Scandinavia's approach to alt-energy

The Cities Business Review (Michigan)
by Chris Schilling
Thursday June 19, 2008, 9:45 AM

I just returned from a Scandinavian alternative energy tour that was organized by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The tour included a day at the World Bioenergy Congress where alternative energy technology developers from around the world showcased their latest products.

I was astonished to see so many creative inventions resulting in mature business clusters that, in the U.S., are either unheard of or in their infancy.

This business growth is no surprise, given that (1) European energy prices have been much higher than in the U.S. for some time; and (2) European government incentives routinely spawn research and commercialization of inventions in many different areas of alternative energy including advanced batteries, wind turbines, solar cells, tidal power, biomass fuel, cellulosic bioethanol, biogas, biodiesel, and geothermal energy. U.S. inventors have some catching up to do.

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