the permanence of impermanence

Zachary Coile, Chronicle Washington Bureau

Friday, July 18, 2008

(07-18) 04:00 PDT Washington –

Former Vice President Al Gore, seeking to shake up an energy debate that is focused mostly on drilling, challenged the United States to shift its entire electricity sector to carbon-free wind, solar and geothermal power within 10 years, and use that power to fuel a new fleet of electric vehicles.

The goal is the most ambitious energy plan by a major U.S. political figure - and one many energy experts say is unrealistic. Gore insists the only real obstacle is the reluctance of America’s leaders to seek bold solutions to high energy prices and global warming. He likened his challenge to President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 call to put a man on the moon.

“This goal is achievable, affordable and transformative,” Gore told more than 1,000 cheering supporters at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington. “It represents a challenge to all Americans in every walk of life: to our political leaders, entrepreneurs, innovators, engineers and to every citizen.”

Gore is seeking to pressure the presidential candidates and Congress, which is in the middle of a fierce debate on energy policy. He said he has spoken to both Republican Sen. John McCain and Democratic Sen. Barack Obama about his ideas. Obama issued a statement Thursday saying he strongly agrees with Gore’s goal.

New jobs, safer world

“It’s a strategy that will create millions of new jobs that pay well and cannot be outsourced, and one that will leave our children a world that is cleaner and safer,” Obama said.

McCain said that while he and Gore might disagree on some aspects of climate change, he supports the goals Gore outlined for developing wind and solar. “If the vice president says it’s doable, I believe it’s doable,” McCain said.

Gore’s challenge would require a massive restructuring of America’s electricity sector. The country currently relies on coal for about half of its electric power - 49 percent - followed by natural gas (22 percent) nuclear (19 percent) and hydropower (6 percent), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Renewable power accounts for 2.5 percent, although it’s growing rapidly in many states, especially California.

Jim Owen, a spokesman for the Edison Electric Institute, which represents investor-owned utilities that produce 70 percent of the nation’s power, said his group supports Gore’s call for more electric vehicles and a major increase in wind, solar and geothermal. But Owen said there’s no way renewables could meet all the country’s energy needs in 10 years.

“We cannot do the job with renewables and energy efficiency alone,” he said. “We have to have a balanced energy portfolio that includes all those things in even higher percentages, but also has to include nuclear. And we frankly think that nuclear should be increased.”

Gore, the Nobel Peace Prize winner and 2000 Democratic presidential candidate, presented his challenge as a solution to three overlapping crises: an economic crisis fueled by rising energy prices; a global climate crisis; and a national security crisis fed by instability in the Middle East, the largest source of the world’s oil supply.

“We’re borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Persian Gulf to burn it in ways that destroy the planet,” he said. “Every bit of that’s got to change.”

Gore said as the prices of oil and coal have increased, wind and solar have become more economically competitive. He noted that the price of the specialized silicon used to make solar cells fell from $300 per kilogram to as low as $50 per kilogram recently.

But Gore acknowledged that there are barriers to reaching his goal. The nation’s electric grid is still not sufficiently developed to move solar power from sunny states out West or wind power from windy states to power-hungry markets, he said.

A centerpiece of Gore’s plan would be to help beleaguered U.S. automakers produce a new national fleet of plug-in electric vehicles. Foreign competitors, especially Toyota, have taken a lead in selling fuel-efficient hybrids. Gore said U.S. automakers could regain their edge with new electric cars that can be plugged in at night - saving consumers money while reducing air pollution and U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Gore isn’t the only one touting a new energy plan focused on renewables. T. Boone Pickens, a Texas oilman who has recently invested heavily in wind, is pushing a plan to use wind power for about 20 percent of the nation’s electricity needs, and then use the natural gas that would have gone to power plants for new fuels for cars and trucks.

Gore has previously supported cap-and-trade schemes, which could raise revenue to subsidize renewable projects. But he said Thursday he also likes the idea of cutting the payroll tax and creating a new tax on carbon emissions, which would give a leg up to low-carbon sources.

Cheers against drilling

Gore drew his loudest cheers from a crowd packed with environmentalists when he denounced efforts, backed by President Bush, McCain and congressional Republicans, to boost oil drilling. Gore said, “It is only a truly dysfunctional system that would buy into the perverse logic that the short-term answer to high gasoline prices is drilling for more oil 10 years from now.”

Environmentalists have been disappointed at the recent energy debate, where even some Democrats have backed more drilling as an answer to $4-per-gallon gasoline. Gore’s speech could convince Democrats to take a different approach, they said.

“It’s a very aggressive, bold, comprehensive proposal and it’s great to challenge the politicians to go where they need to go,” said League of Conservation Voters President Gene Karpinski.

Throwing down the green gauntlet

Former Vice President Al Gore challenged the United States to produce all its electricity from carbon-free renewable sources such as wind, solar and geothermal within 10 years. His speech sparked strong reactions from all sides:

Gore: “Scientists have confirmed that enough solar energy falls on the surface of the Earth every 40 minutes to meet 100 percent of the entire world’s energy needs for a full year. And enough wind power blows through the Midwest corridor every day to also meet 100 percent of U.S. electricity demand.”

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, Democratic presidential candidate: “I strongly agree with Vice President Gore that we cannot drill our way to energy independence, but must fast-track investments in renewable sources of energy like solar power, wind power and advanced biofuels, and those are the investments I will make as president.”

Arizona Sen. John McCain, Republican presidential candidate, on Gore’s goals for more wind and solar power: “There may be some aspects of climate change that he and I are in disagreement (on),” but “if the vice president says it’s doable, I believe it’s doable.”

T. Boone Pickens, Texas oilman and wind-power booster: “Former Vice President Al Gore put forward a framework of a plan that is focused on global warming and climate issues. … My plan is aimed squarely at breaking the stranglehold that foreign oil has on our country. We import 70 percent of our oil, and that number is growing larger every year. Vice President Gore’s plan does not address this enormous problem.”

Jim Owen, spokesman for Edison Electric Institute: “We cannot do the job with renewables and energy efficiency alone. We have to have a balanced energy portfolio that includes all those things in even higher percentages, but also has to include nuclear. And we frankly think that nuclear should be increased.”

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.: “The vice president’s main effort is to mobilize the American people behind meaningful action and less talk about global warming.”

Gene Karpinski, League of Conservation Voters president: “It’s a very aggressive, bold, comprehensive proposal, and it’s great to challenge the politicians to go where they need to go.”

Former Rep. Bob Barr, Libertarian presidential candidate: “None of us can walk away from this issue without agreeing with him that we do have a very serious problem, and it’s only going to get worse unless we do something about it. … I hope to be a part of that, and I would like to see the free market take the lead, not the government.”

Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Wash.: “It pointed out that the only way we have a chance to drive down oil prices is if we become free of the slavery of oil. If we can give Americans choices of electrical cars or … biodiesel cars, then and only then do we have a chance of dealing with this cost issue. That is why $4-a-gallon gas is not an enemy of action, it’s an ally of action.”

E-mail Zachary Coile at zcoile@sfchronicle.com.

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