A call for “green” legislation
Contributor Vic Abate is the vice president of GE’s renewables business.
As the vice-president of GE’s Renewables business, I am pleased to see the focus President Obama has on doubling renewable energy in the U.S. during the next three years. I believe this vision to be a great call to action for our nation’s policy makers to create a world-class renewable energy industry.
I’m particularly excited to see the renewable energy framework that was included in the stimulus bill introduced by Congress last week. The bill includes incentives for investment in new renewables projects that will immediately stimulate the creation of “green” collar jobs. The proposal also includes infrastructure investments in transmission capability and smart grid, which will enable more renewables to feed into the grid and ultimately into our homes and businesses. These are important steps in the right direction, and great news for America’s renewables industry, and I urge the Obama Administration and Congress to enact this legislation quickly.
An aging infrastructure and an increasing demand for limited energy resources are very real challenges that America faces today. However, strong renewable energy policy like the kind proposed last week can make President Obama’s vision a reality. Given today’s economic challenges, we see that growing our renewable energy industry is not only important for the environment; it is a crucial step toward putting people back to work and the nation on a path toward greater energy independence.
To give you an idea of how important energy policy is, take a look at some industry numbers that have really impressed me:
- Wind energy installed in the US doubled from 2.5 gigawatts (enough to power over 800,000 homes) in 2006 to more than 5 gigawatts (enough to power close to 1.7 million homes) in 2007, largely due to consistent policy.
- In 2008, industry projections are that US wind installs have nearly doubled again, providing enough wind power to make it the nation’s top #1 or #2 energy source to be added to the grid this past year — neck and neck with traditional natural gas fired power.
- The U.S. has installed more wind turbines in the past 2 years than the previous 20 years combined.
- In the fall of 2008, the U.S. passed Germany as the world’s leading producer of wind power for the first time, a position that it continues to hold into 2009.
- Going forward, strong energy policy could help support the U.S. Department of Energy’s call for wind energy to meet 20% of U.S. electricity consumption by the year 2030 and create 500,000 new “green” jobs.
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1)How high do you think wind & solar, as a % of overall capacity, can grow before the intermittant nature of these sources creates issues with grid stability? Or do you see realistic storage options emerging in the near term?
2)Does GE think nuclear and hydroelectric power should be considered renewable and "green" sources?
Below quote form President Obama’s Inaugural Address is a testimony of his commitment to green economy.
"We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."
GE is advocating for quite some time about the need for green legislation.
You can read about Jeff Immelt’s "green is green" slogan and GE ecomagination initiative in the "A lean, clean electric machine" article [pdf] of the Dec 10 2005 issue of The Economist.
David: we think both the technologies in your part (2) are inherently cleaner. On the nuclear example, we do believe there are ancillary issues that must be comprehensively addressed – such as storage of used nuclear fuel, nonproliferation – but we believe nuclear must be included in our energy mix if we are to meet forecast demand.
Peter O’Toole
GE
Thanks, Peter. I think GE should be careful about how it pushes for "green legislation." You guys understand the realities of power generation & delivery in a way that most politicians do not, and you can really contribute to the country by ensuring that real constraints–like the inability to store large amounts of electricity–are considered in the debate, rather than just feel-good phrases about the wonderfulness of sun and wind.
Banning coal plants would be a catastrophe for the economy, and if people like GE Power don’t point that out, who will?
David: check out our work on cleaner coal with our great utility partners. As with nuclear, we believe coal must be a central part of the US energy solution. We state this publicly, frequently — and unabashedly.
I am curious as to what is the "energy policy" that has been mentioned in the article above that helped our renewables business. Does the reference to energy policy above point to the Production Tax Credit? Or does the policy require lower emissions and some emissions credit for the same? Can you please refer an article on the energy policy mentioned above? Thanks
As quoted in the GE, others recommend emissions cuts to Congress GE reports post, GE’s Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said:
"In the past, the U.S. has proven that we have the will, the capabilities and the courage to invest in innovation – even in difficult times"
"Today, cap-and-trade legislation is a crucial component in fueling the bold clean energy investments necessary to catapult the U.S. again to preeminence in global energy and environmental policy, strengthen the country’s international competitiveness, and create millions of rewarding new American jobs."
Based on GE’s core competencies in all of its ramifications, GE unlike just about any other company in the world, is uniquely positioned to champion the green energy revolution in America. I am excited about our prospects going forward with respect to the energy systems vis-à-vis the renewable energy framework that GE can offer to the world. Hello, energy independence will not just be a pipe dream but a reality in not so distant future.