In efforts to promote the renewable sector the U.S. Government is investing billions of dollars into areas such as wind and solar. Obama’s stimulus package doubled the funding for renewable technologies as compared to energy efficiency, $40 billion and $20 billion respectively. About half of the $40 billion will go to tax credits, and the remainder will be split among loan guarantees, research, carbon captures, etc. As for energy efficiency, $250 million will go to grants for retrofitting, $300 million for Energy Star Appliance rebates, $4.5 billion for smart-grid projects, and $3.2 billion for energy efficiency grant programs, to name a few.
What do all these numbers mean for Americans? Skeptics believe it shows that instead of encouraging conservation of energy, the allocation of funds is doing the opposite. Whether you agree or not, the point is that we can’t rely on new technologies to give us more energy, the public needs to embrace energy conservation behaviors and methods, what is the point if we can get more energy, yet we don’t bother to conserve any of it?
Given that buildings account for half of the CO2 emissions in the U.S. alone, efforts should be drawn to retrofitting and constructing green buildings. Renewable energy sources are more cost efficient and eco-friendly in the long run, yet we must also begin to change our own behaviors and start with energy efficiency steps first, like replacing incadescents with LEDs. However, this becomes extremely difficult especially when there is abundant and cheap natural gas that makes the case for wind or solar harder to establish and thus less incentive to invest in renewables. Additionally, the “green” choice such as the aforementioned LED option, has higher initial prices, and thus, lacking any financial incentive for society to adopt its use.
Rep. Peter Welch, a Democrate from Vermont, believes investing more in energy efficiency techniques such as building-automation systems, LEDs, insulation, etc. because “it is more cost effective, and creates more jobs” Rep. Welch’s bill incorporates these more effective energy efficiency measures offering homeowners rebates of $1,000 to $3,000 for achieving a 10% to 20% increase in efficiency. Businesses are also included in this bill, the first 20-30% increase receives .15 cents per square foot and up to $2.50 per square foot for 50% or more in energy efficiency.
It’s clear that homeowners and business owners need more incentives to conserve and eventually adopt renewables. Until then, the government must subsidize the most efficient means of achieving reductions in energy usage.
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