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Wind energy boom put on hold
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AP Photo/Richard Drew
Committed to spending $150 billion on clean energy over the next ten years, President elect Barack Obama may face yet another challenge. The collapsing car-industry, credit crunch, and recent $ 700 billion bailout now threaten to limit the scope of clean energy policies.
Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens, who earlier this year confirmed the growth of green technology and announced the plans to spend $58 million of his own personal fortune in promoting wind power, says the boom he had foreseen in wind is put on hold.
He seems to be right. Florida Power & Light has cut planned investments in wind power by 400 megawatts, Duke Energy of North Carolina has slashed $50 million off its budget for solar power, and VeraSunEnergy, one of the country’s largest ethanol producers, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.
New investments in clean energy are also down worldwide. Project financing for new construction of wind, solar, biofuels and other alternative energy projects fell from 23.2 billion in the second quarter to $17.8 billion in the third. Still, venture capital and private equity funds are estimated to plow $ 14.2 billion into clean energy companies this year; that is 50% more than in 2007.
Michael Liebreich, chairman and CEO of London’s New Energy Finance said: “The sector is not immune to the ills of the wider economic and financial world, and it is suffering some effect, however, the growth fundamentals for clean energy remain robust”.
So healthy in fact, that the research company predicts that new clean energy investment will reach $500 billion by 2020. Mr. Obama will need that. The president elect has committed to fund clean coal technology development, create a national cap-and trade system, and pledged to set a 25% target for renewable energy by 2020. The EU target is 20 %.
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