With the government still in full shut down, the alt energy sector is taking a few licks. A number of research programs and installations are either fully closed or being worked with a skeleton staff. Here is a list of some the problems the government shutdown is causing for renewable energy: |
A lot of people may not realize how important government investment
is for the growth of alt energies. Companies
enjoy bidding wars for government investment contracts that will give them the
funds to implement green energy possibilities that they could not accomplish
without.
For Example, recently the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers announced a new contract for geothermal energy use. It’s part of the Multiple Award Task Order Contract (MATOC), which deals with alternative energy work orders at the Department of Defense (DOD).
According to Defense.gov, the geothermal company New Generation Power was awarded “potential vendor indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price, non-option, non-multi-year contract with a cumulative maximum value of $7,000,000,000.”
But New Generation isn’t the only contractor involved with this contract. According to geothermal energy association they have joined a group of geothermal companies including:
Col. Rober Ruch, Commander of the US Army Engineering and Support Center had this to say about the new contract:
“Today we are expanding the pool of potential contractors for geothermal projects to include a small business. Including more potential contractors and small business allows us to further expand competition among qualified bidders and encourages the best value for renewable energy projects.”
This is just one example out of many that could be used to demonstrate how government investment helps the private alternative energy sector grow, and innovate.
But with Congress
sitting on their hands, and America STILL lacking a federal energy policy, all
the progress towards a renewable America is being delayed, or stopped
altogether. While the rest of the world is making serious ground with new energy
legislation, the States are now sitting idle while green opportunities and
potentials are going untapped.
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