Global Wind Energy Increasing

Wind turbine installations may rise 20 percent this year worldwide and double by 2015, the Global Wind Energy Council said in a statement today.

Capacity to produce electricity from the wind may rise by 40 gigawatts in 2011 from 294.4 gigawatts at the end of last year, the lobby group said in a statement from Brussels. By 2015, it forecasts 450 gigawatts.
“2010 was a tough year for our industry, but 2011 is looking up,” said Steve Sawyer, secretary general for GWEC. “We’ve paid the price for the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis. Now we’re back on track.”  

Source: Bloomberg

Solar Energy Industries Association Applauds Inclusion of Treasury Section 1603 Program Extension in Senate Tax Compromise

Extending program will drive U.S. solar industry growth and job creation in 2011

The 1603 tax credit has created flexibility for funding renewable energy projects and is fundamental for keeping the solar industry growing in America. The current program has facilitated the construction of more than 1,100 solar projects in 42 states. All of this has been at a minimal cost to the tax payer; the 1603 program has supported $18 billion in investment in new renewable energy projects throughout the country and has created tens of thousands of jobs.  The program has helped the solar industry to grow by over 100 percent in 2010, create enough new solar capacity to power 200,000 homes and double domestic solar employment to more than 93,000 Americans.

The TGP was created by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (Section 1603) to provide commercial solar installations with a cash grant in lieu of the 30 percent solar investment tax credit (ITC). President George W. Bush signed the 8-year ITC into law in 2008, but the economic conditions created by the global recession made it clear that few would be able to utilize the tax credit.

So far, the TGP has helped move forward more than 1,100 solar projects in 42 states. A report on the impact of the extension of the TGP by EuPD Research projected it would create 65,000 new U.S. jobs and 5,100 megawatts of solar capacity – enough to power more than 1 million households.

Mazuma Capital is committed to help the growth of renewable energy sources by breaking down financial barriers for companies looking to implement new technologies and green inititatives.
See more at http://mazumacapital.com/

Source Materials
SEIA policy overview of Treasury Grant Program: http://seia.org/cs/federal_issues/treasury_grant_program
Fact sheet on TGP and job creation: http://www.seia.org/galleries/FactSheets/Factsheet_TGP.pdf
Summary of solar projects awarded a Treasury Grant:
The Solar Foundation National Solar Jobs Census 2010: http://www.thesolarfoundation.org/sites/thesolarfoundation.org/files/Final%20TSF%20National%20Solar%20Jobs%20Census%202010%20Web%20Version.pdf

GREENBELT RESOURCES CORPORATION AND DIVERSIFIED ETHANOL ANNOUNCE PLANT TECHNOLOGY FINANCING PROGRAM THROUGH MAZUMA CAPITAL FOR CUSTOMERS

PASO ROBLES, Calif., & BURNSVILLE, Minn., Dec. 8, 2010 – Greenbelt Resources Corporation (Pink Sheets: GRCO) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Diversified Ethanol Corporation ("Diversified") has established a business partnership with Mazuma Capital to offer leased equipment financing to qualified Diversified customers. Diversified designs,  constructs, monitors and operates highly efficient and cost effective small scale waste-to-ethanol conversion plants that utilize a wide range of organic wastes feedstocks including cellulosic material, by products of breads and grain processing, organic slurry, and other food and beverage waste from beer, wine, and sugar-based products.

            Mazuma Capital is a leading national direct lender and will provide third party financing for qualified Diversified customers. Dedicated to maintaining a portfolio that includes renewable energies, Mazuma provides a sophisticated selection of finance programs that offer the flexibility necessary to meet the range of Diversified customers’ needs. 

            "Providing strong financing options for our customer seeking to own an ethanol plant is a critical avenue to continue the growth of the green fuels industry,” said Darren Eng, CEO of Greenbelt Resources Corporation. “When a partner like Mazuma takes notice and brings their expertise and success to the table, it strengthens customer confidence that ethanol from waste is a viable investment.”

            “Our support for Diversified plant financing is another cornerstone for Mazuma in the renewable energy sector.  By carrying risk and providing solutions to overcome financial barriers on emerging green technologies, more and more middle-market companies can now implement green initiatives.  Promoting the adoption of emerging green technologies is a continued goal of Mazuma Capital and through our partner programs and extensive knowledge of new technology financing Mazuma will continue to enhance energy project offerings,” said Jared Belnap, Mazuma Capital’s President and CEO.

            Diversified currently operates a waste-to-ethanol plant in Paso Robles California that conducts pilot studies on various feedstocks to expand a database of information  to support continued growth of waste-to-ethanol plant production. Shareholders and prospective investors can register for email updates on company financial and operations announcements at www.greenbeltresources.com/investors.
About Greenbelt Resources Corporation
            Greenbelt Resources Corporation™ is committed to developing and implementing technology that makes alternative fuel reliable, practical, and efficient. The company is dedicated to delivering business solutions with integrity and perpetually high quality control through intelligent support services. Greenbelt Resources subsidiary Diversified Ethanol Corporation™ provides end-to-end waste-to-ethanol solutions designed to establish a highly efficient installed network of customer-owned modular ethanol plants providing localized processing of locally generated waste into locally consumed ethanol. The company's ethanol plants are built around the award winning Butterfield Closed Cycle System™. Founded in 2001, Greenbelt Resources Corporation is a public company trading under the symbol GRCO.PK. For more information including how to contact the company, visit Greenbelt Resources on the web at http://www.blogger.com/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/OLKE4/www.greenbeltresources.com.

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Why Financing Your Green Energy Projects Makes $ense!!

Cost of Green Power Makes Projects Tougher Sell

Matt McInnis for The New York Times

The United States has relied on a combination of state renewable energy mandates and federal tax credits to encourage greater reliance on energy from renewable sources. Legislation that would have set a price on carbon-dioxide emissions and included a standard for increasing the share of clean energy in the nation’s electricity portfolio failed in Congress this year.

“Our investors tell us they’re nervous about all the uncertainty,” said John Cusack, the president of Gifford Park Associates, a sustainability management and investment consulting firm in Eastchester, N.Y. “They don’t know what’s going to happen.”
To be sure, a lot of renewable power development is still going forward. The American Wind Energy Association estimates that wind farms capable of producing 6,300 megawatts of wind power are under construction, and that a busy second half of 2010 would leave installations about 50 percent behind last year. Solar power is becoming less expensive, and its use is expanding rapidly. But it still accounts for less than 1 percent of the nation’s electricity needs, providing enough to serve about 350,000 homes.
Renewable energy supporters argue that higher fossil fuel prices will eventually make renewable energy more competitive — and at times over the last two decades, when the price for natural gas has spiked, wind power in particular has been a relative bargain. Advocates also argue that while the costs might be higher now, as the technology matures and supply chains and manufacturing bases take root, clean sources of power will become more attractive.
Fold in the higher costs of extracting and burning fossil fuels on human health, the climate and the environment, many advocates argue, and renewable technologies like wind power are already cheaper.
“One of the problems in the United States is that we haven’t been willing to confront the tough questions,” said Paul Gipe, who sits on the steering committee of the Alliance for Renewable Energy, a group advocating energy policy reform.
“We have to ask ourselves, ‘Do we really want renewables?’ ” he said. “And if the answer to that is yes, then we’re going to have to pay for them.”