The AP reports, "Republican presidential candidate John McCain said Monday that the search for alternatives to the country's dependence on foreign oil is so urgent that he's willing to throw money at it." (Well, taxpayer money.) Grabbing headlines nationwide, McCain proposed "a $300 million prize for whoever can develop a better automobile battery." McCain told a crowd at Fresno State University, "In the quest for alternatives to oil, our government has thrown around enough money subsidizing special interests and excusing failure. From now on, we will encourage heroic efforts in engineering, and we will reward the greatest success."
McCain did not outline specific requirements for the battery, but said it should have "the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars," according to the Chicago Tribune. He said the battery should deliver power at 30 percent of current costs.
The Los Angeles Times points out that "The prize amount is small relative to the billions of dollars the federal government spends on other energy industries. The Bush administration has already pledged $1.2 billion toward research on hydrogen fuel cells, a technology that proponents say is 10 or more years from viability." In fact, the Times reports, "Battery experts said the prize's effect might be limited." David Vieau, chief executive of battery maker A123 Systems, told the Times "In the battery business, you need to spend $100 million just to get warmed up."
Major efforts to produce more efficient batteries are already up and running. Teams are already building cars for the Progressive Automotive X-Prize, which will pay $10 million for a car that achieves 100 miles to the gallon or better. Start-up Tesla Motors is already producing its Roadster, which the company claims gets 250 miles from each charge. GM has invested heavily in the Chevrolet Volt, which it hopes to bring to market for the 2010 model year.
Perhaps more significant to energy policy were McCain's other proposals.
The Times notes, "The presumed Republican presidential nominee also proposed a $5,000 tax break for consumers who buy zero-emission cars, tighter enforcement of federal fuel economy standards and the elimination of tariffs on foreign ethanol." The $5,000 tax credit is still somewhat short of the $7,000 credit General Motors has been asking for, but exceeds current federal credits. McCain also "said last week that he wanted to open up additional areas off the nation's coasts for oil and gas exploration," a move that many analysts say would have little to no effect on gas supplies and prices.
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