CYNICAL SENATOR’S CALL FOR NEW ENERGY

Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) has been among the staunch Republican recalcitrants who have blocked New Energy’s progress at the national level. Cleverly, he offsets the political blowback from opposition to one of the most popular causes in U.S. politics today (New Energy) with rhetoric masking his votes in defense of the fossil fuels industries and the most backward utilities.

At the Oak Ridge National Labs in his home state, he called for a Manhattan Project for clean energy. The scientists gave him a standing ovation. It is imperative they be shown the huge chasm between the Senator’s actions and his words. (See TENNESSEE SENATOR DISSES WIND)

The irony is that nothing could be truer than what Senator Alexander says about the need for a national effort on behalf of New Energy: "...the goal will be clean energy independence…So that we can deal with rising gasoline prices, electricity prices, clean air, climate change and national security. For our country first, and (then) ... for the rest of the world."

Alexander pointedly gave himself and his party their usual way out of taking action, reminding the scientists there will be a cost for New Energy and making scant mention of the potentially lucrative return on the investment.

Having built cover for inaction, Alexander called for things the scientists would surely be enthusiastic about: (1) plug-in electric vehicle development and a V2G smart grid that would allow for overnight battery charging at reduced rates; (2) solar energy R&D and solar power plant development; (3) biofuels/cellulosic ethanol development; (4) R&D and advancement on energy efficient buildings; (5) “clean” coal development; (6) Finding ways to reprocess/store nuclear waste and R&D for nuclear fusion.

Notice: No mention of wind energy. The absence is telling. Alexander is a staunch opponent of wind energy because wind energy is getting built right now. The other things are incipient or largely hypothetical. Alexander is all for “grand challenges” (and grand rhetoric) – he just opposes real solutions and the shift away from spending on the fossil fuels industries the New Energy solutions require.

Gil Melear-Hough, Southern Alliance for Clean Energy: "Strangely, he is not mentioning wind power in that equation…That is not terribly shocking (Alexander is a wind opponent), even though it is probably the most competitive and most established technology available…[fusion energy] is a great theory, but if it will be available in 20 years that would be an incredible accomplishment. To be talking about it now, as far as dealing with our problems, is silly."

And, as even one of Alexander’s fellow Republicans points out, there IS urgency. Congressman Zach Wamp (R-Tenn): "We need to move, we can't wait…Four-dollars-a-gallon gas is the incentive."

The thing that drives NewEnergyNews up a wall about duplicitous recalcitrance like that of Senator Alexander and his minority cohorts in the Senate, mired in 1950s thinking and blocking all New Energy progress, is that progress could be so good for the U.S., even in Tennessee.

Thom Mason, director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory: "We will develop ideas and sell them to the world…"

Mike Padgett, Democratic candidate for Alexander's Senate seat, on Alexander's speech: "…an election-year reinvention…In five years as a United States senator, he has done nothing that would prevent the pain we're feeling…"

Even when 88 Senators last month voted for New Energy incentives, Senator Alexander was the Tennessee member who voted against them. (click to enlarge)

Tenn. senator poses urges ‘Manhattan Project’ effort on clean energy
Duncan Mansfield, May 9, 2008 (AP via Yahoo Finance)

WHO
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn); House of Representatives Science Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn); Congressman Zach Wamp (R-Tenn) Oak Ridge rep/ ranking member, House Appropriations Committee; Thom Mason, director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Mike Padgett, Democratic candidate for Alexander's Senate seat

click to enlarge

WHAT
Alexander gave a speech to scientists in his home state telling them what he knew they would want to hear, despite the fact that his votes in the Senate opposed those very things.

WHEN
Senator Alexander was an outspoken opponent of a national Renewable Electricity Standard (RES) in the 2007 energy bill battle and has consistently sided with the minority Republicans in 2007 and 2008 to oppose extension of New Energy incentives. (He even voted against the incentives in the recent amendment to the housing bill while most Republicans were voting yes, knowing that for political reasons the House would not pass it.)

Oak Ridge was among the sites where the Manhattan Project was developed. (click to enlarge)

WHERE
Senator Alexander spoke at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

WHY
- It was the Manhattan Project, a crash scientific program conducted and funded by the U.S. government to create the first atomic bomb, which brought World War II to a swift climax. It cost (according to Alexander) $24 billion in present dollars.
- Alexander’s politically astute speech to the scientists included calls for (1) plug-in electric vehicle development and a V2G smart grid that would allow for overnight battery charging at reduced rates; (2) solar energy R&D and solar power plant development; (3) biofuels/cellulosic ethanol development; (4) R&D and advancement on energy efficient buildings; (5) “clean” coal development; (6) Finding ways to reprocess/store nuclear waste and R&D for nuclear fusion.

click to enlarge

QUOTES
- Senator Alexander: "I propose that the United States launch a new Manhattan Project for clean energy…with the goal of making our nation independent within a generation."
- Congressman Gordon: "I suspect Sen. Alexander and I will put together a proposal for the next president before the end of this year…It will not be a final plan, but certainly a call to action."