Al Gore: U.S. Completely Renewable By 2018

In an Op-Ed published in The New York Times on November 9, 2008, Al Gore renews his call for the U.S. to move to 100% renewable electricity within 10 years, along with a five-point plan on how to get there. In very forceful language, Gore urges that everyone skeptical to global warming should "wake up" and accept the grave danger facing the planet. He also cautions against embracing the idea of "clean coal" as our savior, as it is still an "imaginary concept." The good news, he writes, is that "the bold steps that are needed to solve the climate crisis are exactly the same steps that ought to be taken in order to solve the economic crisis and the energy security crisis." By following his repowering, he writes, the U.S. would simultaneously help solve the climate crisis and the economic crisis, and create millions of new jobs.

The plan

The first step in his plan is to make large-scale investments in incentives for constructing solar thermal plants in the Southwestern deserts, wind farms in the corridor stretching from Texas to the Dakotas, and advanced plants in geothermal hot spots. The second step involves a $400 billion investment over 10 years to build a unified "national smart grid" to distribute renewable electricity, which he said would quickly offset the annual $120 billion loss from power grid failures. The third step is to help all of America's automobile industry to employ vehicles that can run on renewable electricity. Fourth, he says, the U.S. "should embark on a nationwide effort to retrofit buildings with better insulation and energy-efficient windows and lighting." And, finally, Gore urges President-elect Obama and Congress to put a price on carbon and take leadership in the world's efforts to replace the Kyoto treaty next year in Copenhagen.

Reactions – "nuts" or "opening of the discussion"

Though Gore appeals to the U.S. to establish itself as the moral world climate leader, his plan has been received with different degrees of enthusiasm. In July, when Gore unveiled his thoughts on a 10-year renewables plan for the first time, green tech blogger Neal Dikeman wondered if Gore was "nuts." Similarly, MIT Technology Review editorial called for "realistic plans for making the switch to renewable electricity, not empty rhetoric with unachievable goals." The left-leaning The New Republic energy blog sees the Gore opinion piece as "an attempt to broaden the discussion of what's possible in building a clean-energy economy, rather than presenting a specific plan of action." Finally, an editorial from the Investor's Business Daily asks why Gore does not devote even a single word to nuclear power, as recent developments in nuclear power technology could become the greatest "clean and virtually limitless source of energy."