Green energy may make big strides in 2011
Cascadia Capital LLC also said in its annual clean-tech forecast that Congress will discard a cap-and-trade proposal on pollutants and that high oil prices will generate increased investment in natural gas, which has seen resurgence from new techniques unleashing major reserves.
“Energy policy and sustainable technologies continue to draw significant debate from consumers, pundits, politicians and investors around the world,” said Michael Butler, Cascadia chairman and CEO, in a statement. “In 2011, the energy landscape will be marked by significant investment activity from oil companies, M&A (mergers and acquisitions) of renewable energy companies, and the introduction of new technologies for transforming waste to energy. These markets will continue to draw a great deal of attention as oil prices continue to rise and the formation of a national energy policy is thrust back into the spotlight.”
In the newspaper business, where I spent 24 years of my life before this assignment, we'd all be rushing around about this time of year to get two things together.
One would be a summary of the year's top stories. The other would be a story that focused on what was expected to happen in the new year, much like what Cascadia has done here.
Every reporter was expected to collect and report on everything on his or her beat, or subjects covered. Most of us hated the task, grumbling the entire time. Our point? We'd already been covered those topics. "It's old news," we'd say. And the forecasts? We believed they were usually too general and be of little use, much like picking the Superbowl lineup a year in advance.
Our wrap stories would run on A1 during the holidays -- traditionally a time when news slows to a near stop. We'd recycle the best photos and frequently get the photogs to work up photo pages inside.
Of course, now I look upon it all fondly. And to an editor, tying up loose ends and looking ahead make sense. Back when I worked at the now deceased Anchorage Times in the early 1990s, I'd come up with the big fisheries story that would include a forecast of the salmon runs and the crab catch in the Bering Sea. Those were the big money stories and of interest to me since my grandfather, Lowell Wakefield, was one of the industry's pioneers.
At the Skagit Valley Herald, overlooking the tree-studded Puget Sound, my big stories would be farming, timber and the environment's battle with sprawl. When I went into editing full time and overseeing reporters, my subjects expanded to include crime, health care and in the Tri-Cities, the lovable Hanford nuclear site.
Now my scope has narrowed again, and I write mostly about green energy, tossing in somewhat relevant personal observations every now and then. And the traditions of my past encourage me again to cite my big stories and issue a forecast.
For the San Joaquin Valley, the top green news, at least from my perspective, has got to be energy efficiency. The Valley received a bundle from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, and while much of it remains unspent, the allocations will prove invaluable in reducing energy costs to jurisdictions.
Here at the SJVCEO, we've had significant delay getting Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant money spent for the 39 cities and counties our nonprofit represents. Most of the hurdles are bureaucratic and require seemingly endless administrative solutions and reports.
However, looking into my crystal ball I see our fortunes changing early next year. I see work getting done and that money getting spent.
In other green Valley news, 2010 was big in getting wind and solar projects moving forward. The golden eagle has slowed wind projects and tortoises messed with some solar efforts, but we expect some to soldier on and connect with the grid. Perhaps waste-to-energy projects at dairies and other biomass efforts will get the green light.
I'd like to say I had a clue about green jobs, but I don't. Like many across the country, I experienced an economy-related layoff. I watch as my beloved newspaper industry continues to contract. I would like to see green energy innovation provide a bright spot.
Will it happen in 2011? One can hope.