He sees clean tech as the country's best chance to seize its "Sputnik moment."
But after getting a surprisingly extensive shout-out in Obama's State of the Union address, industry officials last week were less than enthusiastic and questioned whether the ambitious targets are attainable.
"It's a lofty goal, but it's like the race to the moon in that it's generally achievable," said John Cheney, chief executive of solar project developer Silverado Power. "The issue is whether we have the political will and ability to pull together and actually do it."
The guarded reaction to Obama's speech comes as many clean-tech companies are struggling to recover from the recession and at the same time are facing aggressive competition from China. Many fear that Obama's long-range objectives will be distracting and take the focus off crucial, short-term projects. Read the full report here.
Source: The Tennessean, Los Angeles.
