Back to the Future ; a Renewable Energy Reality Check

Summary

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At a cost of $5 million -- not including jet fuel, a Secret Service escort, local police protection and the cost of hauling a White House entourage cross country -- President Bush's recent visit to the National Renewable Energy Lab may have been the most expensive Colorado photo-op since March, 1996. That's when 96 million gallons of water were flushed down the South Platte River to make a nice backdrop for then-Vice President Al Gore -- the ecologist. This time around, Department of Energy officials announced a sudden $5 million funding boost for the lab -- enough to reverse recent staffing cuts -- only days before Bush's visit.

The fly-in was meant to underscore Bush's State of the Union pledge to boost funding for renewable energy research in order to help break the country's "addiction to oil" (though oil is not a major factor in meeting the nation's electricity requirements). It would have looked bad, not to mention inconsistent, if the president visited NREL in the wake of layoffs -- which came not at the behest of White House budget slashers, but because $28 million was diverted by Congress to fund pet projects.

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Back to the Future ; a Renewable Energy Reality Check

The sudden infusion of money helped ensure that the president received a reasonably warm welcome. But we're not sure the second coming of renewable energy should be as warmly received by taxpayers, given the federal government's lackl...

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