transitions

President Obama signed into law a government stimulus package Tuesday and said the energy provisions will pave the path for doubling the amount of renewable energy in the next three years.

Energy is a major piece of the massive $787 billion package, totaling about $38 billion in government spending and about $20 billion in tax incentives over the next 10 years, according to estimates.

Obama signed the bill, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, into law at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science where he later took a tour of the museum's solar-panel installation.

The energy portions … Read more

Just last week, President Obama signed the DTV Delay Act into law. But despite appearances, the delay isn't mandatory: about one-third (650-plus) of the nation's TV stations will be pulling the plug on their analog towers by the end of Tuesday. The remaining stations will be taking advantage of the new legislation, transitioning to digital between March 14 and June 12.

Which stations are switching early? An updated document at the FCC's DTV Web site will let you know which (if any) stations are in your area (PDF). Here in New York--as in most large metro areas--no … Read more

The Senate on Wednesday reached an agreement on a massive government stimulus bill that includes tens of billions of dollars for energy through direct government investments and tax incentives.

The Senate pared down the package to $790 billion from the House's $820 billion version, but the majority of energy-related infrastructure spending and incentives remain in the compromise bill. Final votes on the bill, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, in both houses could happen on Friday.

Overall, there is $50 billion for energy programs, much of it focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, and $20 … Read more

President Barack Obama on Wednesday signed into law the DTV Delay Act, a bill postponing the date on which television broadcasters will have to transition from analog signals to digital signals.

The legislation moves the transition deadline from February 17 to June 12. Democrats, including the administration, supported the measure out of concern for the millions of people who are not prepared for the switchover.

"During these challenging economic times, the needs of American consumers are a top priority of my administration," Obama said in a statement. "Millions of Americans, including those in our most vulnerable communities, … Read more

Despite a regulator-approved delay to the nationwide digital TV switchover, more than a third of the nation's TV stations plan to begin broadcasting completely in digital next week.

The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday released a list of 681 of the nation's 1,800 or so TV stations that plan to make the switch by February 17. TV stations were required to notify the FCC by Monday if they planned to turn off their analog TV signal on February 17.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives passed a bill that moves the deadline for transitioning TV broadcast … Read more

If an electric passenger car is good, an electric people mover is even better. Ford Motor Company on Monday announced plans to bring an all-electric version of the 2010 Transit Connect to the North American market in addition to its 2.0 liter gasoline-powered model.

Based on the global Transit Connect platform, the light commercial vehicle will be built in Turkey and imported to the U.S. It will be outfitted by Smith Electric Vehicles.

Details on the vehicles are few. Ford has not announced the type of battery or its supplier. But if Smith Electric Vehicles' Ampere is similar to what the North American market will receive, the Transit Connect is powered by two 24 kWh lithium ion batteries, giving it a top speed of 70 mph and a range of up to 100 miles.… Read more

Five years after a Netroots candidacy didn't quite get him into the White House, online support for Howard Dean is back.

Fans of the former Vermont governor and 2004 Democratic presidential candidate are turning to Facebook and online liberal mainstays like FireDogLake to make the case for why President Obama should nominate Dean to run the Health and Human Services Department.

After Obama's first choice for the job, former senator Tom Daschle, withdrew his nomination because of tax problems, the Obama administration told The New York Times that "there was no Plan B." Yet online, the … Read more

Secretary of Energy Steven Chu plans to dispense tens of billions of dollars in loans in the next year in an effort to stimulate the economy and shortcut bureaucracy at the Department of Energy.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday, Chu said that the goal is to spend about half of the roughly $37 billion set aside for clean-energy projects in the coming year.

The clean-energy provisions are a central piece of the government stimulus package, which was passed by the House earlier this week. The Senate late Friday reached an agreement on the spending bill … Read more

Over a quarter of all full-power broadcast TV stations could cut off their analog TV service on or before February 17 even though the official deadline has been extended another four months, according to the Federal Communications Commission.

Already 143 full-power TV stations have terminated broadcasting their analog signal. And another 60 stations have already informed the FCC that they would like to terminate broadcasting in analog before February 17. As of February 2, when acting FCC Chairman Michael Copps sent a letter to Congress urging them to delay the transition, another 276 broadcasters had told the FCC they intended … Read more