Solar group prepares to file recommendations for government levels
BOULDER, Colorado, US, May 25, 2005 (Refocus Weekly)
Political leaders in the United States must “act now to begin the transition to a clean domestic energy standard,” according to the country’s solar energy society.
Political leadership must come from federal, state and local levels, and must
be supplemented by specific policies to remove selected federal subsidies for
fossil and nuclear energy sources, stabilize and expand the federal production
tax credits for renewable energies, and implement state and local investment tax
credits for sustainable energy systems, explains the American Solar Energy
Society in its draft policy, ‘Common Sense: Making the Transition to a
Sustainable Energy Economy.’ The final version of the document will be
released soon.
“Over the past several decades, substantial public and private research of
clean energy alternatives like solar, wind, biomass and geothermal has produced
a portfolio of proven technologies that brings with them a wide range of
economic, security and environmental benefits,” it notes. “Now is the time
to integrate these sources into the nation’s mainstream energy economy.”
“Renewable energy offers more than the solution to oil depletion and climate
change,” it adds. “Its full benefits include reduced health consequences
resulting from fossil fuel emissions, rural economic development in terms of new
cash crops, new jobs, improved balance of payments as a result of sending fewer
dollars overseas, reduced terrorist opportunities and an improved national image
abroad.”
The policy statement was prepared to provide “a better understanding of the
need to exchange the nation’s current fossil and nuclear fuel standards for an
energy economy based upon clean, available domestic energy sources like solar,
wind, biomass and geothermal,” it notes. The need to transition to renewables
is based on the precipitous decline of available petroleum supplies and the
estimated depletion of all petroleum reserves within the current century, as
well as the destabilization of the earth’s climate from the increase amount of
GHG emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.
“The occurrence of global climate change and depletion of available petroleum
reserves are matters of science - not conjecture,” and “common sense
suggests that something constructive needs to be done now to respond to the loss
of oil and catastrophic climate change.” Ignoring the problem or delaying
substantive action for another 20 years are not sound policy and, “if not
arrogant, it is at least questionable to dismiss the overwhelming opinion of the
scientific community.”
The U.S. and the world are “fortunate to have available to them a portfolio of
renewable energy technologies that have shown themselves reliable and
capable,” and generate billions of dollars of economic activity with world
solar PV production at US$4.7 billion and wind at $9 billion in 2003.
“Change is difficult” but measured action over the next decade will allow
governments the time to change codes, practices and pricing while manufacturers
ramp up their processes to meet demand and researchers improve existing
technologies and create new ones. “The very magnitude of the needed change
requires deliberate and gradual progress towards the goal of sustainability; a
clean sustainable energy economy cannot be accomplished in one giant
technological leap.
ASES says its recommendations are only a beginning and believes it “imprudent
to propose a massive new array of policies and programs,” noting that its
proposals could be implemented by Congress over the next two years. The
recommendations for a national Renewable Energy Standard and Renewable Fuel
Standard “reflect proposed legislation that has been debated but not acted on
for nearly a decade,” while its recommendation for net metering is based on
successful state efforts.
It wants a national Building Code Task Force to incorporate the use of solar
water heating and other renewables into the design and construction of new
structures, while state and local governments amend local laws to “encourage
and expedite” the construction of renewable energy projects. Federal, state
and local government should increase their purchase of green power, and a
national public education campaign should be launched while renewable energy
technologies are deployed on a large scale.
“The nation has the technology and know-how to make the transition to a clean
and sustainable energy economy,” the report concludes. “Fortunately, the
U.S. has been investing in the development and, to a lesser extent deployment,
of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies for more than 30 years.
Had this investment not been made, it is likely that the world would not have
the clean energy alternatives necessary today for a successful transition.”
“There is little evidence to suggest that the price of home heating and
electric generating fuels will significantly decline in either the near or long
terms,” it says. “Increased building energy efficiency and the incorporation
of sustainable energy technologies like photovoltaics, solar water heating and
geothermal heating and cooling systems could significantly reduce demand for
fossil fuels, while expanding the market for domestic clean energy products.”
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