Thoughts on an Energy Policy for the New Administration

Recycling and sustainability is the name of the game but, strategically speaking, how do we go about implementing it? There are numerous solutions, numerous possibilities. Everybody has their own point of view; some make sense and some are far fetched.

After reading Allan Hoffman’s “Thoughts on an Energy Policy for the New Administration,” my own ideas began pouring out. First of all the thought entered my head “can I trust ideas that come from the U.S. Department of Energy?” It’s no secret that corruption goes on behind closed government doors and, depending on ‘their’ agenda and the profits that result, who knows what’s what these days.

But, most of the key points Mr. Hoffman described made a lot of sense and clearly demonstrated (to me) that he is not sleeping with the oil companies.

I don’t know about you but I learn something new every day in the ‘green’ industry; it’s an education in progress. Whenever I study a new innovation, new plan, or new policy, I always keep this basic rule in mind; with every action there is a reaction. As I studied Allan Hoffman’s viewpoints, and put the basic rule to test, I found that his ideas would most likely lead to a positive reaction.

Some key points & issues that really stood out:

“People do not value energy itself but rather the services that energy makes possible. These services include lighting, heating, cooling, delivery of clean water, transportation of people and goods, communication, entertainment and a variety of business activities. It follows that it is in society’s interest to provide these services with the least energy feasible, to minimize adverse economic, environmental and national security impacts. “

“Today’s world is powered largely by fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas.) Fossil fuel resources are finite and their use will eventually have to be restricted. Cost increases and volatility, already occurring, are likely to limit fossil fuel use before resource restrictions become dominant and increasing geographic concentration of supplies in other countries raises serious national security concerns.”

“Fossil fuel combustion releases CO2 into the atmosphere (unless captured and sequestered), which mixes globally with a long atmospheric lifetime. Most climate scientists believe that increasing CO2 concentrations alter earth’s energy balance with the sun, contributing to global warming.”

“Renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, ocean) has significant potential for replacing our current fossil fuel based energy system.”

It goes on to add the following recommendations:

Educate the public about energy realities and implications for energy, economic, and environmental security.

Establish energy efficiency as the cornerstone of national energy policy.

Provide an economic environment that supports investments in energy efficiency, including appropriate performance standards and incentives.

Setting a long-term, steadily increasing, predictable price on carbon emissions (in coordination with other countries) that will unleash innovation and create new jobs.

Setting a floor under oil prices, to ensure that energy investments are not undermined by falling prices, and using resulting revenues to address equity and other needs.

Establish a national policy for net metering, to allow individuals and companies to sell electricity to the grid.

Provide incentives to encourage the manufacture and deployment of renewable energy systems.

Aggressively support establishment of a smart national electrical grid.

Support an aggressive effort on carbon capture and sequestration, to ascertain quickly its feasibility to allow continued use of our extensive coal resources.

And, my personal favorite…

Remove incentives for fossil fuels that are historical tax code legacies that distort energy markets and slow the transition to a new, renewables-based, energy system.

I couldn’t agree more with that last recommendation. In fact, I think it should be the first step in the plan. It is imperitive that this ridiculous subsidizing of the oil and coal industries (via tax cuts) be stopped. Use those funds where they really need to be, in clean renewable energy sources.

Posted on January 20th in Solar Politics by Beth.