What kind of energy policy?

What better time than a sizzling hot summer, with so much political dialogue as ill-informed as ever, to cool down and tune in more reasoned voices. We need to have a serious conversation about energy.

Cleaner and renewable energy is what makes more and more economic sense. Nuclear power in particular is on the verge of obsolescence.

So comes the word — admittedly consistent with our own sentiments — from Jeffrey Immelt of General Electric Co.

“It’s really a gas and wind world today,” he says.

What a different place New York would be under the scenario envisioned by the CEO of a company that used to be a major producer of nuclear power plants. Already the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is about to stop licensing new plants until the industry finds a safer way to dispose of nuclear waste.

Think of the potential for jobs if energy policy takes such a sharp but sensible turn. GE’s renewable energy headquarters are in Schenectady. Its Global Research Center in Niskayuna is where wind and solar technologies are being further refined.

Suddenly, these are more than exotic quests. The price of solar panels is down 75 percent over the past three years. That’s enough to make solar energy competitive with retail electricity prices in some countries.

Wind energy, meanwhile, is the beneficiary of the steadily declining price of offshore turbines.