Will the energy future be built in the US? 40% say “no”, in Digest survey.

July 14, 2014 | Jim Lane

In Florida, 40% of The Digest’s subscribers said that “the energy future” would not be built in the US, and instead pointed to Asia. In the online poll, 82% of subscribers said that Asia would be “very important” or “critical” in technology deployment at scale, compared to 61% for the US, 50% for Europe, 45% for South America. Australia, Canada and the Middle East trailed further behind in the results.

Subscribers identified “policy support” as the single most important factor for a region to be a leader in “building the Energy Future”, with 85% of subscribers rating this factor “very important” or “critical”, compared to 81% for “sustainable, available, reliable, affordable” feedstock, 74% for available financing for deployment at scale, 71% for technology development, and 70% for infrastructure. The presence of strategic partners, local market demand and R&D funding trailed in the results.

The poll appeared in the July 14 edition of The Digest as a companion to a column by Matt Carr, the Algae Biomass Organization’s executive director, entitled “Will the Energy Future be Built in the United States,” in which Carr outlined factors that would lead to sustained leadership for the US. The poll continues to be open to subscribers through the end of the week.

The hard data

energy-future

About The Digest

The Digest, which reaches more than 1 million readers online, via social media, and its email newsletters, is the world’s most widely-read bioeconomy daily. 50% of The Digest’s subscribers are based in the US.