The Shiny Copper Penny Plan for Energy and Cleantech

Tags: energy efficiency, carbon emissions trading, cap and trade, John McCain, Barack Obama, alternative energy, energy, cleantech, green
2 Sep 9:57am
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I wrote a piece last week arguing that McCain / Palin was my energy/cleantech dream ticket, and promptly got slammed by my readers on the left (who generally think McCain's plans for the environment /cleantech investing are nowhere near aggressive enough and that Palin is way too conservative), AND friends on the right (who think that Palin is anti-Big Oil). There were more of the former than the latter since Cleantech Blog has been more of a progressive voice than anything else. I think I have published all the comments that came through on the blog (though not the emails), even those ripping me to shreds.

But pretty much everyone agreed I was crackers for one reason or another. So of course I've expanded the discussion, and am opening the floor to you. I am looking for comments that reflect at least one pro AND con for each candidate as the best candidate for energy / cleantech. Comments that only offer pros on one side or the other will be sent straight to the trash can.

Here's mine to get you started - and while you'll see my opinion come straight through, attached are the reasons behind it:

Barack Obama - Dubbed the Shiny Copper Penny Plan

His environmental and energy issues page

His stated plan's objectives (editor's notes in [brackets])

"Provide short-term relief to American families facing pain at the pump [How, by raising taxes elsewhere to subsidize energy and thereby support increased demand but oppose any increase in domestic production? Our gas prices are already way lower than Europe's. The best policy I've seen to reduce gas prices is corn ethanol, yes the much maligned corn ethanol, which has reduced prices at the pump $0.29 to $0.40 / gallon. That plus CAFE plus domestic drilling, and we may have a viable answer. The real short term answer to high gas prices is break the back of OPEC as a cartel, but NOBODY wants to go there.]

Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future. [Despite the fact that this would likely make me quite rich (I have significant interests in several companies that could milk the hell out of this), I'm not really interested in massive increases in government spending. And let's be clear, Presidents do not create jobs, you and I do. Oh, and Barack wants to get the US government into the venture capital business in cleantech. On what planet is THAT a good idea?]

Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined. [We don't import a lot of our oil from the Middle East, it's too far away, we get a large chunk of ours from Mexico and Canada :)].

Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that we will work to make sure are built here in America. [I'm a big fan of PHEVs, but right now the technology is just not there yet, despite all my electric car friends. This is definitely a shiny copper penny. I would rather focus on CAFE, car size, and biofuels.]

Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025. [2012 is just around the corner in energy terms, virtually nothing the next President can do would really change our trajectory here. 25 x 25 is a good goal, and probably his best energy plank in my opnion, but he's short on the details of how to actually achieve it, even at astronomical energy price increases. One main challenge is that to accomplish this, we need more clean baseload (coal, gas, nuke or hydro) to underpin it and lots and lots and lots of new transmission lines - which are 7 to 10 year projects in of themselves. And of course, it depends on what you mean by renewable, right now every state in the US defines it differently.]

Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. [I'm very pro cap and trade, but Obama's plan is the high cost, unilateral way to do it, resulting in the most revenues to the government. The other issue here (which McCain will also face), is that even reducing the US impact on CO2 emissions is pretty much lost in the wash if China and India et al don't commit to some sort of reductions (And of course if we do and they don't the net effect is to push manufacturing jobs overseas. THAT is why neither the US Senate, the Clinton administration nor the Bush Administration, Barack Obama or John McCain has supported ratifying Kyoto (Hillary used to, then flipped once she figured it out))]"

The Pro
  • Clearly the most aggressively stated energy and environmental plan - if you like all green with costs taking a back seat, Obama is the way to go. But it's very hard to conceive of cheap energy and aggressive switchs to alternatives.
  • Supports most aggressive climate change proposals out there - would definitely put us in the lead in solving the climate change problem - if you believe that us solving our part of the problem internally is more important than the world working to solve it together.
  • Supports long term not short term incentives for alternatives in general (as does McCain)
  • Would likely spend mega bucks on new energy techology spending and subsidies - great for me personally, bad for you and the country in the near term, possibly good for the country in the long term.

The Con
  • Very limited resume of actually authoring any legislation on energy or the environment
  • No experience in domestic energy policy
  • Anti- drilling (or was until he realized that like two-thirds of Americans support it)
  • Supports climate change plan that would represent a wealth transfer from the central US to the coasts and result in a several hundred billion dollar per year new tax on energy (that's on the order of the Iraq war size)
  • Picked a VP with no real energy experience
  • Seems to have little respect for the cost of his energy plan to you and I - read Jimmy Carter all over again?
John McCain - Steady Wins the Race

John McCain's energy page. His stated plan's objectives (editor's notes in [brackets])

  • "Expanding Domestic Oil And Natural Gas Exploration And Production - John McCain Will Commit Our Country To Expanding Domestic Oil Exploration. John McCain Believes In Promoting And Expanding The Use Of Our Domestic Supplies Of Natural Gas. [You may not like it, but most Americans do, and underpinning domestic supplies should be a part of every energy policy discussion. Tax the output at the pump if you want, but this country was built on cheap domestic energy, never forget that.]
  • Taking Action Now To Break Our Dependency On Foreign Oil By Reforming Our Transportation Sector - The Nation Cannot Reduce Its Dependency On Oil Unless We Change How We Power Our Transportation Sector. John McCain's Clean Car Challenge. John McCain Will Propose A $300 Million Prize To Improve Battery Technology For Full Commercial Development Of Plug-In Hybrid And Fully Electric Automobiles. John McCain Supports Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) And Believes They Should Play A Greater Role In Our Transportation Sector. John McCain Believes Alcohol-Based Fuels Hold Great Promise As Both An Alternative To Gasoline And As A Means of Expanding Consumers' Choices.Today, Isolationist Tariffs And Wasteful Special Interest Subsidies Are Not Moving Us Toward An Energy Solution. John McCain Will Effectively Enforce Existing CAFE Standards. [I hate prizes. The government shouldn't be in the l0ttery business, but battery technology IS the ultimate force multiplier in energy and transport. Flex fuel, should be a basic requirement. See above on ethanol's impact on prices already. CAFE standards, here is our near term transport lynchpin, I'd like to see McCain stronger on this.]
  • Investing In Clean, Alternative Sources Of Energy - John McCain Believes That The U.S. Must Become A Leader In A New International Green Economy. John McCain Will Commit $2 Billion Annually To Advancing Clean Coal Technologies. John McCain Will Put His Administration On Track To Construct 45 New Nuclear Power Plants By 2030 With The Ultimate Goal Of Eventually Constructing 100 New Plants. John McCain Will Establish A Permanent Tax Credit Equal To 10 Percent Of Wages Spent On R&D. John McCain Will Encourage The Market For Alternative, Low Carbon Fuels Such As Wind, Hydro And Solar Power. [Long term R&D tax credit, finally! This is part of a policy that has helped Australia punch outside it's weight in technology for years. Nukes + clean coal, we may not like it, but it HAS to be done to baseload all those new renewables. Obama will figure this out, eventually.]
  • Protecting Our Environment And Addressing Climate Change: A Sound Energy Strategy Must Include A Solid Environmental Foundation - John McCain Proposes A Cap-And-Trade System That Would Set Limits On Greenhouse Gas Emissions While Encouraging The Development Of Low-Cost Compliance Options. Greenhouse Gas Emission Targets And Timetables: 2012: Return Emissions To 2005 Levels (18 Percent Above 1990 Levels)2020: Return Emissions To 1990 Levels (15 Percent Below 2005 Levels) 2030: 22 Percent Below 1990 Levels (34 Percent Below 2005 Levels) 2050: 60 Percent Below 1990 Levels (66 Percent Below 2005 Levels). The Cap-And-Trade System Would Allow For The Gradual Reduction Of Emissions. [See below, the most practical multi-lateral plan yet devised in the US]
  • Promoting Energy Efficiency John McCain Will Make Greening The Federal Government A Priority Of His Administration. John McCain Will Move The United States Toward Electricity Grid And Metering Improvements To Save Energy. [Investing in the smart grid and smart metering, now there's an interstate highway style policy I can support. Smart grid is THE key to underpinning a generational shift in our power use or EV fleets. It's our electric power sine qua non - without which there is nothing]"

The Pro
  • His energy plan is balanced, focuses on the force multiplier's like R&D tax credits, batteries, and smart grid, and cleaning up cheap domestic resources like gas, coal, nuke, and ethanol, not the shiny copper pennies like a US Venture Capital Fund, PHEVs, and cool sounding names like 25x25.
  • Only candidate to actually author a climate change bill. It gets dinged for not being aggressive enough, but it is MORE aggressive than Kyoto, and probably the most reasonably practical one that's come through Congress.
  • Picked a VP with lots of domestic energy experience (The state of Alaska is basically an oil company) who while pro drilling is not pro Big Oil.
Con
  • Legislative record on environmental protection issues is generally considered spotty. I'd like to see more balance here.
  • Hasn't pushed CAFE like I'd like.
  • I'd like to see explicit support for a 10 year PTC (Obama supports a 5 year one)
  • Depending on your position, pro nuclear (which is a very climate change friendly answer, by the way), but often viewed as anti environmental.
So sorry folks, I think McCain's energy and environmental plan is as spot on as any presidential candidate in a long time. Yes his record on the environment is "spotty", but energy and environment always involve tradeoffs with economic and technological reality, and I think any balanced plan will look spotty to some.

My rationale for McCain getting the crown on energy and cleantech, because it's real and focuses on the long term force multipliers that will keep us competitive, clean and safe in the most economic manner, not Obama's shiny copper penny plan.

In full disclosure for those of you who don't know me, of my two largest clients, one is an oil company, and the other is an all renewable power company. I have been helping them develop their solar and low carbon strategies and businesses. I have founded cleantech startups myself in superconductors and carbon, and stand to see more financial benefit from Obama's plan than McCain's. But that doesn't make it right.


Neal Dikeman is a founding partner at Jane Capital Partners LLC, a boutique merchant bank advising strategic investors and startups in cleantech. He is founding contributor of Cleantech Blog, a Contributing Editor to Alt Energy Stocks, Chairman of Cleantech.org.
Content provided by and all rights reserved to CleantechBlog.com. Also check out www.cleantech.org.

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CleantechBlog

Cleantech Blog was founded by Neal Dikeman, and all our columnists are experts in their fields. Some of them are available for media interviews and quotes, speaking engagements and consulting. You can find biographies, areas of expertise and contact information for the columnists who have agreed to be available for comments below. Contributing Columnists: * Neal Dikeman, Founder Cleantech Blog, Partner at Jane Capital Partners * Richard Stuebi, BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement, Cleveland Foundation * Heather Rae, President, Brae Consulting – Sustainability marketing expert * John Addison, Author of Clean Fleet Report, Director, California Hydrogen Business Council * Dr. Peter Beadle, CEO GreenJobs.com, former BP Solar exec Guest Contributors: * Joel Makower, World Leading Sustainability Advocate, Founder Clean Edge * Felix Kramer, Founder, CalCars.org * Nick Bruse, General Manager Clean Technology AustralAsia * Anne-Marie Fleming, President, Investor Ideas, and publisher of leading renewable energy stock web site * Mark Bitterman, Editor, Superconductor Week * Gerry Woolf, Editor, BEST Magazine We also welcome contact from PR firms looking to connect with green, sustainable, and cleantech bloggers. Neal Dikeman: I founded Cleantech Blog in 2005. I am a merchant banker and co-founder of Jane Capital Partners LLC, where I head the energy and environmental practice, and prior to that worked in venture capital, private equity and investment banking in the tech and energy sectors. We have co-founded four emrging startups in cleantech and IT (in superconductors, fuel cells, RF, and carbon credits) since the tech wreck, and advise the technology and venture investment arms of three multi-nationals. In all of it, I have been lucky enough to work with some amazing colleagues, bosses, and partners. Besides Cleantech Blog, I am a contributing editor of AltEnergyStocks.com, and contributing author to Inside Greentech. Along with our own, the blogs I regularly read include Jim Fraser's The Energy Blog, Rob Day's CleantechVC, Tyler Hamilton's Clean Break, Joel Makower's Two Steps Forward, and Inside Greentech. My areas of expertise are always a work in process, but I have been quoted, cited, or interviewed on energy, alternative energy, and cleantech issues by numerous online and print publications including Red Herring, Energy Intelligence, Time.com, Bloomberg, San Francisco Chronicle, Forbes.com, Ethical Investor, Wall Street Reporter, and FT.com among others, on topics ranging from: cleantech, solar, ethanol, blogging, technology commercialization, corporate venture investment, energy prices and policy, technology transfer, carbon trading, and renewable and alternative energy. Feel free to contact me at dikeman@janecapital.com. Mr. Richard T. Stuebi Richard Stuebi has nearly 20 years of experience as an executive, entrepreneur and consultant in the energy industry, with most of the past decade focused on advanced energy technologies. He is currently serving as the BP Fellow for Energy and Environmental Advancement at the Cleveland Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the US with over $1.6 Billion in assets. He works with various public and private sector stakeholders to promote commercial activity in advanced energy in the Cleveland area. Mr. Stuebi has authored numerous articles that have appeared in such leading industry periodicals as The Electricity Journal and Public Utilities Fortnightly, and has presented at numerous major energy conferences. He is a contributing columnist to Cleantech Blog, writing on alternative energy issues, news and events. Prior to joining the Foundation, Richard founded NextWave Energy, a professional firm focused on capitalizing upon new business opportunities stemming from innovative energy technologies. As President of NextWave Energy, he assisted several emerging and established private-sector clients in various aspects of business development, including strategy and capital formation. Previously, Richard was a senior vice president at Louis Dreyfus, the global commodity trading firm and was a management consultant in the energy practice of McKinsey & Co. Richard earned degrees in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University. His areas of expertise include: Economics in alternative and renewable energy, energy policy, trade, and development. Cleantech finance and technology strategy. You can contact him at rts@nextwave-energy.com. Ms. Heather Rae Heather is a green marketing expert and a long-time advocate of green technology and sustainable business. Through her consultancy Brae Consulting, Heather has worked for energy companies, cleantech startups, and nonprofits (she is currently working with a home energy efficiency program of the Maine Governor's office). Her previous corporate marketing experience includes Xcel Energy (demand-side management and green power) and Qwest Communications. A hands on expert - Heather has practiced what she preached. She is certified in high performance residential building (Green Advantage®) and has served as co-director of Colorado's Interfaith Power & Light. Readers of Cleantech Blog will know that Heather converted a retired school bus into the Brae Bio Bus, a recreational vehicle running on biodiesel (B100) with solar panels for auxiliary power, and recently drove it across the country blogging the experiences in finding biodiesel in different parts of the US. Having reached her destination at Maine Home Performance, a program of the Maine Governor's Office where Heather is helping design programs to certify and link Maine contractors with homeowners who want to "go green", Heather is now tackling the conversion of an 1880s Maine farmhouse into an energy efficiency and green showcase. Heather graduated from Wesleyan University and is a contributing columnist to Cleantech Blog writing on green and sustainable products and marketing from the consumer's point of view. Her areas of expertise include: Green marketing programs and strategies, grass roots green and sustainable programs for consumers, using green technologies in the home. You can contact her at heather.rae@braeconsulting.com Mr. John Addison John is an accomplished writer, speaker, and expert in technology marketing and strategy. He is one of the IT converts that are driving the cleantech industry. Since 1992, his marketing consultancy OPTIMARK, Inc. has provided educational programs, market intelligence, market development and partner development for technology and government leaders. A believer in cleantech's potential to change the world for the better, John is the Publisher of the Clean Fleet Report and serves on the Board of the California Hydrogen Business Council. He is a contributing columnist to Cleantech Blog. He is the author of the book Revenue Rocket on channel marketing in technology, and the upcoming book Save Gas, Save the Planet on what we as individuals can do to help save the planet. Earlier in his career John was an area channel manager for Sun Microsystems. For three years, he led a sales team to 300% annual growth in 15 states, increasing revenue from $4 to $110 million. He has taught courses about marketing and innovation at U.C. Davis and U.C. Santa Cruz Extension. He is a popular speaker in the Americas, Europe and Asia. You can find more of his speeches and articles on his websites Clean Fleet Report and Revenue Rocket. His areas of expertise include: Technology marketing and marketing strategy, channel marketing, fuel cells and the hydrogen economy, alternative fueled fleets, and California's energy tech corridor. You can contact him at johnaddison1@gmail.com. Dr. Peter Beadle Peter is the owner and CEO of GreenJobs.com. He is an is an experienced technology executive and an expert on a wide range of green and energy technologies, including photovoltaics, fuel processing, fuel cells, and oil & gas technologies. Green Jobs is one of the few dedicated job sites for the renewables and cleantech industry. They put out the online Green Directory, as well as a weekly newsletter on People News in cleantech. Peter is a contributing columnist to Cleantech Blog writing on renewable energy news and events. Peter holds a PhD in Physical Chemistry, and previously served President of BP Solar's North American division. Prior to that he held a number of positions in R&D and technology management within British Petroleum. His areas of expertise include: Solar, fuel cells, oil & gas, renewable energy job market You can contact him at Peter@greenjobs.com.

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