President Obama’s state of the union was a wonderful piece of history for the renewable energy industry. He understands the rhetoric, now can he help a country reshape its industrial base to be tuned into the next century?
I believe the market forces have already begun to do that, and we’ll see some American rising stars in the solar and wind energy fields in the coming years. If we look simply at the First Solar model, they debunked the myth that thin-film solar power could not be used for larger solar parks or for rooftops and have done so profitably. It is using this model that will help others, who have innovative technology, buck the sentiment of the “establishment” in search of new uses and applications for novel solar technologies.
The speech, in an of itself, is but another part of the path. By refusing to inject more sums into the automotive industry without severe change, the administration indicated that while it was willing to play ball, it would no longer support legacy industries even if they were the “pride of America”. Like every other country, America must compete. And it can compete when it brings dedication to innovation and its united power behind an energy revolution.
As one example, we see General Motors involved in solar charging stations for its Volt electric car, in partnership with Sunlogics, the new company I am involved with. This is a sign that America is ready to truly put its money where its mouth is.
As a solar power veteran and blog writer, the only thing that I wondered about is why he chose to include “clean coal” in the renewable energy rhetoric. Perhaps its just a question of bringing that along for the ride to appease those who still control a majority of the energy power grip in America, until such time as the market rules that it was “true clean”.