Technology: Energy Department Offers Deep Discounts on Its Patents

(Chemical & Engineering News, May 9, 2011) By Rajendrani Mukhopadhyay For a bargain price of $1,000, start-up companies can get up to three of the thousands of unlicensed patents in the Department of Energy’s portfolio. The offer is part of the department’s America’s Next Top Energy Innovator challenge and is available until Dec. 15. The challenge kicked off last week and aims to double the number of start-up companies emerging from DOE’s 17 national laboratories, which hold more than 15,000 patents. Only 10% of federal patents are currently licensed to be commercialized, according to the agency. Click here to read more…

U.S. Agencies to Buy Only Alternative Fuel Vehicles

(Argus, May 24, 2011) President Barack Obama today ordered that all new light-duty vehicles purchased for federal agency fleets must use alternative fuels by 2015 as part of an effort to reduce government petroleum use 30pc by 2020. The president issued a memo setting the 2015 purchase requirement and ordering agencies to better manage the size of their vehicle fleets. The memo covers the purchase of new passenger vehicles and light-duty trucks, requiring that all vehicles bought from 2015 on use alternatives such as hybrid technology, electricity, compressed natural gas or biofuels.  Click here to read more…

Bernanke Signals Support For Government Spending In R&D

(May 17, 2011, Wall Street Journal)–U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Monday said government spending in research and development can help boost economic growth, signaling support for policies sponsored by President Barack Obama. Speaking at a Georgetown University economics conference, the Fed chief said in prepared remarks that “the tendency of the market to supply too little of certain types of R&D provides a rationale for government intervention,” noting how innovation and technologic change are key for economic growth. But he cautioned that, given the current budgetary constraints, the U.S. needs to weigh its decisions cautiously. Read more

Why Did My Loan Guarantee Just Die, and What Do I Do About It?

(Biofuels Digest, May 18, 2011) In Washington, numerous projects received DOE letters this week that their 1705 applications had been put on hold, and many others have now been rejected. Last week, DOE loan guarantee czar Jonathan Silver wrote on the DOE’s blog: “We are notifying a group of companies that are farthest along in the [loan guarantee] process that we will be working with them to take the final steps required to complete a loan guarantee. Given the rigorous technical, legal, and financial requirements, it is possible that not all of these projects will succeed by September 30th, but each of them will have a chance to compete for the remaining funding.  Click here to read more…

Ohio is Spending $1.4 Billion to Attract Jobs. Will it work?

(USA Today, April 25, 2011)  By Dennis Cauchon   The farmland is flat. The houses are few. The property owners have agreed to sell. All that’s missing is a manufacturer who wants to build a giant factory on 1,600 acres of farmland in northwest Ohio. As the town’s website says: “whyvanwert.org.”  Van Wert’s speculative industrial site — complete with a rail line, gas lines, land-acquisition options and anything else a manufacturer would need — is just one $10 million slice of an extraordinary government experiment to revive this state’s declining economy.  Ohio has launched what appears to be the biggest intervention in the private economy by a state government since at least the Great Depression, according to a USA TODAY review of historical data.  Click here to read more…

Budget Battle Leaves Applied Energy Research Relatively Unscathed

(Science AAAS, April 12, 2011) How did energy research do in the 2011 budget negotiations? Depends on what flavor you prefer. The Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy programs did relatively well. Its overall budget of $1.8 billion is $368 million above what the House had voted to spend in February, although it is $408 million below FY 2010 levels and $550 million below what President Barack Obama had requested in 2011. “The actual reduction to the program compared to FY 2010 is $116 million because the bill rescinds $292 million in earmarks,” notes a Senate press release.  Cutting earmarked research efforts has been a priority for the Obama Administration and had proved difficult to achieve in previous budgets. But the House version of the bill would have meant whole programs canceled, an outcome that now appears unlikely.  Click here to read more…

Patent Reform On The Move

(Chemical & Engineering News, April 25, 2011) By Glenn Hess   Legislation that would overhaul the nation’s patent system took another step toward enactment on April 14 when the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee gave strong bipartisan approval to a reform measure that has the backing of big chemical and pharmaceutical companies. The bill, H.R. 1249, was approved by a vote of 32-3 and would align the U.S. with other industrialized nations that use a “first to file” system, which awards patents to the inventor who filed an application first, rather than allowing a fight over who actually invented something first. Click here to read more…

Obama Puts Taxes on Table

(Wall St Journal, April 11, 2011) By Carol E. Lee and Damian Paletta   President Barack Obama will lay out his plan for reducing the nation’s deficit Wednesday, belatedly entering a fight over the nation’s long-term financial future. But in addition to suggesting cuts—the current focus of debate—the White House looks set to aim its firepower on a more divisive topic: taxes.  In a speech Wednesday, Mr. Obama will propose cuts to entitlement programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, and changes to Social Security, a discussion he has largely left to Democrats and Republicans in Congress. He also will call for tax increases for people making over $250,000 a year, a proposal contained in his 2012 budget, and changing parts of the tax code he thinks benefit the wealthy. Click here to read more…

Back From The Brink, Parties Armed For Mega-battle Over Debt Ceiling

(The Hill, April 11, 2011) By Bob Cusack     John Boehner and Harry Reid went to the brink of a government shutdown, and turned back at the last possible moment. While there is plenty of debate about which side won, one thing is clear: Washington hasn’t been this serious about budget cutting in decades.  The Speaker and Senate majority leader went deep in their respective playbooks of leverage games during the fiscal 2011 spending debate.  Despite the tension and the glare of the media spotlight, the fledgling relationship between Boehner and Reid actually grew stronger over the last couple of months, according to sources close to both men.  Click here to read more…

Taxes and Incentives: Getting the Full Benefit of Government Funding

(Area Development Online, March 2011) By Joseph Calvanico    As the economy continues to show encouraging signs of a long-term recovery, savvy manufacturers are continuing to evaluate how to reduce their operating costs. Government funds — in the form of tax exemptions, credits, and incentives — can deliver a substantial boost to an organization’s bottom line and free up resources for other initiatives. While state and local governments offer a wide range of assistance, the environment is constantly evolving, presenting a complex, moving target for manufacturers that operate in multiple jurisdictions. Executives who understand the landscape, sources of funding, and available exemptions can capture the full benefit of government funding and gain a competitive advantage. Click here to read more…

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