"We believe the following changes are imperative," a new report says, "In our view, the US must move aggressively to create a centralized, or federal, authority for the planning, siting and interconnection of new wind farms." The report says that such a change "would bring the US closer to the more centralized regulatory model in the European countries with the largest wind regimes." The report concludes, "In our view, to develop a commercial-scale, efficient wind regime, the US will need to create a centralized federal planning authority." For skeptics who may not yet be fully convinced, the report includes a sidebar that begins, "we believe that the US can draw some useful insights from the successful development of wind power in Europe." What are those insights? You guessed it, "centralized planning." The report explains: "Spain's state-owned Red Electrica de Espana (REE) owns most of the transmission network and is responsible for system operation and future development. Denmark's grid is also centrally owned and planned by Energinet.dk, which is owned by the Danish government as represented by the Danish Ministry of Climate and Energy. These centralized regulatory frameworks have helped expedite the decision making, planning, and execution of system expansions and upgrades." Sound like a document from Greenpeace or the Socialist International? No, it's a research report from the money management and research firm AllianceBernstein. Imagine how the folks at Bernstein would react if it were investment research and money management capacity that was going to be government-owned and controlled rather than the energy industry. Bernstein used to be owned by the American capitalist it is named for but now it is owned by a French insurance company. Sometimes, it shows.
The Socialists of Sanford Bernstein
https://www.futureofcapitalism.com/2009/11/the-socialists-of-sanford-bernstein
by Editor | Related Topics: Capital Markets Regulation, Energy, Europe, Government ownership receive the latest by email: subscribe to the free futureofcapitalism.com mailing list