OVERNIGHT ENERGY: ‘No More Solyndras’ vote arrives

State of Play: The House is slated to vote Friday on the GOP’s bill to curtail the Energy Department's green energy loan guarantee program.

The “No More Solyndras” bill – named after the failed, taxpayer-backed solar panel maker – is expected to pass but won’t move in the Senate.

It marks the latest step in a wider GOP legislative and political attack against the loan program. Click here, here and here for more.

Something to watch: The number of Republicans that oppose the bill because it doesn’t go far enough. Some conservatives have pushed to kill the loan program outright.

But the GOP bill instead permits loans to be issued for applications submitted by the end of 2011, while placing new restrictions on federal reviews of the projects.

Quote of the Day: “A subsidy is defined as a gift or grant of money. We cannot find a single gift or grant of money to a single oil company.” – Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) during a Thursday House Natural Resources Committee hearing.

Gohmert was pushing back against Democratic claims that oil companies are showered with taxpayer subsidies, a phrase that Democrats often use to describe tax breaks.

NEWS BITES:

Senators look ahead with new energy bills

Senators have unveiled a pair of new energy bills this week, likely signaling issues they hope to work on next Congress.
 
Sen. Richard Blumenthal's (D-Conn.) bill (S. 3531) would expand tax incentives for hydrogen fuel cell refueling infrastructure. It also would boost tax credits for fuel cells that use combined heat and power technology, which generates heat and electricity on-site from one fuel source.
 
Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Hoeven (R-N.D.) co-sponsored a bill (S. 3535) that would create a pilot program that gives grants for energy efficiency upgrades at non-profit organizations.

Klobuchar said at the Democratic National Convention that she sees political space for bipartisan energy legislation to move in the Senate.

But with few legislative days remaining in this Congress, the bills likely represent an effort to look ahead to next year.

Carol Browner on natural gas

President Obama’s former energy and climate change adviser said Thursday that natural gas is “a bridge” to the cleaner energy technology the administration promotes.
 
Carol Browner, Obama’s former aide and also a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief, made the comments in an interview with Grist.
 
Her response to a question about environmentalists’ concerns regarding natural gas illuminated an increasing Democratic and administration embrace of the fuel source.
 
“President Obama has demonstrated an unparalleled commitment to clean energy,” Browner said. “As we look toward that future and move toward energy independence, we have to consider all of the fuels that are available. We need a bridge to get us to that future.”
 
Browner also praised Obama’s regulatory approach and support of clean energy through stimulus funds as means to combat climate change.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Check out these stories that ran on E2-Wire Thursday ...

- Republicans scrub climate change concerns from EPA bill
- Hoeven amendment would greenlight Keystone XL
- Enviro group makes radio play in swing states
- Rival energy plans collide in House
- GOP threatens legal action against Interior officials

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