2 stories with large scale good news....

Today's post: Wednesday, 9-9-2009

We need an 80% reduction in fossil fuel use by 2050 to avoid the worst global warming effects. And, practically speaking, we need to also double our electricity generation and double the useful work done per unit of electricity & other energy sources as well during that same time to have a decent economy.

At some point, the oil that we’ve been using to power much of our economy will begin to run low enough that our world economy will shrink due to lack of supply or excessive costs or both.

And, once the demand for oil picks up again with the apparent economic recovery or supply begins to plateau or drop, the prices will again go back up. That will cause more hard times economically unless we have enough alternative sources of energy to turn to.

That makes 2 stories that appeared in the last few days -- huge good news!

1. First Solar has signed a deal to build a 2 gigawatt solar installation in an appropriate desert region of China. This 25 square mile solar array will produce enough electricity to power 3 million homes, and – at least during the day on sunny days, it will provide as much power as two large coal burning plants.

It remains to be seen how successfully this project can be built and if it lives up to its potential. First Solar is one of the largest and most successful solar companies; and its technology works. So, it has a good shot at success.

But the two outstanding pieces of good news in this story are these two.: Finally a solar installation is being planned on a scale that measures up to the need and the opportunity. And, second, China is not only getting serious about adding renewable energy, it is providing a very positive example for other countries to follow. Since China is the largest emitter now of CO2, this is the first sign that the Chinese are seriously trying to do something to build the renewable energy they’ll need to stop doing so.

2. The portion of the stimulus package that was passed that targets energy efficiency and renewable energy has of necessity had a slow start according to a story titled,

“A Turning Point For Green-Energy Stimulus Projects?”

by Kevin Whitelaw that appeared, yesterday, Tuesday, 9-8-2009, on NPR’s online news.

The good news is that money and the resulting jobs from the stimulus package devoted to clean energy will soon begin to kick in on a very large scale. It may well eventually rival Eisenhower’s Interstate Freeway building or JFK’s Race to the Moon as one of the most significant programs ever initiated by a President of the United States or during his time in office.

This NPR story points out that the very small initial impact has been largely because so little was happening at first -- and it certainly didn’t help that the other economic news has until recently been so bad.

The NPR story explains that this is about to change dramatically and on a large scale.

Here are the key quotes.:

“The Energy Department was authorized to spend $36.7 billion, much of it on clean-energy programs. To date, however, only about $461 million has been spent. But officials say the pace will really start to pick up this fall.”

“In the 2009 fiscal year, only 1 percent of the stimulus funds being spent will go toward energy and the environment. By 2012, that figure will rise to 17 percent.”

“The various grants and projects are just now being awarded. "The next three months will be the most exciting time for the clean-technology industry in the last decade," …. "Every 10 days to two weeks, we will have another big block of funds going out the door." “

And, in addition to the other money spent on “weatherization” programs these funds will go for solar technology, wind power technology, & the next-generation smart electrical grid.

The article points out that the $2.4 billion in grants for advanced batteries and electric vehicles that was announced last month will start delivering new jobs between this November and next February

The article points out that the Energy Department has awarded some $9.9 billion in loans and contracts which will begin to add a significant number of new jobs in the same time period.

This stimulus spending will continue increasing for nearly 3 years. And, some of the companies and technologies funded will begin to deliver large scale results by 3 years from now while others will keep growing for 10 to 15 years after that.


To turn down our production of CO2 and avoid economic downturns or collapses from run ups in the prices of fossil fuels or from shrinking supplies, we must have a more energy efficient economy and massive amounts of new renewable energy.

These two stories show there is now beginning to be hope that we will be able to transition enough of our economy to these other sources to prevent the worst of the CO2 effects and keep our economy & us going.