When President Obama announced a goal for the United States to produce 80% of its power from “clean energy” by 2035 in his State of the Union address this year, we folks in the energy industry pricked up our ears . . . and heard a pause. The President continued, “[s]ome folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all.”

The response to this proposal for a national Clean Energy Standard (or CES) by President Obama from certain segments of the renewable energy community has been outright hostility. Different groups have claimed that the President has betrayed his promises, and those groups now pledge to fight anything that is not a “pure,” nationwide Renewable Portfolio Standard (or RPS) focused on “traditional” renewable technologies and energy efficiency. Such an attitude in this political climate couldn’t be more destructive to the long-term prospects for renewable energy on a nationwide basis and reflects a single-issue myopia that does nothing but lead to policy paralysis. Waiting for a national RPS may be akin to waiting for Godot, and perhaps there are some who wish to continue that existential exercise. However, pragmatists will recognize that a broadly supported and properly structured CES can help the renewable energy industry to compete with other low-carbon technologies while providing the long-term policy stability that the industry has always sought. Keep reading →