How will the new Obama administration and a Democratic Congress begin to address the convergence of environmental and economic issues?
A federal renewable portfolio standard (RPS), requiring a percentage of the nation’s power to be generated by renewable resources, may be the simplest and quickest way to set the country on a new tack.
More than half U.S. states already have an RPS in place, creating incentives that are spurring growth in the clean energy idustry. In addition, passing a federal RPS would cost the federal government very little, as fiscal issues are sure to present serious obstacles to all issues on the Democratic platform.
"It’s certainly not just a function of the presidency obviously," Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov told Reuters. "It also matters what is going to be the political dynamics in Congress and what the fiscal situation looks like. In other words, not everything is going to be politically doable because of budgetary constraints."
David Kurzman, managing partner at Kurzman Cleantech Research, said, "The opportunity for a national cap and trade for carbon is going to be the real opportunity for investors to learn about and make money from in the energy area under an Obama administration."
Link to full Reuters coverage below.
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