Posts tagged solyndra

Obama’s Top 5 SOTU Energy Quotes

President Obama’s State of the Union address included several strong statements on America’s energy future. The president didn’t shy away from the opportunity to tout his successes and ask for more. 

“Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled, and thousands of Americans have jobs because of it,” Obama said. 

Here at SmartPower, we support the president’s message that a diversified approach toward a clean economy is both ideal and achievable. Environmentalists may have cringed at Obama’s remarks about oil and natural gas development, but if we are to ever get to the point where we can rely only on cheap, clean and renewable sources, we must acknowledge that it requires a thoughtful transition with a varied approach.

The following is a list of our top 5 energy quotes from last night’s State of the Union address, starting with this “all-of-the-above strategy”:

1. ”With only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy. A strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.”

This is important. In order to make the smoothest transition possible to a clean economy, we must be aware of prices and jobs. Renewables are already seeing victories in both of these regards — the falling price of solar indicates a promising future for cost-competitiveness and increased development (JOBS). But we must not be distracted by industry blunders like Solyndra. Just as the president said, “some companies fail”:

2. “Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. … I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here.”

If the United States is to become an industry leader, it has to step up and lead. Right now, we are in the race, but we are feeling the heat from China and Germany — both with strong innovation and manufacturing in clean energy resources. If we are not going to cede the wind, solar or battery industries to either of these countries, then we must learn from them. We must commit ourselves to the promise of clean energy.

3. We’ve subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that rarely has been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that never has been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits. Create these jobs.

This is the commitment to the promise of clean energy that we must make. We must even the playing field and invest as much in the clean energy industry as we do in fossil fuels. As Obama makes clear, it’s not about the politics. It’s about this country’s future as an innovator and leader:

4. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well, tonight, I will. I’m directing my administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power 3 million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, working with us, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history - with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

This administration is willing to act. In fact, it already has. The Department of Defense isn’t wasting any time developing a renewable energy strategy that addresses issues of cost and security. Because when it comes down to it, it’s all about costs:

5. The easiest way to save money is to waste less energy.

We’ve saved the best for last. President Obama used this remark to make a point about cutting businesses’ energy costs by making building efficiency upgrades. Yes, it’s true that we can lower businesses’ energy bills by more that $100 billion with simple upgrades, but it’s also true that homeowners have just as much, if not more to save. 

Clean energy and energy efficiency haven’t moved to the forefront of the global energy discussion because they are expensive. It’s just the opposite.

In the not-so-far future, the day will arrive when we have an energy portfolio comprised of renewable, reliable, clean and cheap energy. If we act now, we will see this day sooner than later.

Solyndra: Not indicative of solar’s bright future

It’s easy to look at Solyndra and think, That’s it for solar… But the reality is, it’s only just the beginning. 

What happened with Solyndra is exactly what we discussed in a previous post. China is investing in and manufacturing solar power at such an incredibly fast rate that no other country can keep up.

Just last year, the China Development Bank invested $30 billion to finance Chinese solar manufacturers. That’s 20 times the amount that the United States loaned to solar manufacturers.

The result? China has driven down the cost of solar — which has plummeted 42 percent in just the past nine months — resulting in the bankruptcy of solar manufacturers just about everywhere else in the world.

In the last month, we have witnessed a perfect storm. And I’m not talking about Hurricane Irene. I’m talking about the perfect mix of plummeting solar costs, limited U.S. government investments and a European banking crisis that, their powers combined, were enough to cause one of the world’s most innovative and fastest growing companies to tank faster than anyone could have predicted.

But we have learned from Solyndra. We have learned that government support clearly matters, and that China is about to become the world’s single manufacturer of solar power because of its solar investments.

More importantly, we have learned that solar is not dead. The Solar Foundation recently published a press release about the 2011 National Solar Jobs Census Report, the results of which showed that the solar industry grew by 6.8 percent between August 2010 and August 2011. That’s compared to a 0.7 percent growth rate for the national economy and a 2 percent drop in the fossil fuel electric generation industry.

These solar jobs may no longer be in the manufacturing sector, but the U.S. can still boast having the two largest solar panel production and distribution companies in the world. 

Let’s not let Solyndra’s perfect storm rain on solar’s bright future. Let’s instead focus on solar’s countless success stories as we decide the future of this country’s clean energy economy.