Detroit Auto Show Unveils ElVs and Hybrids, Solar Farm to serve 5000 in Austin, TX, Admnistration to Use Regulatory Process

In the race to claim ever-higher fuel-economy numbers and keep up with government regulations, automakers are rolling out hybrids and electric cars at this week’s Detroit auto show. However the public is not yet buying them in great numbers.  McKinsey said hybrids could account for up to a quarter of sales by 2020, with battery-powered cars making up 5 percent, but internal-combustion engines would dominate the industry through at least 2030.

Ribbons were cut last Friday on the Webberville Solar Farm, an array of 127,000 solar panels set to provide enough electricity to power 5,000 homes in the Austin area. The farm will be the largest of its kind in Texas and the largest solar project of any public power utility in the United States, according to Austin Energy CEO Larry Weiss.  ERCOT is projecting a growing need for energy in the state in the coming years and this solar facility will contribute to the state's energy needs.  Weldon said the real benefit of solar, the fact that it comes free of polluting emissions,  should be taken into account when consumers consider the price competitiveness of energy sources.

Given the partisian gridlock in Congress, especially on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, expect the Administration to take a harder look at its existing legal authorities in the realm of energy and environmental policy, building on its energy efficiency, sustainability, and infrastructure development initiatives in 2011, according to the Van Ness Feldman energy law firm.