

Camp noted that in 2009, 83 percent of U.S. energy was supplied by fossil fuels, compared with 9 percent from nuclear plants and only 8 percent from solar, wind and other renewables.

"You cannot increase the cost of producing 85 percent of the energy being used today and expect consumers or employers to benefit from tax incentives that are going to less than 10 percent of the energy being used today," Camp said. "The math just doesn't add up."

T. Boone Pickens Encourages Alternative Energy In Michigan

Story from the Chicago Tribune

MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. - Energy baron T. Boone Pickens said Thursday the Great Lakes region has great potential for generating wind power, although he has no immediate plans to back up the assessment with his own money.

Pickens, who made his fortune as a Texas oil producer, preached his newly minted gospel of alternative energy during the Detroit Regional Chamber's annual policy conference. The billionaire shared the stage with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who has made renewable energy the centerpiece of her push to diversify Michigan's economy.

Both said Michigan can play a key role in weaning the U.S. off foreign oil -- an essential goal for protecting the nation's security and economy. Without a national energy plan focused on alternatives, Americans will be importing three-fourths of their oil at a staggering cost of $300 a barrel within a decade, Pickens said.

Despite promises from presidents going back to Richard Nixon, the nation has yet to confront its oil addiction, Pickens said. Soaring fuel costs last year were one consequence of inaction, he said.

"Cheap oil continued to be a bailout to us over those years," he said. "Consequently, America was never asked to look at what would happen" if supplies tightened and prices soared. "For 40 years, I have watched us having no energy plan and wondered when we were going to hit the wall."

He is funding a $60 million campaign to boost wind power and natural gas, and is trying to develop a gigantic wind farm in western Texas. Pickens said he isn't looking for investments in Michigan projects because he is focusing on his home state, but would encourage others to do so.

"Michigan is a big state and you have a lot of resources here," he said. "I would think people would see it as an opportunity."

Winning energy independence, he said, will require cultivating a wide variety of sources -- including manufacturing cars powered by batteries, natural gas and other unconventional fuels.

"I'm for anything, just so it's American," he said in an interview. "I want off foreign oil. I don't want the oil from Venezuela or the Mideast or Africa."

He also endorsed an energy tax to reduce demand for oil and generate revenue for renewable energy development but said he wouldn't make it a priority. "I don't stump for taxing anybody," he said, adding that the politicians he'd spoken with "get a tight collar" when he raised the issue.

Granholm agreed: "It's hard. Citizens are hurting."

Wind, solar and battery technology hold the best promise for Michigan, although the state is promoting other forms of alternative energy such as biomass, Granholm said. Legislation enacted last year requires that 10 percent of the state's energy come from renewable sources by 2015.

"In the next few years, we are going to create an entire new industry in designing and manufacturing advanced batteries for green vehicles," the Democratic governor said.

The state is offering $700 million in tax credits to encourage development of battery technology and hopes for a share of federal economic stimulus money earmarked for the purpose.

Many of Michigan's auto suppliers are well positioned to manufacture components for wind turbines, such as gear boxes, drive trains and carbon fiber moldings, Granholm said.

"It's far less expensive to ship a wind turbine blade or tower to Duluth from Bay City or Port Huron or Muskegon than from Denmark," she said. "We have the deep water ports and the manufacturing supply chain, and we're putting on a full-court press to attract more wind turbine manufacturers to Michigan."

Another state tax credit aims to lure solar producers to join Hemlock Semiconductor and United Solar Ovonic, two Michigan companies already in the business.