According to a survey from the Conservative Energy Network (CEN), there is strong conservative support for renewable energy. The survey found that there is majority support for solar power and state net metering rules. Seventy percent of respondents also said the U.S. should place a greater focus on wind energy production. Meanwhile, 76 percent favored greater solar energy production. In contrast, only 23 percent of respondents favored coal as an energy source. The survey also reports strong support for state renewable energy portfolio rules. That survey was conducted buy CEN after the November elections.
The results of the survey counter the views of Republican millionaires in Congress, as well as President-elect Donald Trump who supports coal and who has promised to repeal any and all climate change associated policies. His choice for Department of Energy is none other than Dancing with the Stars drop-out, climate change skeptic, BIG oil promoting, ex-Gov. Ricky Perry.
Currently, the Department of Energy (DOE) considers climate a major research focus and has a whole host of supercomputers trained on“national challenges,” including climate change. Those same supercomputers are also used for safeguarding the nation’s nuclear stockpile. Since no underground testing has been allowed since 1992, only simulations are used to simulate nuclear weapons tests these days.
In 2007, under President G.W. Bush, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a report advancing information regarding climate science research. It wasn’t, however, until 2009, during President Obama’s administration that Perry challenged that report as well as the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to limit carbon emissions. He alleged the IPCC’s study was built on falsified data and with “uncertain and highly questionable science.”
As governor of Texas, Perry did support renewable energy and Texas does rank first in wind energy production, another area studied by researchers on supercomputers. Perry has supported supercomputer use in storm prediction, and has praised NASA, a big employer in his state, for its role in “technological advancement.” It remains to be seen how much research would be stunted, abandoned, or trashed should be be confirmed. In fear of that research being destroyed, efforts are now underway to ensure environmental data doesn’t disappear under the Trump administration.
On Nov. 30th, the European Commission unveiled a draft plan to reform Europe’s power grid. The goal is to cut energy waste, better integrate renewables, and phase out subsidies for coal-fired electricity generation. Their draft plan sets a binding target to cut energy use by 30% and for renewable energy to make up at least 27% of the bloc’s power mix, both by 2030. I wonder what kind of plan Rick Perry might propose, other than shutting down and dismantling the Department of Energy as he has previously espoused, putting himself and thousands of others out of a job, or whether he’s going to adopt a drill-baby-drill, more subsidies for BIG oil, to hell with the climate policy.