I write with trembling hands as I put one toe over that volatile line that means writing about the 2008 presidential election, perhaps the most important election since the Vietnam War. Here at CalFinder Solar we like solar energy…go figure. So naturally we want to find out what Barack Obama and John McCain have to say about solar power and, more importantly, what they PLAN to do with it.

So it was into the vast world that is Google I delved. Within five minutes I walked away perturbed and somewhat insulted by a media haystack of “Obama said…” and “McCain said…” and “attacks” and this, that, and whatever. The only thing I discovered was that there were no needles in this haystack. So, with a slight “duh” escaping my lips, I ventured on to Barack Obama and John McCain’s respective websites.

Obama’s Goals

There I found my needle. There you will find all the candidates have to say about renewable energy, something both candidates address rather expansively…a sure sign of the times. However, neither candidate focuses too specifically on solar power. For instance, Barack Obama states that he will invest $150 billion in renewable energy over 10 years, but you have no idea how this money will be relegated. Nonetheless, even if Obama does not specify any particular role for solar energy, he does specify policies that will likely incorporate solar. These include a new Renewable Portfolio Standard requiring 25% renewable energy by 2025 and he will set ambitious new Building Efficiency Goals that will make all new buildings carbon neutral by 2030–that’s a lot of solar rooftops and windows!

McCain’s “Clean Coal” Focus

John McCain is much less specific. In fact, he only mentions solar energy in passing. He notes the solar industry’s accelerating growth rate and proposes that we “rationalize the current patchwork of temporary tax credits that provide commercial feasibility.” I am not sure exactly what that means. Are current tax credits irrational? Will McCain get rid of tax credits? Will he increase them? I don’t know. I do know that McCain’s main energy focus seems to be on “clean coal” and nuclear power. He will invest $2 billion in coal and facilitate the construction of 45 new nuclear plants by 2030. These two energy sources are all McCain gets specific about on his site so, rationally, I figure these are his focus. Solar energy and other renewable technologies seem to be an afterthought.

McCain’s token gesture toward solar energy is disappointing and seems a bit detached. U.S. states are pushing for solar energy and people are jumping on as fast as they can. California, without much help from the federal government, has become the third largest solar market in the world. Solar is no longer a trend, it is a movement. That’s why I’m writing about it, and that’s why you’re reading about it.

Therefore, in keeping with the McCain vs. Obama motif, it doesn’t look like there is much to compare and contrast. Even as the solar industry leaps and bounds forward while the fossil fuel industry steadily declines. It would seem that while John McCain says he wants to “rationalize” renewable energy policies, he truly means to marginalize them. Granted, nuclear power is renewable, but it is also wasteful and can be volatile. Not that I am uniformly opposed to nuclear power, but I see consistent innovations in solar and wind energy that could make such controversial techniques unnecessary. All we need is a solid plan.

Senator Obama?

Posted on July 29th in Solar News by Dan.