In an attempt to keep the political war against renewable energy in the headlines, Republicans are holding another hearing to question the value of government investments in the sector.

Looks like ten political sideshows on Solyndra weren’t enough.

If tomorrow morning’s hearing were being used as a chance to objectively assess where the industry stands, that would be one thing. But the title of the meeting gives away the real political intent: “The Obama Administration’s Green Energy Gamble: What Have All The Taxpayer Subsidies Achieved?

Actually, those green energy investments have yielded substantial returns. And before the political grandstanding begins in the House of Representatives tomorrow, here are five important things you should know about how promotion of clean energy has supported American businesses and consumers:

1. The 1603 grant program supported up to 75,000 jobs and 23,000 renewable energy projects during the height of the recession. When the recession hit, it was very difficult for project developers to find banks that were willing to utilize tax credits. So a cash grant program was created to give companies an easier way to finance projects. While it’s very difficult to know the exact influence of the grant on each project, the program played a major role in maintaining momentum — helping support $25 billion in gross economic activity, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

2. The production tax credit helps leverage up to $20 billion in private investment annually. With this key tax credit in place, the wind industry has dropped costs by 90% over the last few decades. It’s helped states like Iowa reach 20% wind penetration — bringing that state over 215 businesses that support 5,000 workers. Across the rest of the U.S., the entire industry supports 75,000 jobs, with 30,000 in manufacturing. However, up to 37,000 of those jobs could be at risk due Congressional lawmakers’ inability to extend the tax credit.

3. The loan guarantee program is expected to cost $2 billion less than budgeted. This program has gotten a black eye due to the bankruptcies of a few companies — most famously Solyndra — that received guarantees. But according to John McCain’s National Finance Chairman, Herb Allison, the cost to taxpayers will likely be far less than initially thought. In fact, over the last 20 years of experience, the U.S. government has shown a knack for managing risk — with loans and loan guarantee programs only costing tax payers 94 cents for every $100 dollars invested.

4. Home weatherization grew 1000% from April to June of 2011, creating 14,800 jobs. After a slow ramp-up, efficiency programs supported by the stimulus package have helped weatherize hundreds of thousands of homes. In addition to supporting the retrofits of individual homes, the Obama administration has supported the Better Buildings Initiative, a program that has leveraged billions of private dollars to upgrade more than 4 billion square feet of public and private buildings in the next two years. That’s enough demand to support over 100,000 jobs.

5. ARPA-E has supported dozens of potentially groundbreaking technologies in advanced materials, renewable fuels, electricity generation, waste heat, and battery storage. Helping enhance America’s lead in technological innovation, the Advanced Research Research Projects Agency for Energy — initially funded through the stimulus package — has helped inventors, companies, and university labs boost their work. This program has immense bi-partisan support for promoting the “innovative research that makes America great and has fueled our economic growth for generations.”

Despite these successes, Republicans continue milking the Solyndra bankruptcy for an election-year story that doesn’t hold up — dragging the rest of the clean energy industry into the mud.

The sector has gone through some high-profile shake-ups and bankruptcies, so it’s the duty of lawmakers to understand how tax payer dollars are being deployed. That’s a supportable endeavor. But holding yet another hearing to lambast the President for a so-called “gamble” in clean energy isn’t productive for anyone.

by Adam James

At the advent of the Internet 30 years ago, having large amounts of personal information accessible on a shared network would have been unthinkable — even if that network would make our lives easier. But we found a way to navigate this privacy minefield with one straightforward idea: Entrust our personal information to certain entities with the expectation that it will be secured, and, in exchange, we get a life with more choices. While there is sometimes an inverse relationship between access and privacy, it is a challenge we have overcome.

The tension between data access and privacy is evident today in the smart electrical grid. It is “smart” because it can harness new information and communications technology to expand its functions while increasing efficiency and accessibility. The transformative potential of this information intelligence is amazing — just ask anyone making the choice between a landline and a smart phone.

Over the next few years, deployment of new technologies will ensure that the quality and quantity of energy information increases dramatically. Qualitatively, smart appliances will reveal much more detailed feedback about consumers’ patterns, such as time and length of use. Quantitatively, the data points about a consumer’s energy usage will go from thousands to millions annually.

This data will empower consumers in two ways. First, managing their energy consumption will help save them money. They’ll see lower energy bills from setting HVAC systems to operate intermittently when no one’s home and having appliances go dark when they’re unused. Second, two-way energy flow between consumers and electric utilities will allow consumers to participate in energy commerce, selling unused energy back onto the grid for profit. Harnessing distributed generation projects, such as rooftop solar panels, using demand response by getting cash rebates for not consuming energy at peak hours, and taking advantage of personal electric vehicles as battery storage units for the grid are all examples of how people can use enabling technology to change the game.

But here’s the rub. The data reveals a tremendous amount of real-time information about the consumer, which could lead to severe privacy violations if it were mined for behaviors and preferences.

This data clearly needs to be secured. However, if the security is too restrictive, it will inhibit third-party innovation, hurting businesses trying to enter the market. If it is too lax, consumers may be exploited, and companies could face serious legal action.

Read more