????白宮宣布，奧巴馬總統將在勞動節（美國的勞動節是九月的第一個星期一—譯注）后就就業問題發表全國講話?？偨y先生上哪兒能找到這個問題的部分答案呢？對此，我有個建議：讓美國總計30兆瓦的太陽能發電項目末期工程放手開工。這個建議最大的好處在于：總統閣下無須多花一美元聯邦預算就能辦到，同時，通過創造大量就業崗位和推動對美國基礎設施又一輪私人投資，政府將省下一筆開支。

????首先讓我從頭描述一下背景情況。過去幾年中，太陽能發電成本快速降低，美國出臺了“可再生能源組合標準”【Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)】項目，該項目要求發電廠利用可再生能源生產一部分電能。這兩個因素共同催生了30兆瓦太陽能發電項目，目前它們已經處于工程末期。這一規模的電能足以供600萬戶美國家庭使用。據美國公共電力協會（American Public Power Association）分析，相比其他電能的來源，太陽能的待裝機兆瓦數超過了風能、煤炭、天然氣和核能。

????為數眾多的太陽能發電項目意味著成千上萬個建筑行業的新崗位，以及大量工程、金融和服務業領域的工作機會。這些項目和工作之所以現在還無從談起，是因為它們正卡在審批、并網和融資的重重挑戰中無法動彈。要讓這些崗位擺脫禁錮，只需要做到以下三件事：

1.簡化環保審批程序。

2.協調并網政策和設備采購計劃。

3.并且擴大太陽能發電項目投資者的許可范圍。

????環保審批程序效率低下，人浮于事、機構重疊和管轄權混亂等問題嚴重。請別誤會我。我們絕對需要強有力的條例來保護環境和瀕危物種。但是，簡化條例和規則使審批更有效率與加強環境保護并不矛盾。減少管制的凈效益就是：政府部門浪費更少，工業浪費更少，工作崗位更多。

????并網是個非常技術化的問題，但我們需要簡單了解這個概念。所謂并網就是將發電機組連接到電網的過程。在現行體系中，是由“獨立系統運營商”來監控并網的。它負責協調電網規劃，并決定誰及何時能獲得并網。而電力采購——即公用設施購買電力——是由公用設施委員會監管的，它會判定采購是否符合管理要求。我們需要政治領導人明確，并網應“緊跟”公用設施電力采購。而現在這兩者是被作為兩個獨立流程對待的，這一點想想都會覺得有點愚不可及。這種做法導致了頗為荒唐的現狀：并網權要么被批給了公共設施不滿意的發電廠，要么市場認為重要的發電廠卻無法獲得并網批準。改善并網的凈效果就是：政府部門浪費更少，工業浪費更少，工作崗位更多。

????奧巴馬總統所能做的最簡單的事就是擴大太陽能發電項目的投資人許可范圍。如果不允許投資資本進入該項目，30兆瓦太陽能發電項目的輸電線就根本無從建起。得說明的是，我所談的是上好的項目，它技術可靠、信譽極好，還有可觀的回報。這類項目融資理應很容易，但實際上卻并非如此。

????The White House announced that President Obama will address the nation on jobs after Labor Day. I have a suggestion for where the President could find part of the answer: by setting loose the 30-gigawatt (GW) buildup of U.S. solar projects bogged down in late stage development. Here's the amazing part: he could do it without committing to spend a single additional federal dollar and the result would be net savings to the government through massive job creation and a wave of private investment in our nation's infrastructure.

????Let me first describe the situation on the ground. Over the past few years, rapidly declining solar costs and state Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) programs, which require utilities to generate a percentage of power from renewable energy sources, have combined to create 30GW of solar projects in the later stages of development. That's enough solar to power about 6 million homes. To put that in perspective relative to other sources of electricity, solar has more megawatts in development than wind, coal, gas, or nuclear according to analysis by the American Public Power Association.

????All those solar projects represent many tens of thousands of new construction jobs, plus a whole lot of engineering, finance, and service jobs as well. The only reason those projects and jobs aren't happening now is because they're held up by a gauntlet of permitting, interconnection and financing challenges. To set those jobs free, we need to do just three things:

1. Streamline environmental permitting.

2. Align interconnection policies with utility procurement plans.

3. And expand the pool of eligible investors in solar projects.

?? Environmental permitting is inefficient, rife with redundancy, agency overlap, and jurisdictional issues. Don't get me wrong. We absolutely need strong rules to protect our environment and critical species. However, we can still have strong protection for our environment while streamlining rules and guidelines to make permitting more efficient. Net impact of reducing regulation: less government waste, less industry waste, more jobs.

????Interconnection is a pretty technical issue but what's needed is straightforward to understand. Interconnection refers to the process of connecting a generator to the electrical grid. Under the current system, interconnection is overseen by "independent system operators" who coordinate grid planning and decide who gets connected and when. Procurement – how utilities buy power – is overseen by utility commissions who determine whether the purchase complies with regulatory requirements. We need our political leaders to make it clear that interconnection should 'follow' utility procurement. Right now they're treated as two separate processes, which is kind of silly when you think about it. This results in ridiculous situations where interconnection is granted to a generating resource utilities don't want or interconnection is denied to a resource that the market deems important. Net impact of fixing interconnection: less government waste, less industry waste, more jobs.

????The easiest thing President Obama can do is expand the pool of eligible investors in solar projects. None of the 30GW solar pipeline will be built if investment capital isn't allowed to flow into projects. To be clear, I'm talking about good projects with proven technology, strong credit, and attractive returns. These kinds of projects should be easy to finance, but they're not.