US, China, win win.

November 18, 2009
The Emerging US-China Strategic Alliance on Clean Energy
by Louis Schwartz and Ryan Hodum, Contributors
Pennsylvania, United States

The bilateral relationship between the United States and China has begun to take on a more pragmatic and secure quality under the Obama Administration, a welcome contrast to the past, when the U.S. was mostly uneasy about the rise of China and China was often uncertain about assuming its emerging role as an economic and political center of gravity.

Though disagreements over the value of the Yuan, trade restrictions and human rights issues will continue to be present in the Sino-U.S. relationship, the exigencies of the worldwide economic downturn and the opportunities for cooperation in the development of a new energy future, are paving the way for a sustainable and productive bilateral relationship.

Renewable energy investments in the U.S. by the Chinese are but one side of the coin; on the other side are the enormous opportunities for American companies to participate as the Chinese spend some $2 trillion over the next 20 years to fundamentally restructure the way they produce and consume energy.

It is in this latter area — cooperation on clean energy development — that the Obama Administration already has laid a foundation that presages unprecedented opportunities for Sino-U.S. cooperation. President Obama’s meetings with the Chinese leadership this week give further impetus to the significant efforts by the two countries to forge a new energy future based on Shuang Ying the Chinese term for “win-win.”

Let the Sleeping Giant Wake

While we lag Germany in solar installs, and this is because Russia holds the keys to 80% of winter heating fuel for Europe, we are beginning to catch up with other nations in conversion to renewable energy (RE).

For me personally its depressing that the rest of the US is making huge investments in solar while South Carolina is still pretty much an off-grid and small residential state.

It should be every new home and business building in the state has to meet stringent energy efficiency code and have to have either solar thermal or PV. We should have a feed in tariff over 8yrs that stabalizes energy cost and provides investment security. Since there is no greater economy in the world, no greater military and no stronger political body than the USA, we could, thru sheer will power, affect these changes.

Europe is years ahead of us in building requirements. I have seen the spec home I live in, built in Minnesota and Arizona, this is crazy!

Like my good friend Bruce Wood says, "Those Germans might be a little smarter than us, but not that much."