The South could generate 20-30 percent of its electricity from renewable energy sources within the next 20 years – up from less than 4 percent today -- if strong federal policies are enacted, according to a report released July 27 by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and Duke University. The analysis, “Renewable Energy in the South,” finds that conventional wisdom has underestimated the available renewable resources in the region and that a federal renewable electricity standard (RES) would enable the South to capitalize on this untapped renewable energy potential.
Read the Full Report Here: http://www.spp.gatech.edu/aboutus/workingpapers/renewable-energy-in-the-south
The South lags behind all other regions in renewable electricity, obtaining 3.7 percent of its power from renewable sources, compared to 9.5 percent for the country as a whole. Only four states (Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, and Texas) have a state-level renewable portfolio standard, while three others have voluntary renewable energy goals. The fate of renewables in the South is not only important for the region, but for the nation as a whole since, in 2008, the region accounted for 44 percent of the country’s energy consumption.
Opponents of renewable energy production claim that the South lacks the renewable energy resources to capitalize on the growing demand for clean energy. However, the report finds that there are abundant renewable energy resources available that can be tapped if supportive policies are put in place. The report shows that if a 25 percent (by 2025) federal RES is enacted, the amount of electricity supplied by power companies from renewable sources could increase more than 250 percent above the level expected in 2030 if no new federal renewables policies were enacted.
A number of other studies have shown a large potential for renewable energy in the South,” said Etan Gumerman of Duke University’s Nicholas Institute and co-lead researcher of the study. “Our study shows that significant increases can actually be achieved, particularly through supportive local or federal policies.”
The report, using a customized version of the economic modeling system used by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, finds that a federal renewable electricity standard and carbon pricing system would increase the proportion of electricity derived from renewable sources by power companies in every state, particularly in wind and biomass. By 2030, the report shows, federal carbon pricing policy would increase renewable electricity production in the South by 390 percent.
“Countries around the world are already tapping into the potential of renewable energy, and are capturing export markets and generating jobs in the process,” said Dr. Marilyn Brown of the Georgia Institute of Technology and co-lead researcher of the study. “The report demonstrates that although many states in the South are off to a slow start, renewable initiatives are now underway across the region, and the potential for expansion is promising.”
In addition, the report finds that electricity produced by end-users, such as households and businesses using small-scale solar electric and heating facilities, would also benefit from federal policies and could supply a substantial portion of the region’s renewable electricity. Under a 25 percent RES, for example, renewable electricity supplied by utilities and end-users could increase by 154 percent. Carbon pricing policy could lead to a 266 percent increase above the total level of renewable electricity expected in the absence of federal policy changes.
“In the future, households and businesses have the potential to become major suppliers of clean, renewable electricity,” added Dr. Brown. “This changes the way we need to think about the South’s renewable energy potential.”
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Showing posts with label source. Show all posts
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Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
America's Anemic '13 Percent Economy': Experts Warn U.S. Risks Long-Term Growth by Focusing on New Energy at Expense of More Energy Efficiency
/PRNewswire/ -- What will play the biggest role in future U.S. economic growth: the new energy that we find ... or the energy that we avoid using?
Even as Congress and the news media focus almost completely on the question of where America will find new sources of traditional and emerging energy sources, the little-understood fact is that new energy sources are likely to play a much smaller role in the current U.S. economic recovery and future growth than are new advances in energy efficiency, according to leading experts. Even worse, the overwhelming emphasis today on new energy is "crowding out" meaningful national dialogue and progress on achieving greater energy efficiency in an economy that is struggling today at a level of just 13 percent efficiency in terms of energy use, meaning that 87% of the energy we use is wasted.
In a phone-based news conference today - John A. "Skip" Laitner, director, Economic and Social Analysis, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and Robert U. Ayres, emeritus professor, Economics and Political Science and Technology Management, European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), and co-author of "Crossing the Energy Divide: Moving from Fossil Fuel Dependence to a Clean-Energy Future" (2010) - summarized the thinking at a symposium session held Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary year of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). See http://www.aceee.org/conf/30th/april26.htm for more information.
Among the key facts highlighted during the symposium:
-- America's economy has tripled in size since 1970 and three-quarters of
the energy needed to fuel that growth came from efficiency advances -
not net new energy. Going forward, the current economic recovery and
future economic growth are likely to be even more dependent on new
energy efficiency advances than was the period of 1970-date.
-- Americans may have an overly optimistic impression of how energy
efficient the United States is. Despite the enormous strides achieved
in the last four decades, the U.S. economy remains only about 13
percent energy efficient. That still unacceptably high level of
inefficiency either will be allowed to remain in place and therefore
leave the U.S. mired in lackluster economic activity ... or it will be
tackled head-on, leading to new efficiency advances and unleashing
robust future economic growth in the U.S. For example, Japan and
several European countries are about 20% efficient, a factor of 1.5
higher than the U.S.
-- How big might the next round of potential energy efficiency be? If we
invested in more energy productive technologies, energy efficiency
investments can provide up to one-half of the needed greenhouses gas
emissions reductions most scientists say are needed between now and
the year 2050. And that gain in energy efficiency would not only mean
reduced greenhouse gas emissions, it would result in lower energy bill
for consumers.
ACEEE's Laitner said: "The dirty little secret today is that most economic assessments of the current climate change policies either ignore or greatly understate the potential advances in energy efficiency, even though it is clearly the largest and most cost-effective form of greenhouse gas mitigation. There is no mistaking the fact the cheapest, least polluting and most economically productive energy is the energy that never gets used. Cost-effective investment that can reduce the amount of energy necessary to support a dollar of economic activity is the single most important driver of economic productivity within the United States and around the world. And this makes sense once we stop paying attention to outdated economic policy models and think about what is it that actually powers our economy. Is it expensive and conventional energy resources, or the increased use of more energy productive technologies? The evidence suggests that it is the latter. We ignore that at our considerable peril."
Ayres said: "The greatest barrier of all to more energy efficiency is the mentality of the growth imperative: the deep-seated conviction that growth assures survival in the competitive global race. The focus is on growth, with profits secondary. But we have to ask: The race is to where? Growth that consumes limited resources is itself unsustainable. A new paradigm is urgently needed. The new paradigm must focus on the cost-effective re-use, renovation, remanufacturing and recycling. The energy firms of the future will need to sell efficiency, and energy security, not fuel."
-----
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Even as Congress and the news media focus almost completely on the question of where America will find new sources of traditional and emerging energy sources, the little-understood fact is that new energy sources are likely to play a much smaller role in the current U.S. economic recovery and future growth than are new advances in energy efficiency, according to leading experts. Even worse, the overwhelming emphasis today on new energy is "crowding out" meaningful national dialogue and progress on achieving greater energy efficiency in an economy that is struggling today at a level of just 13 percent efficiency in terms of energy use, meaning that 87% of the energy we use is wasted.
In a phone-based news conference today - John A. "Skip" Laitner, director, Economic and Social Analysis, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and Robert U. Ayres, emeritus professor, Economics and Political Science and Technology Management, European Institute of Business Administration (INSEAD), and co-author of "Crossing the Energy Divide: Moving from Fossil Fuel Dependence to a Clean-Energy Future" (2010) - summarized the thinking at a symposium session held Tuesday to mark the 30th anniversary year of the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). See http://www.aceee.org/conf/30th/april26.htm for more information.
Among the key facts highlighted during the symposium:
-- America's economy has tripled in size since 1970 and three-quarters of
the energy needed to fuel that growth came from efficiency advances -
not net new energy. Going forward, the current economic recovery and
future economic growth are likely to be even more dependent on new
energy efficiency advances than was the period of 1970-date.
-- Americans may have an overly optimistic impression of how energy
efficient the United States is. Despite the enormous strides achieved
in the last four decades, the U.S. economy remains only about 13
percent energy efficient. That still unacceptably high level of
inefficiency either will be allowed to remain in place and therefore
leave the U.S. mired in lackluster economic activity ... or it will be
tackled head-on, leading to new efficiency advances and unleashing
robust future economic growth in the U.S. For example, Japan and
several European countries are about 20% efficient, a factor of 1.5
higher than the U.S.
-- How big might the next round of potential energy efficiency be? If we
invested in more energy productive technologies, energy efficiency
investments can provide up to one-half of the needed greenhouses gas
emissions reductions most scientists say are needed between now and
the year 2050. And that gain in energy efficiency would not only mean
reduced greenhouse gas emissions, it would result in lower energy bill
for consumers.
ACEEE's Laitner said: "The dirty little secret today is that most economic assessments of the current climate change policies either ignore or greatly understate the potential advances in energy efficiency, even though it is clearly the largest and most cost-effective form of greenhouse gas mitigation. There is no mistaking the fact the cheapest, least polluting and most economically productive energy is the energy that never gets used. Cost-effective investment that can reduce the amount of energy necessary to support a dollar of economic activity is the single most important driver of economic productivity within the United States and around the world. And this makes sense once we stop paying attention to outdated economic policy models and think about what is it that actually powers our economy. Is it expensive and conventional energy resources, or the increased use of more energy productive technologies? The evidence suggests that it is the latter. We ignore that at our considerable peril."
Ayres said: "The greatest barrier of all to more energy efficiency is the mentality of the growth imperative: the deep-seated conviction that growth assures survival in the competitive global race. The focus is on growth, with profits secondary. But we have to ask: The race is to where? Growth that consumes limited resources is itself unsustainable. A new paradigm is urgently needed. The new paradigm must focus on the cost-effective re-use, renovation, remanufacturing and recycling. The energy firms of the future will need to sell efficiency, and energy security, not fuel."
-----
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