Except that while we have wasted billions of dollars given to the likes of Solydnra we have completely ignored R&D is such things as fuel formulation and surface deposit production which have had, as “disruptive technologies” had a difficult time making it to market even though they would bring dramatic improvement. In effect government focus on “green energy” for a “green economy” combined with its war on hydrocarbon fuels has blocked improvement that could have long since made us independent of foreign oil. Indeed, even in nuclear, the dominance of a few large companies focused on large scale plants has thwarted the promising area of smaller nuclear plant development even though we have in our navy much know how in that area so that Japan and others have gotten ahead of us in that area and we even refused an offer from them to demonstrate small scale nuclear in Alaska as a loss leader for free. Similarly with regard to hydro, we have shunned the enormous promise of low head hydro which offers the duel advantage of clean, cheap power and better flood control in order to save such things as the “snail darter” which is ridiculous. Even in large scale nuclear we have not pursued commercialization of better options that we have uncovered in government research. In short the DOE in particular has not just been ineffective it has blocked progress.
Good post. Thanks.