Tougher environmental laws seen boosting tech interests

When tiny Clipper Windpower builds its first factory, perhaps this year, it will automatically become America’s second-largest manufacturer of wind turbines. The Carpinteria, Calif., company even has a hot new technology that should be a sure thing.

But it’s still hunting for financing because being a wind-turbine builder in the United States is tough, so tough that only one other U.S. manufacturer exists.

In 20 years, the U.S. has gone from leading the world in wind-energy manufacturing — with at least a dozen enterprising firms — to lagging badly. Companies in Germany, Denmark, Spain, and elsewhere have grabbed the technological lead and now hold roughly 80% of a $8 billion market that’s growing 25 to 35% a year.

The reason? Some experts point to lax clean-air laws in the U.S. That’s right. Weak environmental regulations may hurt, not help, industries by blunting their technological edge. Such contrarian logic, controversial among economists, is about to be put to the test.

By not signing the Kyoto Protocol, the U.S. has set itself apart from most of the industrialized world. So will its companies flourish, thanks to lower environmental costs — or lose out to foreign firms that cut greenhouse gases?

When it comes to green technologies, some contend the record is pretty clear.

"There are major technological and competitive benefits in getting to clean up your act," says Amory Lovins, who heads the Rocky Mountain Institute, an energy and environment think tank in Snowmass, Colo. "By passing on Kyoto, the U.S. will reduce its competitive advantage compared to overseas firms paying attention to carbon reduction."

By Mark Clayton, The Christian Science Monitor

Full Story: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/techpolicy/2005-02-24-environmental-laws_x.htm