Latest Solutions

Let’s profit from green energy

The clean energy transition represents a tectonic shift in the global economy, promising every bit as much economic opportunity as the industrial and information revolutions. By leading this change, we can attract good green jobs, pump our energy dollars into our local economy, and build a sustainable prosperity for our kids.
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As President Obama and Sen. Merkley take office, America is at war on two fronts in the Middle East, with tensions simmering on several more. The economy — after floating on bubbles of easy credit and “cheap” fossil fuels — is in steep decline now that those bubbles have popped. And our climate is in deep peril.

What do these crises have in common? What’s the thread that runs through foreign policy and economic recovery, linking our national security to the strength of our economy and the health of our planet?

It’s energy. Our economic struggles at home and our conflicts abroad share a root cause: our excessive dependence on fossil fuels. This addiction also fuels climate disruption — the growing intensity of storms, the decline in snowpack, and the increasing destructiveness of wildfires.

But here’s the good news: With new leadership, we can finally do something about these interconnected challenges. With good public policy and innovative private investment, we can kick our fossil fuel addiction and build a thriving clean energy economy. Presidents have been promising to reduce our fossil fuel dependence for decades. This president says he’s determined to deliver on that promise. Let’s hold him to it, and lead the way here in Oregon!

The clean energy transition represents a tectonic shift in the global economy, promising every bit as much economic opportunity as the industrial and information revolutions. By leading this change, we can attract good green jobs, pump our energy dollars into our local economy, and build a sustainable prosperity for our kids.

Oregon is already on its way to emerging as a global crossroads for the clean energy revolution. The state has eight wind farms, all built in the last 10 years. Thirteen major solar installations are converting sunlight into electricity from the Brewery Blocks in Portland to Kettle Chips in Salem to the Pepsi plant in Klamath Falls. Seven wave energy projects are proposed on the coast, spurred by Oregon State University’s decision to create the first energy wave center in the U.S.

And Oregon is doing much more than harvesting its own, abundant renewable energy. We are also building and attracting leaders in rapidly expanding clean energy industries, serving global demand in a world that’s hungry for climate solutions.

IdaTech is growing the clean energy revolution right here in Bend. The company develops and manufactures clean and reliable fuel cell solutions to provide extended run backup power for telecommunication and industrial applications. IdaTech’s products provide solutions for a wide range of applications for remote and off grid power.

And we’re just one example. Over in Hillsboro, Solarworld is the nation’s largest solar cell maker. Portland is the U.S. headquarters for Iberdrola, Horizon and Vestas — all global leaders in wind development and turbine manufacturing. The design firm Gerding Edlen is working on billions of dollars’ worth of energy efficient green building projects around the country. President-elect Barack Obama toured Bend’s own PV Powered in May and called it the “workshop of the future.”

This growing green economy can deliver tremendous opportunities for Oregon businesses and broadly-shared prosperity for Oregon’s working people. On Sept. 27, in hundreds of events around the nation, communities launched green jobs initiatives to spur their local clean energy economies (see www.greenjobsnow.com). Here in Oregon there were numerous green jobs events across the state. In Bend for example, IdaTech teamed up with 3EStrategies, E2Powered and PV Powered for a tour showcasing the real opportunity for family supporting local green jobs.

I’m bullish about the prospects for building a stronger, cleaner economy in Oregon and the world. But let’s not sugar-coat this — the climate crisis is urgent, and our fossil fuel dependence is strangling our economy. We need to make this transition faster. To build a future worthy of our kids, we need to make the clean energy revolution a top state and national policy priority.

Here in the West, Gov. Ted Kulongoski has been working with other Western states and Canadian provinces in the Western Climate Initiative. This is a promising effort, but Oregon needs to strengthen the framework agreed to by all the states and provinces. Real limits on global warming pollution — with no loopholes and no giveaways to fossil fuel interests — will create strong positive incentives for accelerated private investment in building a clean energy future

At the national level, President-elect Obama and Sen.-elect Merkley ran on platforms that highlighted the green economy as the key driver for near-term economic recovery and long-term prosperity. Those were great campaign pledges, and they’ll make even better public policies!

Oregon has everything to gain by accelerating the clean energy revolution and breaking our fossil fuel addiction. And we have no time to lose.

—Amy Anderson is the marketing communications manager for IdaTech in Bend.