Continuing with the theme that tech should be wary when the government comes to help it, and should learn from the doleful experience of other industries, here is a comment on the Federal role in promoting clean coal technologies, furnished by a friend who is involved in efforts to upgrade low-BTU coals:

[P]rojects suffered because of government's involvement in the coal business. Entrepreneurial energy and venture capital have become focused on obtaining government subsidies, not on developing economically viable technologies. The advantage that large companies have over small ones in the lobbying process makes this problem worse: why innovate when the more you fail the more subsidies (or tax breaks) you collect, and when you can get the government to pay you to duplicate any successful innovations that come from small companies?

In the early 1980’s, meetings of the Washington Coal Club held each month on Capitol Hill consisted of more than 200 individuals and company reps overflowing the room to hear about government policies on coal fuel development. Today, despite the acknowledged importance of coal to the nation's energy future, and after 20 years of ever-increasing government involvement in coal fuel technology, the Coal Club meetings have dwindled to maybe 30 people. More than half of these are employed by the Department of Energy and most of the rest are advocates of large corporate recipients of DOE funds.

posted by James DeLong @ 11:25 AM | General

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