Why I Care About Biofuels (And Other Renewables)

Financial Planning Magazine reports that: "Higher Fuel Prices May Cause Shift to Renewable Power

The prospect of steadily rising prices for fossil fuels is prompting projections of a booming market for renewable power in coming years, Financial Planning magazine reported.

Research firm Clean Edge estimated that wind power will have a $48-billion market in 2014 and in the same year solar power will have a $39-billion market, up from a $16-billion market for all renewables in 2004.

The growth prospects are aided by falling costs for generation from renewables, with the American Solar Energy Society estimating the average price of solar power at $0.20 per kilowatt-hour, a decrease from $0.95 per kilowatt-hour in the 1980s. Ron Pernick of Clean Edge was quoted as saying: "The technology has been developing for 30 years. Some companies are offering more energy efficiency at a lower cost. You see that with solar energy, for example."

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, cleaning up the environment will provide a huge BOOST to the American economy, rather than the drag often predicted with those who have an interest coughoilcough in the status quo. Developing, building, installing, and managing renewable sources of energy will require investment, pay dividends, create jobs, and allow companies to operate more efficiently. It will have difficult-to-quantify positive impacts on health care costs and on quality-of-life in general.

Note the quotation above: "The technology has been developing for 30 years," so costs are falling. Imagine if we'd been SERIOUSLY developing renewable technology for thirty years. I heard a report yesterday on how few American students are studying math, science, and engineering. We need another national project, similar to Kennedy's push to catch up with the Russians in space, that will get American students excited about math, science, and engineering. The push to clean up the environment could do that. As with the space program, we're likely to see unexpected innovations. Now's the time.