Hillary Clinton: Amerika moet ‘clean energy superpower’ worden

24 september 2015 – Gisteren kwam de Democratische presidentskandidaat Hillary Clinton met haar plan om Amerika om te vormen tot ’the clean energy superpower of the 21st century’. Onder andere via een half miljard zonnepanelen in een paar jaar en door binnen tien jaar van elk huis een ‘nul-op-de-meter’-huis te maken.

Uit het plan van Hillary Clinton
‘(…) Hillary Clinton announced two bold national goals that she will set as president to combat climate change, create jobs, protect the health of American families and communities, and make the United States the world’s clean energy superpower:
1) The United States will have more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of Hillary Clinton’s first term.
2) The United States will generate enough clean renewable energy to power every home in America within ten years of Hillary Clinton taking office.
The next decade will be decisive for our transition to a clean energy economy and our ability to meet the global climate crisis.
The two goals Clinton announced are part of a comprehensive energy and climate agenda that she will lay out over the coming months.
By achieving these goals we will:

• Expand the amount of installed solar capacity to 140 gigawatts by the end of 2020, a 700% increase from current levels. That is the equivalent of having rooftop solar systems on over 25 million homes.
• Add more power generation capacity to the grid than during any decade in American history, from a combination of wind, solar, hydro, geothermal, and other forms of renewable electricity.
• Prevent thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks each year, meet our national and international climate targets, and move our economy along a path towards deep decarbonization by 2050. (…)’

The Guardian schrijft vandaag over het plan, met name over de plannen voor de infrasructuur
‘(…) Clinton’s plan calls for the existing energy infrastructure in the US to be modernized through a series of steps, such as repairing or replacing oil and gas pipelines that are outdated and risk both oil and methane leaks and other hazardous accidents.
The flaws highlighted by Clinton in the country’s energy infrastructure, including pipeline spills, rail car explosions, and the exposure to cyber-attacks, mirror the findings of the first-ever quadrennial energy review conducted by the Obama administration and released in April.
In addition to exposing the vulnerabilities in energy transmission, storage and distribution infrastructure, the review produced recommendations that included accelerating pipeline replacement, enhancing maintenance programs for natural gas distribution systems, and developing a more modern electric grid.
Clinton said her plan would invest in “grid security and resilience”, and create a threat assessment team to protect against cyber-attack through improved coordination. (…)’

Wat eerste reacties op het het plan:

• Michael Mann (Penn State Earth System Science) is zeer positief. Hij prees Clinton voor de extra inzet voor duurzame energie en haar pleidooi voor een stevige beprijzing van de CO2-uitstoot.
• Tiernan Sittenfeld (Leage of Conservative Voters) is opgetogen over het leiderschap dat Clinton claimt rond klimaat en energie.
• Haar Republikeinse rivaal Jeb Bush verweet Clinton ‘milieuextremisten’ te steunen.

Hillary Clinton zegt op haar campagnewebsite: “You don’t have to be a scientist to take on this urgent challenge that threatens us all. You just have to be willing to act.” “We’re on the cusp of a new era. We can have more choice in the energy we consume and produce. We can create a more open, efficient, and resilient grid that connects us, empowers us, improves our health, and benefits us all.”

Uit de aankondiging van het energieplan door het campagneteam van Hillary Clinton
‘(…) Climate change is an urgent challenge that threatens all of us. The United States is already taking steps to invest in our clean energy future, but we need to do more. We need to take bold action to combat climate change, create jobs, protect the health of American families and communities, and make the United States the world’s clean energy superpower.
In the coming months, Hillary will lay out a comprehensive energy and climate agenda to help America transition to a clean energy economy and meet the global climate crisis.
As the first pillar of her comprehensive energy and climate agenda, Hillary will set two bold national goals.
Goal: Have more than half a billion solar panels installed across the country by the end of Hillary’s first term.
Goal: Generate enough renewable energy to power every home in America within 10 years of Hillary taking office.
Through these goals, we will increase the amount of installed solar capacity by 700% by 2020, expand renewable energy to at least a third of all electricity generation, prevent thousands of premature deaths and tens of thousands of asthma attacks each year, and put our country on a path to achieve deep emission reductions by 2050.
These goals are a critical next step toward making America a clean energy superpower and combating climate change. That is why Hillary will make it a top priority to fight efforts to roll back crucial tools in our national strategy to reduce carbon pollution, increase deployment of renewable energy, and build a clean energy future.
But federal standards should set the floor, not the ceiling. Hillary will also launch a Clean Energy Challenge that will form new partnerships with states, cities, and rural communities that are ready to lead. (…)’

Bronnen
The Guardian, 24 september 2015: Hillary Clinton unveils her plan to make US ‘clean energy superpower’
Campagne website Hillary Clinton: Making America the clean energy superpower of the 21st century
Samenvatting van het plan van Hillary Clinton: Hillary Clinton’s Vision for Renewable Power – Briefing Fact Sheet (pdf)