Clark says wind energy is a national security issue

By Karen Boman
Filed from Houston
6/4/2008 6:42:54 PM GMT


HOUSTON: Wind energy presents the best near-term solution to fill U.S. energy demand and help wean the country off its dependence on oil imports, said retired U.S. General Wesley Clark at the American Wind Energy Association WindPower 2008 conference and exhibition in Houston. However, a cap and trade system needs to be implemented in the U.S. in order for wind power to be more widely used.

Developing wind energy also is a matter of national security for the U.S., said Clark, who formerly served as Supreme Allied Commander of Europe for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and who is now director at Emergya Wind Technologies B.V. Dependence on foreign oil imports destroys economic development opportunities in the U.S., negatively impacts U.S. relationships, undercuts competitive energy development and generates cost inflation, Clark claimed.

Political representatives of both the Republican and Democratic parties are now accepting that global warming must be addressed. However, it will take the help of legislation to make alternative energy as widely used as in other countries such as Denmark, where wind power now supplies 20 percent of the Scandinavian nation's energy needs.

John Podesta, who served as chief of staff under former President Bill Clinton and now serves as president and CEO of the Center for American Progress, credits legislative-based programs to incentivize alternative fuel use for the increase in wind power and other fuels in other countries.

"We need to break the stranglehold that fossil fuels has on Congress," Podesta said.

Policy directives are needed to implement a carbon capture and trade initiative, strengthen domestic hydrocarbon supply, improve transportation efficiency of vehicles, and create incentives for wind and solar energy use.

The U.S. Senate began debating this week the Climate Security Act of 2007 (S. 2191), which would direct the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases. The bill was introduced by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D.-Conn.). Podesta said the bill is the most aggressive of any of the bills introduced to address global warming.

Podesta noted that the use of wind energy and other alternative energy sources needs to be driven through the economy. The Center for American Progress has released a report highlighting what kind of jobs are needed to build a green economy in the U.S. Green jobs associated with six strategies for attacking global warming include sheet metal workers, machinists and truck drivers who work on wind farm construction projects.

"There are already 14.3 million green jobs in our country. These include everything from electricians to environmental engineers," Podesta said.

With global warming, the worldwide rise in oil and natural gas prices and U.S. electricity demand expected to rise 39 percent over 2005 levels by the year 2030, energy security will be the major issue facing the new U.S. president and Congress when they take office, said Greg Wetstone, senior director of governmental and policy affairs for the American Wind Energy Association.

While natural gas is trading in the U.S. as high as $12/Mbtu, up from US$7.50/Mtbu earlier this year, it is trading a even higher prices in other parts of the world. With gas producers able to get better prices elsewhere, U.S. gas supply security is thrown into question, Wetstone said. For example, major exporters of liquefied natural gas are shelving plans for receiving terminals in the U.S. or sending LNG shipments to markets other than the U.S.

Wetstone also cited other factors in the need for wind power and other alternative fuels, noting that Dr. James Hanson with the National Aeronautic and Space Administration said that high levels of carbon in the atmosphere could have a potentially catastrophic impact on the environment.

The National Academy of Sciences also has issued a report that abrupt climatic shift due to high carbon levels was not only possible, but likely, Wetstone said. The report pointed to the deterioration of the Greenland and West Antarctic icesheets, which could cause sea level rises of between 15 feet and 20 feet (5 m to 6 m) and 12 feet and 15 feet (4 m to 5 m) respectively, and the melting of the Arctic ice cap, which could change the planet's reflective properties.

Interest in wind power also is beginning to take off with U.S. cities. The city of Cleveland is looking to retool its local industrial base, workforce and economy by constructing a wind farm in Lake Erie offshore the city. Under the plan, between two and 10 turbines would be erected between 3.1 miles and 5 miles (5 km and 8 km) offshore downtown Cleveland.

The U.S. Minerals Management Service (MMS) has received 45 nominations for offshore wind leases under its interim leasing program and expects to issue a limited number of leases over the next year. Leases included for nomination include acreage offshore New Jersey, Delaware and Georgia. MMS is conducting data collection technology testing on four proposed leases offshore Florida.

MMS also hopes to issue this fall the final Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Cape Wind farm, which would be the first U.S. offshore wind farm. Cape Wind has been proposed for installation in Nantucket Sound offshore Massachusetts.


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