Rep. Steve Israel told a Long Island Business News 40 Under 40 audience this morning that Long Island has a chance to become a green energy capital of the United States.
He envisions an economy dedicated to renewable energy as one way to stimulate a region that’s getting, well, old.
He’s not alone. The towns of Babylon and Huntington, along with Babylon’s Industrial Development Agency, are offering tax benefits to bring alternative energy firms to the Route 110 corridor.
Can Long Island pull this off? When it comes to renewable energy, the United States is well behind many other nations, including Germany and Japan. And younger workers – the key demographic if any of this is going to happen – are not killing each other to move here.
So, our readers, is this nothing more than a pipe dream? Let us know.
I think it definitely could if the people who actually represent us pushed for it and gave incentives to the people who live here to do it. They need to stop talking out of their asses about it and just do it already. Why not? Why not make Long Island a model for the rest of the country — at least for something and going green would be a good something.
It’s not a pipe dream, but everyone has to “get with the program” in his or her own way. Individual consumers, businesses, municipal governments, school districts, etc., must all begin to think about using all forms of energy more efficiently. The few who do can’t make up for the many who don’t.
Bert – exactly! Our family recycles every day, cardboard, paper, plastic, glass, etc. We also have done the whole lightbulb replacement thing, energy star, etc. However, everyone has to do it for it to really make a difference – businesses included — who actually create A LOT more waste than the average homeowner. I keep saying solar is the way to go — make it LESS EXPENSIVE and more businesses and homeowners can actually afford to go green.
Long Island has great promise as a seller of alternative energies.
The first step is to get past some of the ‘in your face’–and I mean that literally–challenges.
Wind energy is a natural fit for an island surrounded by ocean winds. Yes, giant propellers are ugly, but no alternative energy solution is perfect, and I think, if these provide an economic source of clean energy, they ought to be given a try.
And then there’s solar energy. Large farms–on the water, on privately owned land, on corporate properties, would provide more clean energy.
Both forms of energy need technicians to monitor energy collection and to manage upkeep, and others to sell and distribute the collected energy.
The sun and wind–nature injecting Long Island with a new breath of life.
DR
Before we could get started all the local coneheaded codes and ordinances from the various LI villages must be disected and most discarded.
Last year I went to a seminar and subsequently got an estimate of the cost of a solar system. I have a perfect roof for it but at $ 58,000 for 50% of my wattage needs I had no choice but to say “No, thank you”. And I can’t immagine the local rabid tax assessors not increasing my property value due to the system even though the salesman tried to assure me they cannot tax me on a solar system.
Well, at my tender age of 60 I cannot live long enough to recover a $ 58K plus interest plus RE Taxes Investment……..and that my dear neighbours is our everlasting problem. In Long Island we have reworded the old riddle “what came first the chicken or the egg?” to what came first oppressive RE Taxes or High Cost of Living?
Before anything happens in this country/state/county etc. the sitting lame duck president must sign the Kyoto Protocol, which is an agreement among most of the world’s countries to reduce carbon emmissions and slow the growth of global waming. The United States is the one of the few countries in the world to refuse to sign it. More people should know how irresponsible George W has acted on this issue.
More than just saving energy and reducing pollution, the green economy on Long Island make huge economic development sense. It is going to create a lot of jobs What is better for our region than a work force of highly skilled energy construction professionals working in our community and keeping our dollars in our community instead of being shipped overseas to energy producers.
This work is already underway with two initiatives. First of course is the GreenLevittown project which has been getting a lot of press lately. But equally important though perhaps more under the radar is LI Green (www.ligreen.com), a new not for profit community organization that has a similar program with some features that makes it even more compelling. LI Green is also working closely with the Stony Brook Advanced Energy Research Technology Center (www.aertc.org) adding a strong engineering and educational focus to this effort.
with 83% of the oil consumed in ny for motor fuel, electric generation and home heating oil coming from the middle east, everything will help. this is money leaving our economy everyday. conservation, new technologies, etc. help. we must make a conscious effort to change and invest in renewable fuels and energy like we do in military expenditures just to protect this foreign oil!
Long Island’s chances to become “the green capital of the United States” is unlikely:
1) Several regions of the US are significantly more active in developing the vast components of energy efficient technologies and engineering systems. Many of these regions are high growth regions primarily in the West, South and Southwest with substantially more new housing, office and commercial developments that provide real experience in testing many innovative methods and technologies.
Long Island has exceptionally little new development relative to much of the US.
2) Green systems are costly yet now profitable in certain low cost regions. The return on investment while still low are now feasible because of the high price of energy. That being said, the costs of new development on Long Island including land prices and the excessive associated costs for entitlements due to the regulatory burden characteristic of Long Island constrains the economically feasible use of green development.
Several towns like Babylon have unwittingly mandated green construction, which only further raises the already high cost of new construction which makes matters worse for the general economy.
3) The venture capital required for new green companies is less likely to be attracted to Long Island, again, because of the high regulatory environment, high taxes and the excessviely high cost of living and high cost of doing business.
4) Finally, the universities and research centers most active in green engineering and technoligies are situated in other regions of the country more suitable to such an industry, again for the reasons stated above.
New York needs fundamental economic reforms to improve the general business environment such as consolidation of local government jurisdictions, streamlining existing government agencies, massive deregulation and lower government spending and a lower tax structure.
There is a falacy to the rhetoric from Government representatives like Steve Israel in today’s global/information age that high value industries such as biotech and green technologies will gravitate to regions offering only tax incentives and artificial marketing ploys such as Government sponsored incubator centers.
The unique economic characteristics of each region of the US will naturally attract the type of industries that require the broad set of attributes necessary to increase the competitiveness of companies in that particular industry.
Certainly, few companies in most industries will be attracted to a region with excessive regulations, high taxes, poor infrastructure, over-priced housing and commercial space and excessively high costs of living and doing business.
New York needs to focus on the basics!