This book examines the history, politics, and economics of alternative
energy. Since the energy crisis of the 1970s, governments around the
world have subsidized and otherwise incentivized alternative forms of
energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. This search has taken on
added urgency in the twenty-first century, as the specter of climate
change has engendered ambitious state-level renewable portfolio
standards, enhanced federal incentives, and inspired "100% renewable"
electrical generation targets in such states as Vermont and Hawaii. To
save the planet from destruction, wind, solar, and other renewable
energy alternatives must replace fossil fuels. But how did we get here
and what is the cost?
After an in-depth study of the Carter administration's synthetic fuels
program, the focus shifts to the two most prominent, perhaps most
promising, and certainly most promoted--and government
subsidized--"green" and "renewable" energies today: wind and solar.
Because wind has made the most headway and drawn the most controversy,
it receives the most attention. Although the primary focus is on the
American experience with renewable energy, the policies and politics of
renewables in Scotland, Wales, Denmark, Spain, and other European
nations are also discussed. Issues considered in the book include the
nature and efficacy of renewable subsidies; the employment of federal
and state tax codes to encourage renewables; the lobbies and interest
groups that campaign for government support of renewables; and the
fierce battles over the siting of renewable facilities. Unlike other
works on this subject, the book probes in depth the nature of the
opposition to wind and solar, both in the matter of siting and in
their worthiness as recipients of substantial government assistance.
