U.S. – China Cooperation to Create Cleantech Economy Would Reduce Oil Imports, Create Jobs and Reduce Emissions Dramatically for Both Nations

President Hu and President Obama are intelligent leaders who share the same vision as Barron Partners: a vision built upon an environmental need, where the economics are now in place and a substantial cleantech industry worldwide can be created.

Problems the U.S. and China face:

• Pollution and Carbon Emissions
• Employment
• Oil Imports

By working together, the U.S. and China can combat and resolve the issues of employment and oil dependence through the development of large, sustainable cleantech economies. In order to make this possible, cleantech must first become a cost-effective option. Essentially, a relationship comprised of give and take between the two countries is necessary. The U.S. provides high-tech innovations that increase output, while China utilizes its own technological innovations, as well as those from the U.S., and provides the low-cost, quality manufacturing.

Without inexpensive cleantech options, a large cleantech industry will not emerge in the U.S. and therefore a substantial amount of potential jobs will be lost.

• Cleantech must be inexpensive and make electricity at the same cost as carbon fuels in order to become a large industry.
• Without Chinese-made inexpensive cleantech systems, subsidies are needed to enable cleantech options to be cost-effective. U.S. taxpayers cannot afford to pay these subsidies.
• Cost effective wind power, in line with coal power plant costs, has only just become possible due to inexpensive Chinese windmills replacing expensive equivalents from the U.S. and E.U.
• Costs for windmills will drop further with economies of scale in manufacturing and with technological advances from the U.S. and E.U. for superconductor and gearless windmills.
• In five years, China has already greatly reduced the cost of solar panel production and will continue to allow solar PVs to become cost-effective without subsidies.

The U.S. needs to reduce oil imports and increase employment through the creation a large cleantech industry.

• Every day, the U.S. imports $1 billion of oil, 40% of which comes from the Middle East.
• At the end of the year, all the oil is burned, leaving us with nothing but a polluted environment and massive amounts of emissions, with this cycle repeating itself year after year.
• As oil prices and use increase over time, imports are expected to increase to $1 trillion per year.

The smarter idea would be for the U.S. to start spending billions of dollars per year on a cost-effective cleantech industry now, and slowly transition away from dependence on oil as hybrid and electric vehicles become prevalent. Another approach is the T. B. Picken's Plan, which utilizes windmills (which need to be made in China to be cost-effective) for electricity and frees up natural gas to replace imported oil to fuel automobiles.

• More than half of the spend on a cleantech industry build in the U.S. goes into the local economy, creating jobs mostly for steelworkers and construction workers as the U.S. creates billions of dollars of sustainable cleantech energy-generating plants for the next 30 to 40 years.

Embracing cost-effective cleantech imports would allow for substantial job creation in the U.S.

• By 2030, 16 to 37 million American jobs could be created annually in the solar industry for steel workers, contractors, electricians, roofers and individuals in finance (according to the American Solar Energy Society Green Collar Report).
• By 2030, annual revenues of $1.96 to $4.3 trillion could be generated from the cleantech industry.
• More jobs can be created from the installation of windmills for U.S. workers than from turbine manufacturing in China, with both countries benefiting.
• By 2030, newly installed capacity could allow wind power to provide 20% of total electricity and create 800,000 jobs, from installation and maintenance to finance and legal.
• Steel and construction workers stand to benefit the most as the U.S. stands to provide much of the 42 million tons of steel for the towers and all of the underground supporting rebar, while China would provide the steel in the turbines themselves.
• In order to attain the job projection above, the U.S. would need to reach 16 GW per year by 2018 and maintain that rate until 2030. By 2030, wind power would be less expensive than coal, nuclear or natural gas.

If the U.S. wants to purchase expensive windmills made in the E.U. or the U.S., then taxpayers will have to foot the bill for the subsidies needed to pay for the more expensive electricity. Alternatively, the U.S. could opt to buy inexpensive, quality, Chinese-made wind turbines that make wind power cost-effective without subsidies.

Germany is currently growing its cleantech industry, targeting 100% renewable electricity by 2050, proving to the world that it can be done.

• Germany has 18x as many jobs in cleantech per population than the U.S.
• Germany installed 50x as many solar panels per population as U.S. in 2010.
• Germany already meets 7% of its electricity needs through wind power alone, more than three times that of the U.S.

China's goals of meeting its energy needs, while reducing oil imports and coal pollution, pushes cleantech.

• China has been driving down the costs of cleantech manufacturing in order to facilitate the creation of an economically viable and large sustainable cleantech industry, and continues to do so at a rapid pace.
• The rest of the world should take advantage of China's forward thinking in this regard and purchase low-priced, quality Chinese cleantech products.
• China is driving large-scale electric vehicle rollouts to dramatically reduce oil needs over the long term, a model the U.S. should follow.
• China surpassed the U.S. in total wind power in 2010. China reached a cumulative total of 41.8 GW of installed wind power, whereas the U.S. reached 40.2 GW; and new windmill installations totaled 16 GW versus only 5 GW in the U.S.

Cooperation between the U.S. and China allows both countries to win.

• Chinese imports are cost-effective, allowing for low-cost wind turbines and solar panels to be purchased and installed in the U.S. at a reasonable price point.
• U.S. companies currently produce the majority of windmill towers locally, which makes sense for shipping reasons.
• Chinese companies could localize some production of blades and towers to create additional jobs in the U.S.
• The U.S. retains all installation, project management, infrastructure build and ongoing maintenance revenues.
• U.S. companies provide advanced technology to Chinese companies so as to increase the output of cleantech systems, such as new gearless and superconductor technology, which greatly reduces cost per GW. This creates U.S. jobs and profits, and helps the Chinese and other turbine makers reduce the cost per MW of windmill systems substantially.