There’s growing sentiment in the United States that countries across the world are getting the jump on renewable energy innovation. Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times has written repeatedly of the need to go green, and he warns in a recent column that China’s decision to go green should be seen as, “The New Sputnik“. There’s also a recent column in the San Francisco Chronicle that extols that the “U.S. Must Take the Lead In Renewable Energy.” While the sense of urgency is compelling in light of energy’s role in climate change, what else is at stake regarding this new global competition for renewable energy dominance?
Economics of Innovation
America has long been on the global forefront of innovation, leading the way in developing automobiles, electricity, computers, and information technology. While a great deal of early renewable energy innovation took place here in the 1970’s during that oil crisis, the world has largely passed us by in developing renewable energy technologies and harnessing clean power.
There’s a pride of innovation here as well as the distinct potential for China’s large-scale renewable production efforts to make it become the number one global economy. America has largely gone from a producing to a consuming nation, which works when the technology that we buy is owned by U.S. companies, but manufactured elsewhere. Without American companies innovating in the renewable energy sector we stand to suffer a large economic impact as global change continues to force us to go green.
Energy Independence
The fossil fuel dependence in the United States is largely blamed as the impetus for our involvement in the conflicts in the Middle East. This dependence on foreign oil leads to dramatic economic imbalances when oil prices spike, harming the viability of a number of oil-dependent businesses.
The global security implications of this dependence has spurred the U.S. military to make sweeping commitments to renewable energy to power their bases. It’s interesting that the Pentagon has embraced renewable energy far in advance of our political leaders.
Without more federal leadership in the shift to go green, Americans will be surpassed by other countries, regions and companies. Energy technology is the next great emerging market, and no country can afford to lag in innovation.
