Clean energy is key

Opinion: July 23, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

By Michael E. KRAFT

McClatchy-Tribune

GREEN BAY, Wisc.

It is politically fashionable to denounce federal subsidies as unjustifiable in the face of rising budget deficits and an ailing economy. Like pork-barrel spending, however, the value of subsidies depends on where one stands.

Republicans have long favored traditional energy resources such as coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power, and they still support costly federal subsidies for them. Democrats have been more partial recently toward subsidies for developing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

Plug-ins

What about subsidies for electric vehicles? President Obama backs congressional efforts to spend an additional $6 billion to $10 billion on economic incentives for purchase of plug-in, battery-powered electric vehicles as part of his commitment to advancing a clean energy economy. Many Republicans have opposed, and even ridiculed, these actions.

The federal government will offer new tax credits of up to $7,500 for purchase of vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt; for many consumers there will be additional state incentives.

These subsidies are intended to accelerate market growth; the current market is small because of the vehicles’ costly batteries and limited range. Yet the price likely will decline over time with added sales and further research that can improve battery power.

The Obama administration has supported electric vehicles in many other ways as well, such as advanced technology grants and loans to battery and vehicle manufacturers, and construction of public recharging stations.

Because fully electric cars use no gasoline, there should be big improvements over time in urban air quality and release of greenhouse gases.

Consumers would save as well with lower maintenance costs. Another reason to use such subsidies is that the United States needs to become a global competitor in innovative energy technologies. China, Japan and Korea now lead the world market in lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles; this is a market that is likely to grow substantially, creating new manufacturing jobs. The United States cannot afford to fall behind here as it has already in wind and solar technologies and high-speed rail.

Risk of spills

The development and marketing of electric vehicles also should be encouraged to reduce the nation’s use of oil. Aside from the continuing risk of spills, dependency on oil is harmful to the economy, national security, and the environment. We have only 2 percent of world oil supplies yet we use 20 percent, much of which goes to power our vehicles. Such a use of oil, whether produced domestically or imported, is not sustainable and not good for the country.

If Republicans take control of Congress after the fall elections, they should not try to repeal the electric vehicle incentives. While doing so could cut federal spending modestly, the savings would be minuscule compared to many other possible budgetary actions, such as reducing wasteful defense spending or curtailing unneeded subsidies for the oil and gas industry.

Michael Kraft is the Herbert Fisk Johnson Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, and the author of “Environmental Policy and Politics.” Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.