Powering the Dream: The History and Promise of Green Technology by Alexis Madrigal. Da Capo Press. $27.50. 365 pages.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer

May 1, 2011

Alexis Madrigal's 'Powering the Dream' advocates investment in alternative energy

By PHILLIP MANNING

The ultimate goal of alternate-energy research can be stated simply: The cost of renewable energy must be less than that of coal, which can be as low as 5 cents a kilowatt-hour. "Right or wrong," writes Alexis Madrigal, "cheap things win, so clean energy has to get cheaper."

In "Powering the Dream," journalist Madrigal focuses on wind and solar energy, writing detailed histories that vary from entertaining to tedious. The occasional slog is worth it to reach the author's well-thought-out ideas about how to advance low-cost green technology.

Wind-powered turbines for the commercial generation of electricity started up in 1980, when Kenetech Corp. installed them in California's Altamont Pass, just east of San Francisco. After a rocky start, the company became America's largest wind-power producer. But it had a competitor, and a tortoise-and-hare race developed between Kenetech and Vestas, a Danish company that made rugged, reliable turbines.

Aided by steady government underwriting, Vestas avoided major design overhauls and stuck with small, incremental improvements. Kenetech -- faced with short-term and uncertain government support -- felt it had to try for a home run by introducing a novel lightweight turbine.

The new turbine was an easy sale to politicians and investors, but it proved to be a disaster. A visitor to a wind farm featuring the new device found the "ground was littered with blades," and over 20 percent of the turbines weren't operating. By 1996, the hare was bankrupt, while the Danish tortoise was creeping along. Vestas now employs 20,000 workers and generates annual revenues of 6 billion euros.

Next, Madrigal, a senior editor at The Atlantic, takes up solar power, showing how its programs have suffered through the same political cycles as wind power. He then lists the take-home lessons:
Cost reductions are more likely to come from making small production changes over long periods rather than from massive redesigns. If a breakthrough comes along, that's great, but it's unwise to bet the farm anticipating one.

Incremental development requires unwavering government support.
"For too long," Madrigal declares, "we have suffered from an Edison complex, delusionally believing that some superhero inventor will solve the energy problem. The truth is energy technologies don't work like that . . . If governments are going to invest in them, they have to be willing to act consistently and for many years at a time."

American alternate-energy companies, aided by the green-friendly Obama administration, are making progress. Wind farms in California are producing electricity for 7 cents per kilowatt-hour. That's still more than coal's nickel, but the gap is closing.

"Perhaps," Madrigal optimistically concludes, "American energy policy is finally growing up."
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