I don’t want to be too dismissive towards Warmists Justin Gillis and Hal Harvey, nor laugh at their absurdity too much, as there is nothing inherently wrong with alternative energy. It’s just that they’re living in a la la land
An Energy Wish List for Congress
Here’s how lawmakers can accelerate the clean-energy economy.
Because most in the private sector do not actually care that much about unreliable, expensive alternative energy.
First, Senators Murkowski and Manchin should try to establish a firm consensus in Congress that the nation must, at minimum, double its annual spending on energy research and development. They could establish this intent in the legislation, then push as a committee for the appropriations. Business and scientific leaders, including Bill Gates, have been pleading with Congress to triple the budget for years. The sum being spent for both basic and applied research now, less than $6 billion a year in the Department of Energy budget, is paltry compared to the scope of our energy and climate problems. The United States risks falling behind China and other countries in energy technology.
Why don’t these private sector leaders, like Bill Gates, start ponying up their own money for R&D, along with development? Why is it necessary for the federal government to spend taxpayer money on what often end up as boondoggles, and often leave a destroyed, polluted area behind? But, I will say that I would rather that federal dollars go to R&D over just slapping up construction, which I’ve been noting since the time of Obama’s Stimulus.
Second, the federal tax breaks that support installation of renewable energy technologies like wind turbines and solar panels should be extended for five years. Congress should also lift caps on federal tax credits for electric cars. Under current law, these incentives will be phased out in the next few years; they should go eventually, but not until the technologies are more widespread.
Do you know who this tends to help the most? The rich people who buy more of this.
Ms. Murkowski and Mr. Manchin should specifically seek a rapid expansion of offshore wind farms. That would require tax breaks to jump-start that industry, as well as a mandate that the Trump administration accelerate offshore leasing. The technology of offshore wind production, developed largely in Europe, has improved significantly in recent years; immense turbines, planted far from shore, can each supply electricity for up to 8,000 homes. States like New York and Massachusetts are already making big plans for offshore wind, but Congress and the president could speed things up. As the market expands, costs will fall and the tax breaks can be phased out.
And you can bet that the very same Democrats supporting this will want to block the construction, as it would despoil their sea views. So will shore home owners, shore cities, and environmental groups.
Third, Congress ought to make it easier to build new high-capacity power lines across the country. This sounds rather technical, we know, but it is vital. As wind turbines and solar farms become a bigger part of the electricity mix, one of the best ways to offset their intermittent nature will be to transmit power over longer distances — if the wind is not blowing in Kansas, it may well be blowing in Oklahoma or North Dakota. But state parochialism is slowing the construction of the needed power lines.
First, environmental groups will sue over the transmission lines, as they’ve done many times. Second, they’re all but admitting that wind and solar are unreliable.
Finally, we urge Mr. Manchin and other coal-state senators to recognize that the coal industry has gone into long-term decline; coal is simply losing market share to natural gas and renewable energy. The fair thing to do is to fund a transition package for coal miners and their communities, conceptually similar to what Congress did when it passed a buyout program for tobacco farmers when a federal support policy ended.
Again, I’m no big fan of coal, but, what do your replace these jobs with? You can replace a tobacco field with, say, corn or tomatoes.
Interestingly, there is no recommendation for reliable energy, like next generation nuclear and natural gas.
Read: NY Times Warmists Offer An Energy Wish List For Congress Or Something »
New York Democratic Rep. 
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