Is the stimulus enough?

I believe the current federal investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy will prove to be an underinvestment we will regret later. The entire economy is stagnating and there are very few industries that will be growing over the next 5 years. We have passed the point at which energy will only become more and more expensive and this will create a drain on the economy for years to come if we do not address it. Yes, President Obama has put unprecedented amount of money into a transition to a future of energy independence and infinite renewable energy that will serve us well, but from where I sit I think we probably need 20 or more times the amount of money that has already been pledged. This is not a scientific estimate (although I would very much like to have one done), but my gut estimate of the magnitude of the underinvestment. It looks like others agree with my assessment generally. 

We should take the opportunity presented by the next 5 years to develop the new infrastructure we will need to provide the affordable energy to get our economy going again, and sustainably for the long haul. Any delay in making this investment will only create more costs and slow our recovery. Every dollar spent on energy efficiency and renewable energy has a tremendous return on investment. We are not talking about wasting any money: this is a smart investment. Just like a corporation that under invests in its future will be overtaken by its competitors, we need to be bold and do what is necessary sooner rather than later. There is no use beating around the bush or delaying the inevitable.

The same is true for New Mexico in general. If we do not invest in our future today, we will soon fall further behind California, New Jersey and other states despite our better renewable resource potential. There is a danger we will be colonized by out of state companies from these other places that will siphon off the lion’s share of the revenue, rather than growing our own industry that will return maximum benefits to our citizens.

New Mexico is challenged by its small population and relative poverty. Our state budget is small enough that making a major investment in a future of renewable energy is a much more substantial hardship than for a rich and populous state like California or New Jersey. Despite our better location and developable renewable energy resources, there is a chance we will fall behind and fail to benefit as much as would otherwise be possible.

The example of Germany provides a good contrast. By instituting an aggressive feed in tariff for renewable energy, they now have the strongest renewable energy economy in the world despite having very poor solar energy potential compared with New Mexico and most of the United States generally. There are studies that have determined that this investment has more than paid for itself in new job creation and new economic activity, etc.

I hope that we are able to develop the confidence to make similarly substantial, wise and productive investments in our renewable energy economy in New Mexico.