Why successful countries are able to see past the end of their nose

There has been a spate of articles recently talking about how tough times are for renewable energy. The credit crisis and the recent drop in the price of oil are making for slower going in the renewable energy industry.

However renewable energy is still viable and important. These articles focus mostly on the ability to fund huge power plant sized projects.

These articles don’t seem to talk about how hard it is to get anything built these days. Coal plants have the same capital issues as well as a huge resistance in permitting. Nuclear needs billions of dollars in government guarantees before Wall St will touch a nuclear plant in the best of times.

The credit crunch will pass…good businesses and good projects will win out in the long term.

The next point is the price of oil and how far it has fallen. As of this writing oil was at $67 a barrel. This is lower than it was at its peak but is hardly what we would call cheap.

The basic reasons for renewable energy: costs, environmental issues, supply and demand, national security are as valid as ever. If we take even a slightly long term perspective the trends will continue.

Supply will become more challenging, demand will continue to grow, emissions will continue to cause climate change and costs will go up.

In our current media time frame of five minute perspectives, it may look like these things have changed. They haven’t…

Renewable energy is still viable and important.

In the 1970’s with the energy crisis, America and lot’s of other parts of the world began dramatic steps to change our energy use and sources. Some countries kept at it, we abandoned all these ideas when oil became cheap again.

 Denmark stuck with renewable energy and today, wind power provides 20 percent of electrical energy needs in Denmark. The Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas controls about 35 percent of the world market and the industry employs more than 20,000 people.

There are fundamental problems with the way we approach and deal with energy. Our current models are not sustainable. I don’t use that word in the buzz word sense but in the true sense of it will not last.

We have started to make some great changes and fundamental shifts, now is not the time to turn back. We must keep the momentum moving or we will find ourselves in another crisis when oil hits $250 a barrel or electricity costs .35/kwh.