In Business, Creating Sustainable Enterprises & Communities

EDITORIAL

In Business, January-February, 2006, Vol. 28, No. 1, p. 2

SUSTAINABLE ABOVE AND ON THE GROUND

ENERGY ALTERNATIVES are finally getting serious attention - and investment funds - in the big business world and in public policies of major cities and states. As this issue explains, urban centers like Portland, Oregon and Sacramento, California and companies like General Electric are leading the way. Writes Claudia Deutsch of The New York Times (2/15/06) in an article, “Investors Are Tilting Toward Windmills:”
“General Electric's Energy Financial Services division recently bought a wind farm in Germany and is installing new turbines there at a rapid pace. It has invested in solar energy farms in California and is in the end stage of negotiations for a large solar project in Europe. Renewable energy projects already account for $1 billion of the units's $11 billion portfolio and are its fastest-growing niche. Four years ago, G.E. bought Enron's wind-turbine unit, and it is now a $2 billion business, heading rapidly toward $4 billion. In five years, G.E. expects that alternative energy products will account for more than a quarter of energy equipment revenue.”
According to Deutsch, other financial institutions are investing in the U.S. renewable energy industry which for 2005 had $250 million targeting biofuels (like ethanol), biomass at $100 million, solar thermal-electric at $100 million, and wind power at $200 million. In November, Goldman Sachs committed to investing $1 billion in renewable energy; J.P. Morgan Chase will invest more than $250 million in wind energy projects. Overall, predicts the president of the nonprofit American Council on Renewable Energy, the $7 billion invested in renewable energy projects last year should increase by 25 percent a year over the next few years.
As reported on page 10, Portland's sustainable development ranges far and wide - from ecoroofs that insulate buildings, reduce smog, reduce storm water runoff to mass transportation steps that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost biking. Washington state (p. 25) is allocating $17.5 million in low-interest loans to the private biofuels industry, and requiring a minimum of 2 percent biodiesel, helping companies like Seattle Biodiesel to expand its oilseed crushing and refining capacity. The Sacramento Municipal Utility District
(p. 26) moves forward with its goal of 23 percent renewable energy by 2011 by constructing an anaerobic digester for collected food residuals. In a report on “Moving The State of the Union to Energy Independence” (p. 27), Deron Lovaas of the Natural Resources Defense Council reminds us how “we urgently need new federal policies to improve the context for entrepreneurial activity. ... With better policies to support sustainable businesses, we can reenergize America.”
With all of the growing emphasis on how we as a nation can reduce imports of petroleum, the reality of bioenergy potential will be more evident at the pump. These are the gutsy issues as we build inspiration to accomplish much more and keep investment opportunities available.