An article in Barron's highlighted the problems the United States is facing in trying to move towards alternative energy. The article suggested that investors looking to focus on alternative energy turn to China, not the United States.
The reason? According to the article, the alternative energy market in the United States could take a decade to ramp up, but it's going full force in Asia. Governments in Asia have already mandated that their power generators move to solar and wind, but the United States won't even attempt to do so until later this year. And it's possible that since this is an election year, the cap and trade legislation that will spur the use of non-greenhouse gas emitting power sources will be kicked down the road until 2011.
That would mean that the gap between the United States and China, which is already the leader in solar and wind power, would only grow. "China is the leader in solar and wind power and will surpass our installed base in two years," a spokesman for American Superconductor, which inked a contract to install turbines off China's shores, said.
According to American Superconductor, the United States lags far behind other nations in providing long term incentives. The Obama administration provided the industry with $2.3 billion in green tax credits, but those were gone very quickly. The administration is seeking an additional $5 billion in tax credits and is promoting them as a job creation tool.
The administration, according to the American Wind Energy Association, is at least taking steps to promote alternative energy. Developers are putting together studies that show proposed wind farm sites off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware. And the Interior Department is requiring the National Park Service to determine quickly whether or not the waters off Nantucket Sound are going to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Actions like this caused the American Wind Energy Association to deem interior secretary Ken Salazar "our main champion." However, while Salazar may be pushing the cause of wind energy, the United States is just starting to move forward while China is already putting up nearly three dozen windmills off its coast.
The United States needs to stop taking baby steps and move forward aggressively. Green energy is not just an environmental issue, it's a national security issue. We cannot allow the country that's going to be our biggest competitor to take too much of a lead in this field.
The reason? According to the article, the alternative energy market in the United States could take a decade to ramp up, but it's going full force in Asia. Governments in Asia have already mandated that their power generators move to solar and wind, but the United States won't even attempt to do so until later this year. And it's possible that since this is an election year, the cap and trade legislation that will spur the use of non-greenhouse gas emitting power sources will be kicked down the road until 2011.
That would mean that the gap between the United States and China, which is already the leader in solar and wind power, would only grow. "China is the leader in solar and wind power and will surpass our installed base in two years," a spokesman for American Superconductor, which inked a contract to install turbines off China's shores, said.
According to American Superconductor, the United States lags far behind other nations in providing long term incentives. The Obama administration provided the industry with $2.3 billion in green tax credits, but those were gone very quickly. The administration is seeking an additional $5 billion in tax credits and is promoting them as a job creation tool.
The administration, according to the American Wind Energy Association, is at least taking steps to promote alternative energy. Developers are putting together studies that show proposed wind farm sites off the coasts of New Jersey and Delaware. And the Interior Department is requiring the National Park Service to determine quickly whether or not the waters off Nantucket Sound are going to be listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Actions like this caused the American Wind Energy Association to deem interior secretary Ken Salazar "our main champion." However, while Salazar may be pushing the cause of wind energy, the United States is just starting to move forward while China is already putting up nearly three dozen windmills off its coast.
The United States needs to stop taking baby steps and move forward aggressively. Green energy is not just an environmental issue, it's a national security issue. We cannot allow the country that's going to be our biggest competitor to take too much of a lead in this field.
