USAID. BUR. FOR DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT. OFC. OF ENERGY
SOLAR ENERGY DOMESTIC POLICY REVIEW, INTERNATIONAL PANEL POLICY OPTIONS
To a world faced with depleting supplies of traditional energy sources such as fossil fuels, solar energy (SE), which is both clean and renewable, presents itself as a necessary energy alternative.
1970
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Abstract
This report presents options for U.S. SE promotion in the three areas of commercialization, technology development, and cooperation with developing countries. After analyzing these options in terms of their consistency with other federal programs, legislative and budgetary requirements, and foreign policy implications, recommendations are made for each of the three above-mentioned areas, as follows: Domestic SE firms should be encouraged to help meet international demand for SE technology by conducting global marketing surveys, advising government agencies on the viability of planned SE projects, and helping to implement the latter. For its part, the U.S. Government should assist in developing SE technology. The Department of Energy, for example, should fund research and development (R&D) projects in SE for specific developing country needs while ensuring that the technology is appropriate to developing country conditions and not to the U.S. market. The United States should also initiate technical cooperation with countries which have significantly developed SE in their own economies. Current U.S. participation in both multilateral (International Energy Agency) and bilateral (France, Saudia Arabia, Spain, U.S.S.R.) SE agreements will soon be extended to include Japan, India, Italy, and Brazil. Given these successes, the U.S. should initiate new bi- and multilateral agreements in SE-powered desalinization, water management, heating and cooling, and agricultural projects. Lastly, the United States should cooperate with developing nations to meet U.S. commitments made at the recent Bonn Economic Summit. The cooperative program will consist of: (1) enhanced R&D on solar technologies; (2) an analysis of the special energy needs and resources of each developing country; (3) support for indigenous SE training; (4) testing and adaptation of solar technologies in developing countries; and (5) a separate international program to exchange SE information and increase awareness of solar technology and its applications.
