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There is lots of opportunity to reduce energy intensity throughout the U.S. economy
In the latest post on the 's "Environmental Lovin's" blog, Amory Lovins himself provides some suggestions on how to keep making progress on energy independence despite the recent dip in oil prices. Of course, efficiency is the star of the show:
We now have techniques to save half our oil and gas, and three-quarters of our electricity, at about an eighth of their price. Energy efficiency remains one of the highest-return and lowest-risk investments in the entire economy.
Fillmore Street in San Francisco; Image via Wikipedia
The San Francisco Chronicle reports on the conclusions of a study just completed by the California State Air Resources Board that "going green" will be .
Under the , the state must impose a limit on the amount of pollutants companies emit and expand renewable energy. These changes, along with others, would result in 100,000 new jobs, boost the state economy by $27 billion and increase personal income by $14 billion, the study said.
This is a great example that aligns perfectly with the topic of this blog, "Keeping the lights on."
In its most recent ", Monica Sanford and Maria Stamas of the describe "passive design," the techniques for building structures that work for humans within the natural constraints of the environment. Buildings sited for optimal use of daylight, equipped with to keep them cool in summer and warm in winter, using passive ventilation systems, and so on, can use significantly less energy than "normal" buildings.
I attended the tonight. The topic was "Where's the Money?" Five panelists, representing a VC firm, a bank, an angel funding group, a bridge-financing firm, and an entrepreneur who has raised his money independently, discussed the various sources of funding for clean tech companies. i took extensive notes, and will provide more details later, but for now some of the highlights were:
In a , supply chain executives across a range of industries agreed not only that "greening" the manufacturing process was becoming more and more cost effective, but that they expected increased profits and better quality as a result.
A whopping 95% of the 3,000 North American executives polled agree that green manufacturing will continue to expand, citing increased profits (66%) and improved efficiency and product quality (43%) as key drivers.
43% is not even a majority, but it's a sign the tide of perception is turning that going green is not a tax, but can result in both bottom line and top line benefits to companies.
According to released at the end of July, the world economy will have to improve its "carbon productivity" - the amount of gross domestic product (GDP) created per unit of CO2 - by a factor of ten by 2050 to stop global climate change in its tracks while continuing to enable a healthy level of growth. The report predicts that the cost of this transformation will amount to 0.6% - 1.3% of global GDP by 2030. They note that this compares favorably to the cost of insurance born by economies, which amounts to more than 3% of GDP.
Public Domain. Credit information: Hinode JAXA/NASA
Every day I get emails about "clean tech financing this" and "clean tech financing that" - last year there was over $7 billion in investments in clean technologies in the U.S. in the San Jose Merc, Paul Holland of describes some of his philosophy on clean tech investment, including a strong focus on technologies that will reduce energy demand:
"The first lesson is there's nothing wrong with a capital-efficient investment, even in clean tech. The second lesson is, look what happens when you don't pay attention to the first lesson."
Artist's conception - Manhattan covered with solar cells. If Walmart covers all its roofs with solar cells, they'll cover an area equal to Manhattan
The New York Times has a story today about before a Federal tax break expires at the end of December. The article's analysis is that they are primarily doing it for PR purposes, since PV-based energy is still a lot more expensive than conventional. The benefits of being able to say they are green are compelling. But the companies put a slightly different spin on it:
