The Darker Side of Renewable Energy
I read an article recently, an article about Jetstream Wind in fact. The
article wasn’t either helpful or hurtful, other than it showed me point blank the picture of a developing renewable energy industry struggling under the pressures of a bigger conundrum.
Imperceptive or simple-minded reporting aside, I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Why is it that I do not see the MANY renewable energy companies, developing such awesome technology, out on the front pages of the newspapers? Why are there NOT wind farms, solar farms, geothermal plants, and most importantly ;) solar-hydrogen plants dotting the map and producing clean energy? The current technology is more than capable…”
Keeping in mind that our national grid remains incapable of handling the amount of intermittent electricity that would be produced by many applications, why the imbalance?
Public support for renewable energy implementation is high and growing with each passing day. DIY wind and solar projects, especially here in New Mexico are becoming commonplace as most people simply want to be a part of creating and consuming clean energy. We’re becoming smart humans.
Political support for renewable energy, on the “cover sheet” looks impressive, but in reality, looks more like it’s holding its breath than anything, just waiting…
Media support…well, as long as it’s dramatic, there’s an explosion, or someone losses a limb, it’ll be there.
Financial support then would be what we were left with, which ultimately brings us back around the big wheel again to political support. Holding its breath…
I did some checking, and what I found was inescapably disturbing – but yet and at the same time, rather exciting, depending upon how you look at things.
The Wall Street Journal printed an article last year that really brought home the nature of things. It is titled “Finding Financing: Renewable Energy Struggles, Banks Embrace Fossil Fuels”.
A recent article in the Connecticut Mirror spoke of the possibility of Connecticut being the only state in the U.S. that may have to reconsider their state’s RPS (Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards) and actually lower them due to their inability to finance renewable energy projects.
Here is a link to an article from Inventing Green, speaking of Luz, a long-standing solar company with impressive achievements. The article speaks of this company’s failure due to the National Energy Policy failing to create a level playing field with fossil fuel technologies.
And this one was slightly disturbing to me, only in that a larger company interested in opportunistic takeovers was beginning to buy up “struggling companies”, taking the personal genius out of the company and replacing it with a money making machine.
The exciting part in all of this? The power of the people.
Maybe instead of sitting quietly and waiting to see what support will show up from our national and world governments, we could each use our individual 6.5 billion voices and bend the ears of our representatives a little more. Because, really, what are we actually waiting for? Are we waiting so that we can simply not be involved a little bit longer in the shaping of our own lives?
Maybe it’s no longer the best game plan for large venture capitalists and financial conglomerates to finance these projects. Maybe big government doesn’t need to take the brunt of the responsibility. Maybe, just maybe, the best plan would see the public investing in renewable energy companies, because the “public” people are the one who benefit the most.
Just a thought…
Ornesha
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