Federal stimulus: Pork or real energy policy?

By Elisa Wood

February 5, 2009

Two recent gestures by President Obama indicate that he is serious about clean energy and will pursue it differently than any of his predecessors.

First, he made history in using his inaugural speech to promote renewable energy – something never done before by a US President, according to Department of Energy’s EERE News Network. http://www.eere.energy.gov/

Second, on February 5 Obama drilled down to the nitty-gritty of energy efficiency policy. In a presidential memorandum, he called for the DOE to establish higher standards for common household appliances.

“We’ll save through these simple steps over the next thirty years the amount of energy produced over a two-year period by all the coal-fired power plants in America,” he said in remarks at the DOE.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says the memorandum marks the first time Obama has made efficiency standards a top priority in his domestic energy policy. Obama seeks legal deadlines to set standards, “an important break from his predecessors who fell behind on updates for some 22 standards,” according to ACEEE. http://www.aceee.org/

Both of these gestures were important, and indicate he will fulfill – or at least try – his energy campaign promises. But the true test of his ability to revamp US energy policy comes as he tries to sell the $50 billion for energy in the federal stimulus package. Critics are slamming some of the provisions, such as plans to upgrade federal buildings and improve the federal transportation fleet.

“They call it pork,” Obama said. “You know the truth. It will not only save the government significant money over time, it will not only create jobs manufacturing those vehicles, it will set a standard for private industry to match. And so when you hear these attacks deriding something of such obvious importance as this, you have to ask yourself – is it any wonder we haven’t had a real energy policy in this country?”

Obama – and the clean energy industry – clearly have an education effort ahead in a world where pork and fuel efficient vehicles are seen as one in the same.

Visit Elisa Wood at www.realenergywriters.com and pick up her free Energy Efficiency Markets podcast and newsletter.

Clean energy, jobs and the real estate market

By Elisa Wood

November 20, 2008

President-elect Barack Obama wants to create five million new green jobs over the next decade. This is a big goal, but in line with what clean energy industry advocates see as possible.

An upcoming international report provides some solid perspective on why green initiatives make for good job building opportunities.

Scheduled for release next summer, “Greening Buildings and Communities: Costs and Benefits,” finds that green buildings create roughly $1/square foot of value in increased employment. A typical green office creates roughly one-third of a permanent job per year. This is done by shifting spending from fossil fuel-based energy to more labor intensive domestic jobs in energy efficiency, renewable construction and new green industries.

A preview of the study, released this week by Good Energies www.goodenergies.com, also finds that green buildings are not as pricey as often believed. They add, on average, about two percent to the cost of a building. Moreover, green buildings reduce energy use by an average 33%. The extra cost of building green usually pays back within five years.

Based on an analysis of 150 green buildings in the United States and 10 other countries, the study is billed as the largest international review of its kind to date.

What good is it to bet on jobs from new construction in this economy? It turns out that green buildings are not falling victim to today’s real estate downturn. Buildings in green neighborhoods are holding value better than conventional homes. On average, sales prices tend to be $20/square foot higher.

“The deep downturn in real estate has not reduced the rapid growth in demand for and construction of green buildings,” said Greg Kats, the study’s lead author and a Managing Director of Good Energies. “This suggests a flight to quality as buyers express a market preference for buildings that are more energy efficient, more comfortable and healthier.”

The report’s findings underscore a growing sentiment that the green energy and efficiency industries are key to economic recovery. What we’ve lost – jobs and real estate values – these industries offer to give back.

Visit Elisa Wood at www.realenergywriters.com and pick up her free Energy Efficiency Markets podcast and newsletter.