TheBakersfieldCalifornian.com

Anyone who watched the Oliver Stone film "Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps" can testify that there are a lot of heady ideas floating around in that movie. One of the more timely points it makes, without passing moral judgment one way or another, is that green energy is the next big bubble.

Stone's implication seems to be that more money is being invested in renewable energy -- such as wind power and solar projects, not to mention the film's fictional cold fusion plant -- than the technology legitimately promises from a dollars and cents perspective.

For now, many of these investments are more than justified considering the various government incentives and programs that discourage dirtier sources of energy like petroleum and traditional coal burning. But would green energy still pencil out if government stepped away?

Our question: How much of the green energy industry would stand on its own if you took away government subsidies and clean-air regulations?

Responses may have been edited for length, clarity and content.

By its very nature, and due to its responsibility to shareholders, the U.S. business sector will almost always choose the least-cost option to maximize their return on investment. Therefore, without clean air regulations, the purpose of which is to protect public health, the business sector would likely continue to invest in less clean, and thus less costly, power options. This would forestall investment in cleaner energy.

The existence of air quality regulations and the availability of public funding for clean technology, whether through direct government investment or subsidies, is intended to ensure there is balance between financial interest and common good. That way, business can provide the energy we need while also protecting human health.

The Hydrogen Energy California Project is a "green energy" development that will provide cleaner energy while also delivering tangible economic benefits to the state and local region. HECA will address climate change concerns and state policy, enhance U.S. energy security, boost local oil production and generate more than a thousand jobs and millions of tax revenues. While the project does have additional costs compared with a conventional power plant; overall, it makes economic sense, serves the common good and provides abundant ancillary benefits.

-- Tiffany Rau, policy and communications manager, Hydrogen Energy California LLC

I've been in the energy business for three decades, and I firmly believe that America needs all forms of energy -- traditional and alternative -- to keep our economy running smoothly. A strong green energy industry benefits from incentives that help get the new technologies competitive; this prepares America for the future.

It's no secret that China and other countries are investing heavily in new energy technology. I don't want America to fall behind.

In fact, Macpherson Energy sees green energy as a good business opportunity. We are converting our cogeneration plant at Mt. Poso to biomass. This conversion is bringing 90 construction jobs to Kern County, protecting the existing jobs at the plant and adding new jobs once the conversion is complete in 2012. It also will produce 44 megawatts of clean energy.

Americans rightfully expect untainted meat and vegetables, mines that don't collapse, clean water, safe travel -- and a reliable energy supply that doesn't pollute our air. Balanced regulations help us attain these goals while providing businesses with a "level playing field" set of rules.

-- Donald R. Macpherson, president and CEO of Macpherson Energy Corp., an energy provider with principal oil and gas operations in Kern County.

The world spends more than $550 billion annually on energy subsidies; over 90 percent goes to older technologies. Subsidies distort markets and reduce efficiency, and changing government regulations can slow investment and business activity. Free markets pick the most efficient technologies, to everyone's benefit.

Kern County has been a leader in energy systems for 100 years, and has seen huge swings in employment and business activity as fuel prices have fluctuated. Modern enhanced oil recovery (EOR) systems pioneered and perfected in Kern oilfields have added billions of barrels of recoverable oil. Solar can help sustain the booms when prices are high and avoid the bust when they're low.

GlassPoint Solar delivers oilfield steam generators for EOR that are solar-fired. Raising steam for oil production with sunshine rather than imported gas makes sense. No mandates, price supports or feed-in tariffs apply -- just economics. With near-zero operating expense, solar steam reduces costs, allowing more oil to be produced economically. When California oil is more competitive in the world market, more jobs stay here.

Truly "sustainable" technologies must make economic sense on their own, without special incentives. While current U.S. tax policies reward investment in all kinds of energy, including solar, our business is growing here and internationally without incentives of any kind.

-- John O'Donnell, vice president, business development, GlassPoint Solar