Every new industry begins with competition. This has been seen throughout history, with development of railroads across North America, the power-struggle to become the titans over computer technology, and even in the field of energy production, there is competition amongst oil companies. Because of this trend, it is easy to predict that this early competition will occur in the market of renewable energy. This will open the door to many new companies and create new jobs and new options for consumers. This equates to cheaper energy and more people benefitting from it. Another benefit of this competition is its catalyzing effects on development. In the dog eat dog world, in order to come out on top, companies will have to quickly develop technology in order to compete with one another. This rapid development will yield the quickest results, and help the companies breeze through the most costly phase of integration of renewable energy into the world's energy consumption. With this phase complete, new technologies will allow companies to provide energy at a lower cost, to people everywhere.
The biggest economic benefits will ironically come from the oil companies. As of 2008, Exxon Mobil reported record profits, greater than that of any company in history. Due to this, it can be easily inferred that the high prices of oil aren't related to the conflict in the middle east, hurricane Katrina, nor any other disaster. It is merely a product of corporate greed. What has happened is competing companies have mutually agreed to keep prices high so that they all benefit, instead of lowering prices in order to beat one another. However, once renewable energy becomes a viable energy source, oil companies will have to compete for business once again, and will be able to lower prices creating relief for everyone. This relief will help bring pressure off the world economy and help to put America's once booming economy back on top, and bring an end to a recession that many credit to over speculation of the price of oil.
Creating independence from oil and focusing our research on renewable energy, we could also help to end America's ever-growing deficit. This deficit climbs higher everyday, and is also attributed to the cause of recent economic downturn in America as well as weakening its status as a world power. It is no secret that the deficit began with Reagan's deficit spending, and America's transition from a manufacturing based economy to a service based economy. Because of the transitions, America's delicate trade balance was thrown way out of sync and it began to import much more than it exported, and its economy began to shrink. If America started to depend on domestic renewable energy, then it would be able to take a substantial amount of its money spent on imported oil and keep it in the country. This would cause the economy to stop shrinking and provide more money for the American people which would in turn cause more funds to be available to be spent on tax and help the national economy by greatly reducing the deficit. Money would also be saved in pollution regulation. Today, millions of dollars are spent by government agencies such as the environmental protection agency on investigating large corporations who burn fossil fuels as a means of production. These investigations would no longer need to take place, as fewer corporations would even rely on fossil fuels.
Not only would the integration of renewable fuel help to cut back on pollution, and cut down on the use of limited fossil fuels, but it would make great strides in helping the economy, both nationally and world wide. Through competition, it would create more jobs, and create cheaper fossil fuels. It would cause the price of oil to drop which would create international economic relief and help America's current economic recession. Through and independence of foreign oil, it would help decrease the America's national deficit. Switching to renewable sources of energy would help create a better economy for the world.
Sean Kilbride
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