Renewable Energy — Lack of Certainty and Clarity Can Make for a Stressful and Unproductive Industry

As I’ve mentioned, I’m in New York City for the Renewable Energy Finance Forum.  The buzz of the first day here, which comes as no surprise, is the uncertainty that pervades the industry.  Though the world market for clean energy is growing at an impressive pace, in the US, the industry is at sea, due to the lack of clear direction from our elected leaders.

Falling costs for clean energy projects: good.  Global reaction to Fukushima and the 100+ GW gap produced by reduction in nuclear: excellent (mitigated by the sorrow we all feel for those affected). Limited EPA regulation of natural gas fracking: bad.  Republicans actively pushing away from clean energy in favor of Big Energy: even worse.

My morning conversations bore out that uncertainty, including one over breakfast with a high-powered but clearly stressed developer of utility scale (10—or-so MW) solar projects.  In response to my well-meaning but non-specific greeting: “How’s it going?” I got an avalanche that communicated the pressure on this poor guy.  “How am I ?  It depends on the status of SRECs (solar renewable energy credits), that’s how I am.”

Yikes.  Easy on the caffeine, my friend.