January 25, 2011

China's President Hu has left the country. And some would argue that he has taken American jobs with him.

The question then is how to develop the policies to build out this country's manufacturing base and especially the one centered on renewable energy. Activists and their supporters in Congress say that more government involvement is necessary, which includes not just favorable environmental laws but also lucrative tax breaks. Not so, say free marketers, who maintain that that the United States should help fund research and development but that international markets will determine where such products are made.

"As long as solar panels are getting cheaper, we shouldn't worry about where they are being produced," writes Edward Glaeser, an economics professor at Harvard, in the New York Times. "We should continue financing research  ... but we shouldn't pretend that cheaper solar energy will end up employing millions of our less-skilled citizens."

January 24, 2011

The United States has ratified its treaty with Russia that limits the number of warheads pointing at each other. Now, the two are shifting their attention to an agreement focused on the civilian use of nuclear energy -- or the development of nuclear power.

The so-called U.S.-Russia123 Agreement also beefs up existing nuclear non-proliferation efforts. But it adds to that framework by laying the foundation so that the two can share nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The cornerstones of the deal done earlier this month: To provide incentives to other nations to not acquire sensitive uranium enrichment technologies that could be used to build weapons and to allow for the transfer of technology, material and equipment to increase nuclear power production.

January 21, 2011

An emerging group of Republican leaders in Congress are putting together the elements of a new energy plan to help define a new national energy policy.

Rep. Devin Nunes is emerging as one of the key architects of new Republican thinking on energy. His energy plan is getting attention, having been profiled in various national media outlets. With Washington in gridlock on energy, as on many other issues, the Obama administration and Democrats are waiting for the Republican positions to clarify so negotiations may begin, Nunes will speak about the Republican energy principles in a keynote address at the EnergyBiz Leadership Forum in Washington, Feb. 28 - March 1. He recently outlined his approach to energy in a commentary written for the current issue of EnergyBiz magazine. An edited version follows:

January 20, 2011

If it is happening in China, it is being felt around the world. That's the unstated theme of the summit now occurring between President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao, whose discussion will undoubtedly affect how American companies do business with the Asian nation and particularly in the area of energy.

The economic growth rate of 10 percent a year is exceeding China's own hopes. But power production there can't keep pace. It needs foreign assistance, although U.S. enterprises are complaining that they not necessarily getting a fair shake there. Meanwhile, some union organizations are protesting that the overt favoritism and artificially low currency rates are promoting their products and services and hurting jobs in this country.

January 10, 2011

California voters made a statement when they turned back an attempt to delay a landmark global warming law. State regulators have since added the exclamation point.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has adopted a cap-and-trade program for CO2 emissions, whose supporters say will grow the state's clean energy economy. Opponents have said the rules would hamstring the California economy, or worse. At a time of such high unemployment and when businesses need to expand, the move to clamp down on them is unwise, those critics add.