Those Who "Follow the Money" See That the World’s Industrial Giants Are Embracing Renewables
There are those who think that renewable energy is overhyped, won’t scale, is doomed if federal incentives get whacked, etc. Just don’t tell Siemens. One of the world’s 50 largest companies, Siemens shows no signs of curtailing its commitment to wind; in fact, they’ve recently opened two major research & development test facilities for wind turbine technology in Denmark, including test stands for major components of wind turbines: generators, main bearings and complete nacelles (i.e., the housing that contains all of the generating components in a wind turbine, including the generator, gearbox, drive train, and brake assembly). Together, the two facilities form the world’s largest R&D test center for wind turbine technology.
Those who accept my recommendation to “follow the money” may want to ignore the disinformation on clean energy being circulated by the fossil fuel industry and realize that most of the world’s industrial giants: Siemens, General Electric, ABB, Johnson Controls, Schneider Electric, Honeywell, etc. – are driving ahead full bore.
Yes, and every one of the companies you mentioned are in the business of making components for electric power generation and switching. How much is Big Coal or Big Oil dumping into renewable resources? It isn’t a matter of following the money, it’s a matter of following the money of those who will lose if clean energy comes into the forefront of electrical generation. As for the companies you list, how many of them are pushing for “Smart Grid”?
It’s predictable (though unwise) that the fossil companies are refusing to pursue involvement in implementing their replacements. They must have made the determination that their profit is greater holding onto their antique techniques than it would be to try to compete in a newer but already fairly well established set of technologies.
There is a good bit of data on tracking the fossil folks funding of the denial of climate disruption. OpenSecrets.org does a great job on tracking fossil influence within what should be our government (via the various forms of bribery that our congress and SCOTUS have increasingly legitimized).
I have little doubt that renewables will be implemented – my main question on the subject is this: Will US firms be the leaders and transition while it’s easiest (now or decades ago), or will they be followers and change only when they are at last forced to do so, when it will be more expensive and when that expense will go to foreign entities that will have laid (are laying) the groundwork.
Though I’m a little hesitant about the company itself in general, I’m quite encouraged by Google’s recent work in much higher efficiency mirrors to lower the cost of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP).