I have been very encouraged by Barack Obama’s statements of support for green energy, but the time has come for him to act on that support. Especially in the area of solar, we have a narrow window of opportunity to move forward in both the manufacture and the deployment of solar components.
Pressure has begun to build for President Obama to make good on his State of the Union pledge to greenlight vast solar installations on public lands by year’s end, with supporters seemingly growing antsy that it’s either that or nothing in 2012.
On Monday, about 20 solar industry advocates, electric utilities and major environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, urged Obama to formally put into effect rules for the country’s first solar program on government-owned lands by this fall.
The national solar plan, unveiled by the Obama administration more than a year ago, would open 20 million acres of federal lands in six Western states to large-scale solar plants. The most essential part of the plan is to remove permitting roadblocks that have strangled renewable energy growth on public lands blessed with abundant sunshine and other green resources. Another part is to build transmission corridors to carry the sun-powered electricity to surrounding communities…
…Obama’s State of the Union last week gave advocates an opportunity to trumpet the Interior Department’s solar plan and urge quick action.
In his speech, the president said he was "directing" his administration to approve 10,000 megawatts of clean-electricity generation on public lands by the end of 2012, enough to power three million homes. (In total, solar power now provides about 30,000 megawatts, or roughly one-tenth of one percent of the nation’s electricity.)
If the Obama administration is to reach that goal, "it must move quickly to put in place a smart solar energy program that speeds up permitting of projects," said Jim Lyons, senior director for renewable energy for Defenders of Wildlife, a Washington-based conservation group, in a collective statement of the solar plan supporters…
Inserted from <Truth-Out>
I could not agree more with this author.
In addition the nascent US solar component industry is between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand they have to compete with fossil fuels that come to market at far less cost than they would, were they not so heavily subsidized by the US government. On the other hand they have to compete with Chinese solar components that are so heavily subsidized by the Chinese government that they cannot compete.
One of two things needs top happen. We can move our fossil fuel subsidies to green energy, and subsidize our solar industry to the came extent that China does. Or we can put a tariff on Chinese solar components until they are willing to trade fairly. My preference is the former. If we do nothing, the jobs will go elsewhere.
11 Responses to “Obama Should Go Solar”
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The greed of Big Oil has made solar almost as cheap as the drill. So, please…. let it get there. Maybe blind greed will do what common sense should have done 40 years ago.
From Bloomberg.com on Oct. 5,2010:
“President Barack Obama will have solar panels put back on the roof of the White House to demonstrate that renewable-energy technology is practical for U.S. homeowners, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said.
“The White House will lead by example,” Chu said today at a conference in Washington. A solar-water heater will be installed in addition to photovoltaic panels to generate electricity, which will be in place by the end of June, he said.“It’s been a long time since we’ve had them up there.”
President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the White House’s West Wing 31 years ago. They were taken down under Carter’s successor, Ronald Reagan. Solar-energy advocates have pressed Obama to return panels to the executive mansion as a symbol of his commitment to renewable energy. The panels and heater will be atop Obama’s private residence in the East Wing.
“Putting solar on the roof of the nation’s most important home is a powerful symbol calling on all Americans to rethink how we create energy,” Rhone Resch, president of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a Washington-based trade group, said in a statement.
The Energy Department said in a statement that it will hold competitive bidding to choose the company that will install the solar systems.”
Let’s hope it happens. The panels are supposed to USA made too.
i got all excited…till I realized that Energy Secretary Chu statement was released 10/20/11…
..It would appear that replacing the solar panels on the residential part of the White House would be an easy beginning. What is holding up the action.?
And why did Reagan remove Carter’s additive in the first place?. We can only assume it was the pressure from those that are profiting from oil and gas industries. So, what can we do to stop them from stomping on the common good that will reap immediate benefits and repay us long into the future?
Welcome, Isa! 🙂
The best thing we can do is move Republican politicians to the ranks of the unemployed.
In a country which touts national energy security as a significant concern, solar is definitely one way to shift away from complete foreign oil domination. But it is but one option. Wind turbines and geothermal are two more options. Obviously, at this point, they cannot meet all the needs, but everything has to start somewhere.
And for those naysayers who tout the Keystone XL project, I say think again. Keystone XLwill:
Solar has the opportunity to invest in American jobs manufacturing solar components and building solar plants. It will reduce the dependence on foreign oil, and Canada itself is a foreign, sovereign nation although a US ally. Remove big oil subsidies and transfer those over to the burgeoning alternate green energy programmes.
I for one, am glad to see Mr Obama lead by example at the WH. Going further on federal buildings where it makes sense would be another way to push solar and demonstrate its viability. There will be hurdles. Probably the biggest at this point will come from the GOP dominated Congress who has its collective nose so far up the oil industry butt, that the oil industry is hysterically laughing all the way to the bank. Time for a big change in the Congress to bring back government for, by and of the people with a Democratic Congress and President.
I, too, wholeheartedly support solar. It is a huge energy source we haven’t even bothered to tap, and it is greatly preferable to nuclear.
“One of two things needs top happen. We can move our fossil fuel subsidies to green energy, and subsidize our solar industry to the came extent that China does. ”
I agree we should subsidize our solar industry and not oil….
We have thousands of miles in the desert – think of all the power that could create! Go Obama take those subsidies from big Oil and put them to use in solar!
I’d rather see the solar energy funds spent putting panels on all public school and federally owned building roofs. The jobs would be where the people already live, there would be no need to destroy pristine desert, and the energy can use existing transmission lines.
Welcome Eric, 🙂
I agree, except that we also need to invest in making the US the leader in solar technology.
Thanks everyone for your excellent comments. So there is no misunderstanding, I am not saying that solar should be the exclusive path to green energy.