The U.S. government must continue to back the expansion of the role of renewable energy resources, their research and development and its implementation by companies and homeowners.
At the moment the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is about to establish a new “Clean Energy Impact Investment Center” and is expanding access to capital for innovative clean tech companies. The Office of Management and Budget just released a new overview of the $7.6 billion in the FY 2016 president’s budget for clean energy research and development.
Although this writer believes in the reign of the free market and that “that government is best which governs least”, our current system has renewable energy companies and people expecting federal backing of major initiative with direct investment, in the form of tax breaks, rebate incentives, and even direct central bank investment into the alternative energy industry.
Renewable Energy Resources, Research and Development.
The US and its citizens need to invest all of the time and energy that they can spare to the conversion from a fossil fuel burning society to one that is green for several different reasons. The green economy will not harm the environment or the quality of our air like fossil fuel burning does. We can become the energy independent nation that we need to be by cutting away our need to import oil, especially oil that is produced by anti-American nations such as Iran. Ultimately, renewable energies and extremely efficient energies like atomic energy are far less expensive than the continuous mining and drilling for fossil fuels. If we do not invest in our future now, catastrophe awaits us. We are going to need to consume more energy than ever in our history as we sail into the 21st century and beyond—our dependency on foreigners for meeting these energy needs only leaves us open to sabotage while draining our coffers in order to fill other nations’.
So far $4 billion of independent commitments were made by major foundations, and institutional investors like the University of California, Goldman Sachs, and the Sierra Club Foundation to mention three only and other long-term investors to fund climate change solutions, including innovative clean technologies with breakthrough potential to reduce carbon pollution and the use of non renewable energy.
It can be argued that federal, state, and local governments should work in conjunction on the issue of alternative energy research and development and implement mandatory programs for new home construction and all home remodeling that stipulate the installation of alternative energy power sources—eventually over a certain period of years transforming into 100% installation of alternative energy sources for any new home or corporate building—as well as backing a similar program to have all new vehicles produced in the nation be hybrid vehicles or hydrogen fuel cell powered vehicles by the year 2020.
All levels of government could also impose mandatory compliance laws on construction and utilities companies. The utility companies in all 50 states should be required to invest in alternative energy research and development while also being required to buy back, at fair rates, excess energy produced by homeowners through their use of alternative energy power sources. Strong financial incentives need to be in place for new companies to invest in developing renewable energies. This would not only make the US energy independent at the fastest possible rate, but it would stimulate the growth of the economy and provide tens of thousands of new, good-paying jobs for people.
Examples of renewable energy:
Renewable energy sources in the forms of solar, wind, hydroelectric, biofuel, geothermal, and atomic; alternative energy storage systems such as more efficient batteries and hydrogen fuel cells; and alternative energy-furthering infrastructures with superior energy efficiency all need to be brought into the affordable price range through development. Government investment into renewable resources of energy would surely help us along.
