WASHINGTON, DC, US, August 31, 2005 (Refocus Weekly)
The United States is at a critical point in the transition to
renewable energy sources, and further delay will leave the country even further
behind other nations in the development of renewable energy, even more wedded to
energy sources that are unsustainable in the long run, and facing an even
greater uphill battle in the effort to control global warming emissions says
the National Association of State Public Interest Research Groups in its report,
Achieving a New Energy Future: How States Can Lead America to a Clean,
Sustainable Economy.
In contrast to the misguided federal energy bill signed recently, more than
20 states are leading the way toward true energy independence by having passed
or actively considering important clean energy policies, says the report.
Despite record-breaking oil prices, our leaders in Washington are
leading us away from an economically and environmentally sustainable future, so
it is comforting to see that state officials have shown a desire to put better
energy policies in place, says Rob Sargent of the Public Interest Research
Group. Despite the emerging promise of a new, clean energy future, there has
been little momentum toward that goal at the federal level.
Renewable
forms of energy such as wind and solar power are increasingly cost-competitive
with traditional forms of energy, the report explains. Indeed, wind power is a
least-cost option for new power generation in some parts of the country and new
renewable technologies that sustainably tap the natural energy of the earth,
water, wind and crops are on the horizon.
Thanks in large part to
government research and development programs and incentive programs (such as tax
credits) in the 1970s, the United States was once a world leader in the
production and installation of renewable energy technologies, it adds.
Unfortunately, in recent years other nations - most notably Japan and several
European countries - have recognized the long-term benefits of renewables and
surged ahead of the U.S.
Spain, Germany and Denmark account for 60% of
the worlds installed wind power capacity, compared to 16% for the U.S., with
Denmark obtaining 20% of its electricity from wind turbines.
The
economics of solar PV as a direct electricity generation source are not nearly
as favorable as the economics of wind, but that too is changing, it states. The
cost of solar PV has dropped dramatically over the last two decades, from US$20
per watt to $3.50 today, and residential and commercial PV provides unique
economic value because of its status as a distributed resource.
Solar PV
has suffered the same fate as wind, with the U.S. accounting for 37% of global
capacity in 1993 but, by 2002, it had slipped to third place behind Japan (half
of global PV capacity) and Germany. The U.S.s failure to keep up with
renewable power development in other nations has consequences for the nations
future economic growth.
The current crisis in our energy system is the
result of decades of bad decisions, it explains. The decision to unleash an
unconstrained boom in natural gas-fired power plant construction during the
1990s that has since contributed to price spikes throughout the economy; the
decision to allow aging coal-fired power plants to continue to operate under
outdated emission standards; the decision to subsidize fossil and nuclear fuels
at the expense of renewable power and energy efficiency.
The effects of
these bad decisions are now apparent, with natural gas prices doubling in recent
years, and old coal-fired power plants continuing to pollute and threaten public
health. The nuclear reactors built in the 1960s and 1970s are coming to the end
of their original life spans, but many are receiving extensions from federal
officials, presenting a continuing threat to public health and
safety.
Environmentally, our bad energy decisions have made the U.S.
the worlds leading contributor to global warming, threatening the health and
welfare of future generations, the ecosystems on which life depends, and
Americas standing in the global community, it adds. Economically, our
decisions have left the United States - historically a world leader in
technological innovation - well behind Europe and Japan in the development and
deployment of the energy technologies of the 21st century and have tied our
continued prosperity to fluctuations in fossil energy prices over which we have
little control.
Numerous policy tools have been developed over the past
decade to promote renewables and energy efficiency, and the report recommends
greater adoption by states of renewable energy standards and renewable energy
funds.
