“WIN, WIN, WIN, WIN” - The Power Surge: Energy, Opportunity, and the Battle for America's Future - page 161

generating capacity; less than 10 percent of that is expected to be retired
in the next twenty-i ve years. 50 But this is still not all that large a piece
of the power system. 51 Moreover, some of the generation pushed aside
by stricter environmental rules wouldn't be replaced by new power
sources; instead, it would be of set by lower overall consumption of
power.
All of this makes policy aimed narrowly at cut ing the cost of clean
energy a bad bet if you're looking for massive scale that solves big
national problems anytime in the near future. h e simplest subsidy
schemes become expensive once they start to succeed. Subtler ef orts
aimed at boosting innovation run into thorny problems with execu-
tion—and even if they succeed in bat le they might not win the war.
But none of this is reason alone to not pursue these sorts of ef orts.
If a shit to clean energy produces other economic, security, or envi-
ronmental benei ts for society, it's possible in principle for it to be
good for the country even if clean energy comes with a higher sticker
price. Moreover, as the cost of clean energy falls, including as a result
of government support, the possibility grows that the benei ts of shit -
ing toward it will outweigh the associated costs. Making the case that
clean energy delivers benei ts in excess of its costs, though, requires
a careful look at the benei ts that clean energy can deliver. Exhibit A,
for many enthusiasts, has been jobs.

m m m

Manufacturing employment has been in a free fall for decades.
Brackenridge, Pennsylvania, just outside of Pit sburgh, is no exception.
During the i rst ten years of the twenty-i rst century, nearly a third of
all manufacturing jobs in the area vanished, tracking the trend in the
country at large. 52 When FLABEG, a large German maker of automo-
tive mirrors (look for their stamp on your rearview mirror the next time
you drive), announced in November 2011 that it would be closing its
Brackenridge plant, the news wasn't surprising. 53
Ten miles down the road in Clinton, though, the same company is
writing a dif erent story. Most days dozens of mirrors come of the line
at a 230,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, which began operating in