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ril5-2012
Part 2: Political Reality and the Way Forward for Renewable Energy By Steve
Leone, Associate Editor, RenewableEnergyWorld.com April 3, 2012 | 11
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New Hampshire, U.S.A. -- Political heavyweights know this about their
rough-and-tumble game – you project victory long before the results are in.
And when you think you've won, you never give your opponent an opening.
In Washington, it's hard enough to craft legislation even in relatively
amicable times. In the tense atmosphere on the Hill today, meaningful
legislation takes a ringside seat, and the game becomes theater.
That's where we are now. In one corner is the House budget, essentially the
Republican Party's line in the sand that's been drawn over the size of the
federal government. A key component of this is the federal government's more
limited role in supporting a clean energy future. In the other corner is the
White House and the Democrat-controlled Senate, which has vowed to stonewall
any legislation that it says caters to the super-wealthy and the entrenched
fossil fuels industry.
Like two tired boxers in the ring, they're content to leave it in the hands
of the judges — in this case the voters, who will in many ways determine the
force with which our federal government pursues a national policy built on
clean energy. But the real prospects for any meaningful legislation is
likely to come after the election, when the rhetoric cools and when
political capital comes due. Until then, most industry observers don't
expect much chance of any real federal renewable energy legislation passing
through a divided Congress. That means no Clean Energy Standard, no revival
of the 1603 Treasury grant program, no extension of the Production Tax
Credit until the end of the year at the earliest.
There are just too few vehicles that can be used to pass any of the
measures, and too little trust between key negotiators to find find common
ground. One of the last best hopes — the transportation bill — included an
amendment that addressed some of these concerns. Ultimately, the amendment
went nowhere, and the renewable industry was left looking months down the
road to when something could get resolved.
The question now is will it be too late. For 1603 to be brought back to
life, it would require a major shift in thinking, especially in the House.
The PTC has a better shot, but international players in the wind industry
are already indicating that they'll get out of the market if the credit tied
to energy produced expires. Will they wait around until the end of the year
to see if it can be revived? It's increasingly looking like the answer may
be no.
Some Rays of Hope
Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., is the ranking Democrat on the House Subcommittee
on Energy and Power. According to his legislative director, Tim Robinson,
there is less acrimony surrounding energy policy inside the chamber than it
appears in the daily news accounts.
Robinson says that renewable energy and how it fits into our national
economy has support on both sides of the aisle. Even those who are the most
strident about limited government don't necessarily see more renewable
energy and less federal support as mutually exclusive. That viewpoint hasn't
necessarily been evident in the high-stakes House hearings on the Solyndra
bankruptcy and the Department of Energy loan program.
But, according to Robinson, "We've had other hearings where you do have
expressions coming from the other side of the aisle that make it clear that
they see renewable energy as part of the mix."
Even the notion of subsidies, he says, has the potential to draw the two
parties closer together. Robinson was pointing to the recent push to get all
subsidies out of all energy as they type of legislation that is attractive
to some at the surface but one that causes deeper problems once its impacts
are scrutinized.
"Members [of the House Subcommittee on Energy and Power] understand each
sector has started out at a different place, that newer forms of energy
started in the game later," he said. "Members will be able to resist the
allure [of extreme cuts] and do something more surgical and appropriate."
Jeffrey Anthony, Director of Business Development with the American Wind
Energy Association, also sees support from individuals in both parties for
legislation that would help maintain growing manufacturing bases. That
support, he says, is too often trumped by the party politics that dictate
how the agenda is set. "It's tied to the current political environment which
is not conducive to moving legislation forward, even legislation that has
broad support of both Democrats and Republicans."
While it's growing increasingly unlikely that anything can pass before the
election, there is hope that legislators can achieve some of these goals in
the short window between the end of the election and Inauguration Day. That
could prove to be a period of political horse-trading in which a flurry of
legislation pushes through amid a harried call for cuts.
According to Rhone Resch, President and CEO of the Solar Energy Association,
all the political rhetoric about balancing the budget and reducing the
deficit is laying the groundwork for fundamental tax reform.
"This sets up an extender bill in late November or early December," said
Resch about a bill that could lead to a more comprehensive package that
would have serious implications for all renewables. "We're very, very
cognizant that in an election year, and afterwards, how we do fiscal reform
in the country and the impact it will have for solar."
Speaking Out Industries
That sets up the big question for those in all the renewable industries.
What can be done between now and Election Day to ensure that voters have a
clearer understanding of what benefits the industry brings to the table.
Maybe it's jobs. Maybe it's the environment. Maybe it's about American
ingenuity and the need to stay ahead.
This much is clear, though. The industries need a cohesive message, and they
need to find a better way to coordinate and get that message out to
rank-and-file voters. That message, say industry and political experts, is
what's needed to push legislators to ensuring that clean energy finds itself
with a prominent seat at the table once budget cuts come down.
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