Under The Willow Tree

U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has laid out his plan for a huge economic stimulus package, with a broadband rollout, an Internet-based smart energy grid and alternative energy a major component of his plan. The giant stimulus package could cost close to $1 trillion, with investments in communications and energy infrastructure forming a major chunk of government spending. The president-elect has called the economic situation in the U.S. a “crisis unlike any we have seen in our lifetime,” hence it is no surprise that this economic stimulus package is quite unlike any other in the past several decades that the US has seen.

In the area of communications, Obama has called for approval to fund the rolling out of broadband to unserved and underserved areas. Meanwhile, a mixture of tax credits, loans and incentives to broadband providers could be part of the package. In the area of energy efficiency, he has called for a “smart grid” that would allow users and producers of electricity to communicate with an eye toward reducing energy use.

Obama said, “That means updating the way we get our electricity by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money; protect our power sources from blackout or attack; and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation. It means expanding broadband lines across America, so that a small business in a rural town can connect and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.”

Smart energy grids would allow real-time monitoring of a customer’s energy use through Internet technology. Proponents of a national smart grid say it will result in decreased electricity use, allow energy companies to more efficiently distribute electricity, and encourage homeowners to install alternative energy generators such as solar panels and sell their excess energy back to the grid.

As regards alternative energy, Obama has previously declared, “We’ll invest $15bn a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new green jobs that pay well, can’t be outsourced and help end our dependence on foreign oil.” This is largely going to be achieved by greatly expanding the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal energy, which should supply a tenth of America’s electricity within four years.

The key beneficiaries of this technology-driven aspect of Obama’s stimulus package include:

• Communications services & networking equipment
• Power transmission & distribution (Smart Grid) technology/utilities
• Alternative energy generation/equipment
• Internet infrastructure & services

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 1:19 PM and is filed under Alternative Energy, Finance & Investments, Technology.You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.