The 2008 economic stimulus package passed by the US Congress set aside $21.5 billion for scientific research, as well as $5 billion for weatherization of houses, $11 billion for updating the electric grid, and $2 billion for advanced automobile battery technology. Additional grants and funds were also made available for other energy projects.
Instead of launching us further into energy independence government involvement seems to push us back economically, as well as directing us even more dependent on foreign energy sources. It’s one thing for the government to experiment and fail. But when a company like Solyndra is up and running for just a year or two, spends over $500 million, and then goes bankrupt, is that proper use of our funds when we are in an economic downturn? As the Wall Street Journal noted in September 2011, the $535 million Solyndra project is just one in a string of failures, with the Department of Energy shoveling over $1 billion in new loan guarantees to solar projects in Nevada and Arizona, and more deals pending.
Shouldn’t the US government focus on areas like better technology for natural gas? For example, Schlumberger is a service company involved in putting proper water treatment in place in areas undergoing hydraulic fracturing. So we are starting to see technology that complements what we are already doing, instead of just handing out over $500 million as was done with Solyndra and seeing if some new product pans out.
Government assistance and money could also have been used more beneficially in rebuilding energy infrastructure. In this case, public-private partnerships are necessary. For example, if we would have put that $500 million into building Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fueling stations, it would have been a great shot in the arm for the natural gas sector and the energy business overall. We could have started with government fleets nationwide, but it would also have extended into the public arena. Today, many UPS trucks, as well as public buses in Los Angeles for example are CNG-fueled. The benefits are enormous: The cost of CNG fuel is roughly 50 percent less than the $3.50 to $4.00 per gallon for normal gasoline, and in some areas of the country, even lower than that. CNG is also an environmental plus, as it burns much cleaner and is better for the engine as well.
The TransCanada Corp’s Keystone XL Pipeline is a perfect example of government policy working against our energy independence. On the one hand, our government said yes to Solyndra, but no to permitting the Keystone pipeline, which is a privately funded project. Keystone could not only have provided twenty thousand jobs in a down economy, saving taxpayer dollars on unemployment, but more importantly, it could have helped make us less dependent on our enemies for oil.
What do you think? Does America Need America’s Energy? If so, how should we go about it?: America Needs America’s Energy: Together We Can Create America’s Energy Plan!
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