Subject: "It's Time for a 'Telecom Act' for Clean Energy"
From: "Reed Hundt" <[email-masked]>
To: "reed hundt" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 25 Oct 2010 15:43:32 -0400

Below you will find the link and text of an article co-authored by Ken
Berlin (General Counsel, Coalition for Green Capital) and Bracken Hendricks
(Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress and Board Member, Coalition for
Green Capital). This article describes an approach to clean energy
legislation in the next Congress. Please read the article, visit the site,
and offer your comments in the comments section.

The Coalition for Green Capital is a non-profit organization based out of
Washington, DC. The CGC exists for the purpose of advocating tax and finance
policies that support investment in energy efficiency and clean energy. We
pursue such policies at the national, state and international level. The CGC
will be hosting a conference on the "Future of Energy Reform" on November
16th, 2010 in Washington, DC. More details on the event can be found at
coalitionforgreencapital.com.

-Reed Hundt
CEO
Coalition for Green Capital

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/25/its_time_for_a_telecom_act_for_clean_energy/
It's Time for a "Telecom Act" for Clean Energy
 By Ken Berlin and Bracken
Hendricks<http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/profile/ken_berlin_and_bracken_hendricks>-
October 25, 2010, 11:00AM

In 1973, Motorola demonstrated the world's first cell phone, weighing in at
close to four and a half pounds[1]. It was not introduced into the U.S.
until 1983, and after slow growth at first, over the course of just ten
years from 1997 to 2007 the total number of mobile phone subscriptions
jumped from reaching 8% of global population to serving nearly half of all
the world's inhabitants. By the close of 2009, the number of cellular phone
users had grown still further to 4.6 billion in a world of 6.8 billion
people[2]. Today, universal access to information through cellular
technology is transforming service delivery in areas as diverse as health
care, agriculture and banking. Mobile phones are allowing developing
countries to leapfrog a generation of infrastructure, while unleashing
innovation, new markets, and economic development the world over.

A similar technological revolution is taking place in the clean energy
industry today. Driven by pressures from rising global demand for finite
energy supplies, national security pressures from oil dependence, the
increasing threat of economic disruptions due to climate change, and the
need to create a more efficient, productive and globally competitive
economy, many countries are making massive investment in clean energy
technologies.

As in the telecom revolution, these investments by the private sector in
clean energy will create countless economic opportunities, and transform the
way we all do business. But unlike our recent experience with
telecommunications, the United States may miss out on most of the economic
benefits of deploying clean energy technology. To date, the United States
has been far less effective than our Asian and European competitors at
deploying existing clean technology or commercializing energy innovations
broadly across our economy.

The Chinese government's National Energy Administration (NEA) for example,
has released a plan that outlines direct investments totaling 5 trillion
Yuan ($746 billion USD) in clean energy development over the next ten years
in China, an amount more than eight times greater than the $90 billion the
Obama Administration estimates our stimulus package invested in clean
energy. Perhaps based on that investment, the Chinese government's State
Council, a body akin to the White House Cabinet, issued a document this week
which decreed that new strategic industries -- including biotechnology,
advanced materials, energy saving cars and technologies and environmental
protection -- would account for nearly one in eight dollars of Chinese
G.D.P. by 2015. The reality is that the United States has no such plan in
place to compete with China's ambitious goals for clean energy right now.
Instead, China is on the offense in this strategically vital market.

To create jobs in the United States - jobs now, and jobs that last - and to
compete globally in a clean energy economy, the US needs to pursue policies
that unleash American innovation, investment and entrepreneurial spirit.
Given current fiscal constraints and other profound differences sustained
direct public spending is unlikely. However, Congress and the administration
can be more resourceful and call upon not only direct investment, but
improved tax treatment, better access to low cost finance, and smart
regulation as well. We will attempt to show in this and follow-up postings
how this can be done in a manner that enhances innovation by investing in
the deployment at scale of clean energy technologies.

Such an investment led strategy for industry creation is not a long-term
replacement for climate legislation. Yet, making clean energy cheaper and
reducing barriers to its deployment, while making markets more predictable,
can be very effective in driving innovation. Taking a pause in the debate
over pricing pollution, will create new opportunities for bringing all
Americans together, aligning interests across industries, regions, and
across party lines, to show that we can rebuild our economy and create jobs
on the foundation of efficient, clean, and innovative technology.

*Building a Clean Energy Economy in the Absence of a Price on Carbon: *

Assuming that Congress will be unable to pass cap and trade legislation that
puts a price on carbon in this or the next Congress, a fundamental challenge
will be to find ways to accomplish many of the short-term goals of building
a clean energy infrastructure by instead removing the financial and other
barriers that are preventing the emergence of an efficient, clean energy
economy. Through a series of policy reforms these goals can be met while
receiving broad based and bipartisan support.

Given the current political atmosphere, as a practical matter we believe
this effort should be guided by several pragmatic working assumptions:

o Cap and trade legislation will not likely pass before 2013 at the
earliest;
o There will be only minor appropriations, except perhaps for infrastructure
spending that can be shown to create significant jobs;
o There will be no new taxes;
o Energy credits and tax deductions will be acceptable to any new Congress;
o Establishing a green bank that can borrow from the federal treasury to
leverage private capital investment while not costing taxpayers will also be
acceptable on both sides of the aisle; and
o Efforts to streamline regulations without harming the environment will be
acceptable to both legislators and the public alike.

In addition, assembling such a bill focused on deployment and new
investments in innovation must be based on a set of core principles. These
include:

*First*, if Congress cannot raise the cost of carbon pollution, it must
reduce the cost of clean alternatives, and there are many ways to accomplish
this in addition to direct federal appropriation.

*Second*, the clean energy economy requires the construction of significant
new infrastructure involving major public and private investment.

*Third*, policy choices should be made with the objective of overcoming the
actual financial, market, and regulatory barriers that stand in the way of
deploying clean technologies today.

*Fourth*, federal strategy should build on existing infrastructure, rules,
and markets, especially where state, local, or voluntary industry programs
are already in place, encouraging a race to the top through positive
incentives.

*Fifth*, strategies can be developed that take into account state and
regional differences, and work with state regulators as implementation
partners.

*Sixth*, consistent with announced White House strategy, multiple bills
should be developed that are assigned to different committees, but there
should be a shared and comprehensive strategy underlying these proposals.

In transforming these principles into a coherent plan of action and
regulatory reform, several overarching priorities should organize the
efforts of Congress and the administration. Some of these framing challenges
include:

*Lowering the Cost of Electricity* - To date, renewable energy projects have
received support in the form of tax credits, loans, guarantees and other
financial incentives. These efforts need to be renewed and strengthened. Tax
provisions, however, are not enough on their own because of cost limitations
if the goal is to bring renewables to scale and build a large number of new
clean generation projects.

Tax incentives need to be supplemented by a low cost "green bank," like the
Energy Independence Trust (EIT) proposed by the Coalition for Green Capital.
The bank would be a not-for-profit lending entity with the President
appointing key officials, and would be dedicated to providing low cost
funding to clean energy projects. The bank would not require a federal
appropriation, but would be authorized to borrow from the Treasury and repay
the loans. Studies have shown that such low cost funding could reduce the
cost of energy delivered by these projects by 20-40%, making a much larger
number of renewable energy projects competitive within existing markets, and
allowing them to be built.

*Deploying Renewable Energy* - While many new natural gas plants will be
built in the years ahead, natural gas plants have a considerable carbon
footprint. It is critical that a robust, largely carbon free, renewable
industry develop even if natural gas prices become low enough to decrease
significantly the competitiveness of renewable energy projects, including
renewable energy projects that receive the financial support recommended
above. A renewable portfolio standard is needed to ensure the deployment of
renewable energy and to provide the certainty needed to encourage investment
in clean energy innovation.

*Bringing Energy Efficiency to Scale* - There are between 80 and 120 million
homes in the U.S and almost 5 million commercial buildings. Efficiency is
the cheapest, cleanest, and most abundant energy source available. Efforts
that don't rapidly bring energy efficiency measures to scale will have
little impact on energy use or carbon emissions. Informed policies must be
developed that remove market barriers and allow consumers and businesses to
realize economic gains from conservation. So far, no programs have succeeded
in achieving the needed scale. Financing programs like those that could be
provided by the EIT, tax incentives, programs like Home and Building Star
and other ideas should be packaged into a coherent program designed to
achieve the needed scale in residential, commercial, and industrial
buildings.

*Developing Needed Infrastructure* - The lack of adequate infrastructure
could significantly slow and even stop the development of a clean energy
economy. There are three critical areas of electricity infrastructure that
need to be addressed: (a) investing in transmission lines dedicated to
increasing renewable energy development; (b) upgrading distribution networks
to be operated as a smart grid that facilitates the flow of useful data as
well as energy; and (c) placement of a charging infrastructure for hybrid
and electric vehicles to integrate transportation effectively into our
existing electricity grid. The challenges and barriers to development of
this infrastructure should be carefully addressed.

*Removing Regulatory Barriers to Deployment* - There are many steps that
could be taken to streamline regulatory processes and lower the cost of
clean energy projects without reducing environmental standards. It is more
urgent than ever to analyze these issues and propose solutions. These
efforts can also be developed in a way that provides federal support and
technical assistance while honoring traditional authorities of state energy
regulatory agencies.

*Encouraging Races to the Top* - Streamlining and harmonizing federal
investments and policies can encourage a race to the top by providing
incentives for states, utilities and industries to act. This strategy has
been employed effectively by the Department of Education, which faces a
similar challenge of managing a national strategy within a complex framework
of state and regional authorities. For example, it is worth asking: Can a
suite of tax incentives be developed that utilities can access if they
reduce the carbon emissions? Can these be implemented efficiently through a
reverse auction process? How would these measures fit within current efforts
by states to reduce emissions? A list of such policies should be carefully
considered by federal policy makers seeking to drive investment across the
economy into innovative clean energy delivery infrastructure. The federal
government can play a tremendously beneficial roll in encouraging
coordinated planning across regions, providing broadly accessible data
resources, harmonizing incentives and standards, and otherwise streamlining
and integrating what is currently a fragmented national marketplace for
energy.

*Setting Principles to Shape Future Market Growth* - Just as the conventions
of openness and universal access shaped the subsequent development of the
Internet and the on-line economy, so too coming changes to energy regulation
and emerging clean energy markets will have far reaching implications for
consumers. It will be important in considering regulatory reform to address
up front key concerns related to privacy, security and reliability, data
ownership, consumer protection, and open access to distribution networks for
innovative technologies and new market entrants. The basic rules and
protections should be written proactively into the design of new markets,
rather then addressed once problems arise. Further, where incentives and
subsidies are needed to encourage early commercialization, these can sunset
as technologies and markets become mature.

*Developing Shared Strategy and Tactics* - In implementing these ideas, it
is not essential to move a single comprehensive energy bill. Rather it
likely will be advantageous to prepare a comprehensive list of measures, but
broken down into component parts and allocated to different jurisdictional
committees within Congress. While all the measures would be considered
separately by legislators, the President and Congressional leaders could
present to the public a comprehensive program of needed measures. While
negotiations on particular policy measures will be intense, alignment around
the broader whole package of objectives will help to avoid losing the forest
for the trees. Further, this strategy is not limited simply to new
legislation; it should also include improved organization of existing
government measures to support rapid improvements in creation of a clean
economy and energy security. Lastly, the administration has many tools at
its disposal to immediately take action on these measures using existing
authorities, whether at DOE, HUD, Agriculture, Labor, Transportation, or a
host of other Agencies and Departments, as well as within the energy and
economic policy advisors within the White House, including CEQ, the NEC, and
OMB.

Taken together, these principles and priorities offer a framework for
designing new clean energy legislation to foster innovation, accelerate
deployment, and improve our global competitiveness. This is a strategy that
can be immediately put into action regardless of political ideology. We will
be writing in coming weeks to put meat on the bones of this proposal. But
one thing is for sure. During this economic crisis the rest of the world
will not be waiting for America to catch up. It is time to get to work.

Most of the ideas raised in this memorandum will be discussed at a
conference in Washington DC on November 16 entitled the "Future of Energy
Reform". The conference will be free and open to the public on a limited
seating basis. Visit
coalitionforgreencapital.com<http://www.coalitionforgreencapital.com/>for
more details.

----
[1] Heeks, Richard (2008). "Meet Marty Cooper - the inventor of the mobile
phone". BBC 41 (6): 26-33. doi:10.1109/MC.2008.192.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/8639590.stm.
[2] Heeks, Richard (2008). "ICT4D 2.0: The Next Phase of Applying ICT for
International Development". IEEE Computer 41 (6): 26-33.
doi:10.1109/MC.2008.192.
http://doi.ieeecomputersociety.org/10.1109/MC.2008.192.

*Kenneth Berlin
[email-masked]*

*Kenneth Berlin is on the Board of Directors of and is the General Counsel
of the Coalition for Green Capital. From 1994 - October 2010. Mr Berlin was
the head of the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom's
environmental and climate change practices. Mr. Berlin is Chairman of the
Board of Center for International Environmental Law and former Chairman of
the Board of the Environmental Law Institute from 2003-2005. Mr. Berlin has
been extremely involved in many aspects of setting climate change, energy
and environmental policy. He is the author of several articles on clean coal
and climate change and lectures widely on climate change issues. His
article, A Framework for Achieving Energy Security and Arresting Global
Warming was published by the Center for American Progress in December 2008.
Mr. Berlin was on the Obama EPA Transition Team.*

*
Bracken Hendricks
[email-masked] *
*Bracken Hendricks is a Senior Fellow with the Center for American Progress
and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Coalition for Green
Capital. He is the co-author of the book Apollo's Fire: Igniting America's
Clean Energy Economy with U.S. Congressman Jay Inslee (WA), and was a
Co-Founder and first Executive Director of the Apollo Alliance for good jobs
and clean energy. Hendricks is an Advisor to the Clinton Global Initiative
on technology, infrastructure and the environment, and served in the Clinton
administration in the Office of the Vice President and the Department of
Commerce, and has advised the Obama administration, members of congress, and
other elected leaders on global warming solutions and economic policy.