Obama Pushes Green Energy Made in America
On Monday, Obama touted his ideal green energy plan that includes American-made programs and materials. Photo: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kevin S. O’Brien via Wikimedia Commons
On President Barack Obama’s tour yesterday of a Wisconsin renewable energy site, he discussed the importance of clean energy manufacturing and automobiles with a “Made in the United States” stamp, according to an Associated Press report.
The President was in Menomonee Falls, Wisc. at ZBB Energy, which manufactures renewable energy batteries and fuel cells. He anticipates that the U.S. could soon be manufacturing 40 percent of the world’s supply of hybrid and electric vehicle batteries, while that number was less than 5 percent just a few years ago.
Obama singled out ZBB as an example of how the U.S. can also increase American jobs through an investment in green technology.
“For years we’ve heard about manufacturing jobs disappearing overseas,” the President said during his speech. “Well companies like this are showing us how manufacturing can come back right here to the United States of America, right back here to Wisconsin.”
Energy conservation has been a popular topic in the Obama administration, beginning with 2009′s Cash for Clunkers program that rewarded consumers who purchased fuel-efficient cars with vouchers up to $4,500. President Obama also pledged to double the production of renewable energy over the next three years, creating green jobs in the process.
ZBB has benefited from the push for more green energy, as the company received a $1.3 million loan from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act State Energy Program.
This money will be used to renovate the manufacturing process, in order to increase the output of electric and hybrid batteries. It is also planning to build a second factory in southeastern Wisconsin based on increased demand for the batteries.
There are currently several electric cars on the market, including the Nissan Leaf that has been tested to travel 100 miles on a single charge. But because these cars do not come with a gas tank, they would either need publicly available charging stations or interchangeable batteries to make long trips a reality.
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Don Mitchel
posted on August 17th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Going green and creating American jobs!!
COST are what decide where manufacturing takes place.
If our President would direct the Senate to work out the state rights concerns of Senator Boxer over national ballast water legislation that she killed in 2008, according to a 2009 report for congress the COST of foreign imports would rise. Our states would not have to compete with each other by accepting lower standards with an international organization primarily made up of foreign economic interest, over the COST to keep our waters clean. Unfortunately our president has taken the position that our waters should be governed by a military plan to last 20 plus years starting with another 14 month study coinciding with the Coast Guard plan to mirror the IMO for the first decade. As the report for congress suggesting imports COST would rise with American legislation that would affect mostly foreign ships the Presidents plan clearly shows a theme to continue our countries policy of economic globalization over economic Americanization or our environment by keeping foreign shipping COST low. Sad that the huge carbon footprint these ships make also dose not matter, in deciding what we allow foreign ships bringing foreign goods into our country to dump in our waters in the name of economic globalization.
Joseph Nino Rudolph
posted on August 18th, 2010 at 6:58 pm
Obama is on the right track by providing increased loans and tax breaks to small businesses. Small businesses are the life-blood of the economy directly responsible for over 70 percent of the jobs out there.
I believe President Obama is also correct in focusing on, and highly supporting the clean/green energy sector. Our dependence on foreign oil has simply got to end. If we continue sending hundreds of billions to Arab nations rather than keeping that money here in our countries energy sector, we will be writing our own epitaph. Why not invest in green energy sources and get our nation actually producing hard goods again. If all goes as planned, this go-round our manufacturing prowess will be in the form of solar panels, electric cars and drive trains and wind turbines rather than new houses and electronic consumer products.
The good thing here is that by doing this it kills two or three birds with one stone. Concurrently, alternative energy development will help grow jobs and rid our nation improve its air quality, reduce greenhouse gases and stop sending the hundreds of billions of dollars to hostile nations. We can then free up all of this capital for further reinvestment into additional job creation. Seems like a win-win situation all the way around.
Let’s face it, solar, wind, electric cars and other forms of renewable energy and transportation are the wave of the future. If we don’t lead the way, China or other nations will.
Read my Job Sector blog at http:/www.jobservicehelp.com
Green DIY energy guide
posted on August 29th, 2010 at 10:35 am
Going green is definitely going to help benefit us in the US by providing the much needed small business minds to put the spark back in the economy. The problem is, there isn’t fast enough implementation up to this point. Most people still think this “green energy” thing is a fad that will go away in the next year or two.
I agree with Joseph, if we don’t get on this now, this could mean the end of America the superpower economy.