James May-June 2023 web - Flipbook - Page 58
economies, power grids and transportation sectors
around decarbonization. Some aim for 100 percent
renewables. Their presumption is that a decarbonized
economy will provide greater energy security and a
more reliable grid while creating economic opportunities. They lean on predictive models to support
their objectives, but models only work under specific
constraints and ignore inconvenient realities required
of this transition.
Reality has the final say. Georgia has taken the
path of reality, and has for some time.
Georgia is the only state offsetting coal with
dispatchable natural gas, renewable energy and new
baseload nuclear capacity— while reducing carbon
emissions and prioritizing reliability. Georgia is developing new capacity for manufacturing solar PV, EVs,
batteries and end-of-life recycling technologies to recover minerals and metals. Georgia is a leader in global
cooperation with South Korea, a strategic U.S. ally in
the Asia-Pacific. And for nine straight years Georgia
has been ranked as the number one state for business.
These are outcomes of strategic public-private
partnerships focused on economic growth, expanded industrial capacity and energy security— with
carbon reduction as a constraint, not the driver. Gov.
Brian Kemp, Georgia legislators, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Public Service
Commission and a host of commercial and industrial
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actors throughout the state have all provided critical
leadership.
In his farewell speech, President Dwight Eisenhower reflected on the challenges facing our country.
He warned against the temptation to feel that some
spectacular and costly action could become the miraculous solution to all current difficulties. America is
facing multiple challenges on multiple fronts. Climate
change is only one.
Great power competitors today are committed to
undermining Western capitalism, our way of life, our
international influence and our nation’s position of
leadership. They want a 21st century without America at the helm. This requires America weakened and
marginalized.
Georgia is responding to these challenges differently than other states, in a way that strengthens not
only us but America as well.
In the bipartisan spirit of President Harry Truman and Eisenhower, the state is exhibiting patience,
courage and balance between the action of the moment and the national welfare of the future. It’s a
reality-based approach from a position of growth and
strength, in light of the broader consideration of the
world as it is, not as we wish it were.
David Gattie is an Associate Professor of Engineering at the University of
Georgia’s College of Engineering, and a Senior Fellow at UGA’s Center for
International Trade and Security.