A new study from the Kauffman Foundation based on analysis of energy issues from three summit conferences, analyzes five major policy strategies to accelerate the development of clean energy in the U.S.(NAW Staff, "
The report, "A Clean Energy Roadmap: Forging the Path Ahead," is based on outcomes of these three summits, and encompasses the results of an intensive review of more than 20 scientific articles and interviews with 15 of the U.S. top clean energy entrepreneurs. Propelling economic development and job creation by boosting energy-sector entrepreneurship and innovation, were key elements of the conferences. (NAW Staff, "Study Analyzes Five Strategies For Advancing Clean Energy In The U.S. ," Nov.17, 2010)
Identifying Strategies to Advance Clean Energy
Several strategies were identified in the report, all directed at advancing clean energy adoption in the U.S. The recommended strategies were:
- Foster interstate cooperation, ensuring consistent state-to-state policies that will stimulate the deployment of energy technologies. Because states have greater potential to strengthen the energy market than even the federal government does, interstate partnerships have the potential to spur economic development within regions as a whole.
- Reduce market uncertainty by establishing consistent energy policies that remove regulatory ambiguity and establish clear implications for utility companies. Coupling predictable federal policies with more creative funding streams will spur investment in high-risk, high-reward clean energy projects. Both are needed to advance the innovation pipeline and sustain its market over many years.
- Democratize access to the power grid. Utilities, which increasingly will be at the forefront of the renewable energy arena, should eliminate operational requirements that hinder entrepreneurs' ability to scale renewable energy solutions, and should establish standardized, easy-to-use connection procedures. Allowing customers to generate and store their own energy is another way clean energy solutions might be integrated into existing utility infrastructures.
- Encourage cross-sector collaboration, building upon regional energy innovation clusters that propel business creation and growth. Such partnerships can result in increased efficiency of private and government energy investments, and help get more energy innovation to scale at the market level.
- Support human capital development at universities by rewarding innovation that has commercial impact and measuring research value by the number of new products and processes developed, rather than by the number of papers published or patents obtained. Universities should teach faculty about the pathways to commercializing their innovations, encouraging them to pass on this knowledge to their students.
The Kauffman Report makes a good case for the clean energy sector, which it notes has tremendous growth potential, to press for federal and state governments to establish policies that will encourage commercialization and a large scale of energy innovation.
Lesa Mitchell, vice president of advancing innovation at Kauffman Foundation, noted that "...everyone in the energy sector - including private corporations, nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, service organizations and academia - has a role to play. With government, they must jointly address challenges, generate new ideas and support clean energy researchers to establish and sustain the United States' position as a global clean energy innovator."(NAW Staff)
Alternative Energy Sources are a Huge Market
The clean energy sector has several alternative energy sources which, as the Kauffman Report notes, represent a huge market opportunity In terms of potential size. Few markets represent as large an opportunity as alternative energy. T he United States relies on coal for nearly half its electricity, and imports more than half its crude oil. Coal is plentiful but dirty. Oil is a diminishing resource, largely controlled by other nations, many of which are unfriendly if not hostile, to the U.S.
In some countries of Europe, where renewables such as wind energy have been a part of the energy mix for some years, about five percent of electrical energy comes from wind, and in some countries the total is 10 percent or more. China, meanwhile, is investing heavily to double wind capacity over the next several years.
In the United States, only about two percent of electricity is provide by wind power, which makes this potentially one of the biggest wind energy markets in the world, along with China, which this year exceeded the U.S. in the development of wind farms.
The five strategies advanced by the Kauffman Report provide an excellent foundation for building a complete renewable resource energy strategy, one which will carry the U.S. forward for many decades of leadership in developing clean energy technologies and implementation strategies.
Duane Sharp - I am a retired professional engineer (electronics), with over 40 years of writing experience in technology topics, with a focus on the IT ...
