{"id":269,"date":"2012-12-14T00:47:42","date_gmt":"2012-12-14T05:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.themodestproposal.com\/?p=269"},"modified":"2012-12-14T00:48:25","modified_gmt":"2012-12-14T05:48:25","slug":"in-chicago-bill-clinton-calls-for-national-grid-to-boost-renewable-energy-midwest-energy-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.themodestproposal.com\/?p=269","title":{"rendered":"In Chicago, Bill Clinton calls for national grid to boost renewable energy (repost from Midwest Energy News)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Chicago, Bill Clinton calls for national grid to boost renewable energy | Midwest Energy News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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CHICAGO \u2014 Former President Bill Clinton invoked the ancient Sumerians, campaign stops at wind-blown Texas border towns, the looming budgetary fiscal cliff and an eclectic assortment of other concepts while proselytizing for more investments in the grid and clean energy, during his speech at the\u00a0Wind on the Wires<\/a>\u00a0gala in Chicago Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

Veering between big picture philosophical conclusions and wonkish descents into policy details and proposals, Clinton made the case that renewable energy is symbolic of a struggle central to human nature: \u201ca constant tug of war between the demands of the present and the possibilities of the future.\u201d Between sticking with long-time practices that seem most safe and lucrative in the present, versus forays into new territory that offer more hope for the future.<\/p>\n

This dichotomy is exemplified in North Dakota, Clinton noted. According to a study done by the administration of former President George W. Bush, Clinton said, North Dakota alone could theoretically provide for a quarter of the country\u2019s energy needs with wind power if the turbines and interstate transmission lines existed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe money and power is there to frack out all the natural gas and oil, but not to build out the grid,\u201d Clinton lamented.<\/p>\n

He praised Wind on the Wires and their allies for making great progress in expanding wind power in the Midwest and bringing together environmental and business interests on common ground. But, he said, much remains to be done and a drastic overhaul of the country\u2019s electric grid is necessary to make it happen.<\/p>\n

Wind on the Wires<\/a>\u00a0is a member of\u00a0RE-AMP<\/a>, which also publishes\u00a0Midwest Energy News<\/em>, andMidwest Energy News<\/em>\u00a0was a media sponsor for the event.<\/p>\n

One nation under a grid<\/h3>\n

Clinton called for a national grid, which would allow centralized decision-making and investment more conducive to renewables and distributed generation. \u00a0And he proposed funding grid improvements with a national infrastructure bank, which could attract capital in part as a place American companies could invest profits made abroad, rather than paying taxes on that revenue.<\/p>\n

He repeated multiple times that extending the wind Production Tax Credit for 10 years or even permanently, is crucial to the continued growth of wind power. Without action, the tax credit will expire at the end of December.<\/p>\n

And he urged renewable energy advocates to do a better job framing and pushing their message, including by invoking examples of the escalating impacts of climate change.<\/p>\n

He said that groups fighting climate change should have focused more attention on\u00a0Richard Muller<\/a>, a University of California physicist and former climate change skeptic once beloved by the Tea Party, who became a climate change believer after doing his own sweeping study on earth surface temperatures. \u00a0If the situation were reversed and Muller was a renewable energy proponent who had a change of heart, Clinton said, the\u00a0Koch brothers\u00a0<\/a>would have poured millions into making him a household name.<\/p>\n

Kate O\u2019Hair, director of the Midcontinental region for EDF Renewable Energy, indicated in remarks before Clinton\u2019s speech that such effective messaging is especially crucial since \u201cskepticism and criticism are at an all-time high.\u201d But, she said, advocates \u201chave the strength and the voice to look beyond these obstacles\u2026overcoming these obstacles will make our industry stronger and more efficient.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clinton noted that likely federal budget cuts as a result of the \u201cfiscal cliff\u201d or a deal reached to avoid the cliff could be devastating for renewable energy, including the tax credit and research and development funding. He urged renewable energy advocates to fight hard to raise awareness of the job-creating and economic-stimulus potential of renewable energy. He cited the example of the\u00a0Empire State Building energy efficiency retrofit,<\/a>\u00a0which he said created 275 full-time jobs for two years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all should make a much bigger deal about the contributions you make to the economy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

All dressed up and nowhere to go<\/h3>\n

While diving deep into specific ways to accelerate renewable development and grid overhauls, Clinton also described such improvements as part of a larger socioeconomic shift bringing resources and jobs to marginalized rural, poor and Native American communities. He compared the electric grid to internet broadband, and said both should be expanded to offer equitable access to all \u2013 in both the metaphorical and the concrete sense \u2013 \u201cwe need to think about networks.\u201d He implied broadband projects could be undertaken literally in tandem with electric grid expansions.<\/p>\n

Native American tribes could \u201crevolutionize\u201d their fortunes if a national grid (and broadband) were in place, Clinton said, \u201cbecause they have lots of wind and sun.\u201d But on Native American land in the Great Plains and Southwest, power can\u2019t get to market without new transmission.<\/p>\n

Clinton lamented the \u201cstranded\u201d wind projects that are \u201call dressed up and ready to go to the prom\u201d but can\u2019t get construction financing because of lack of grid access.<\/p>\n

He reminisced about negotiating the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 only to have the\u00a0Senate vote<\/a>\u00a095-0 for the Byrd-Hagel resolution in opposition to joining the international climate treaty. Clinton said he is confident Congress will eventually pass a climate bill, and he urged attendees to \u201ctake President Obama\u2019s stated strategy of \u2018all of the above\u2019 and fill in the blanks.\u201d You can\u2019t have an \u201call of the above strategy\u201d without improving the grid, he said.<\/p>\n

He offered a cautionary note regarding ancient people seemingly afraid to break with tradition and try new things \u2014 implying our society\u2019s decision between continued reliance on fossil fuels or a bold shift to clean energy is potentially cataclysmic.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook what happened to civilizations that had their day in the sun and then declined,\u201d he said. \u201cProgress is a long road, a lot of rolling big rocks up steep hills.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n