Energy efficiency and renewable power together are better than either alone, according to a recent report by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy and the American Council on Renewable Energy. Not a shocking conclusion, but an important one, especially in a world where it seems that all types of zero-carbon power are competing against each other for funding.
The report finds that synergies between renewables and efficiency would cut greenhouse-gas emissions more effectively than either alone. What kind of synergies?
Timing is one ... Efficiency can provide substantial short- and medium-term energy savings, while ... renewable energy is now limited but can expand greatly over time.
Another synergy is geography, because renewable resources are unevenly divided throughout the country, while efficiency gains are available everywhere.
A third is economic --- the report says the cost of saving energy is cheaper overall than current or new conventional power generation. Renewables, meanwhile, are often costlier than current conventional power sources, but are growing more competitive with new conventional power generation. "Combining these two resource types can reduce overall electricity system costs compared to a renewables-only approach," the report notes.
What could be achieved by marrying the two approaches?
Efficiency efforts could curb electricity use by 24 percent over 20 years, and ... by "aggressively" adding renewables to the electricity mix, carbon emissions from power generation could tumble by 46 percent.
Let's have a wedding already!
This post was created for ClimateProgress.org, a project of the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
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Comments
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JR in MD Posted 8:38 am
13 Aug 2007
~Jim Pierobon, for myself (full disclosure: working for the American Council On Renewable Energy)
Read about and contribute to a more sustainable energy future at EnergyForward.blogspot.com and 2020energy.blogspot.com
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sunflower Posted 8:53 am
13 Aug 2007
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TerraPassTom Posted 9:18 am
13 Aug 2007
We celebrate this everyday. Of course the wrinkle, when funding these with offset contracts, is who actually gets the carbon credits.
Both groups fight the same tired argument from entrenched interests and lazy policy wonks -- that those doing the work don't actually own the reductions. The utility (which reduced its emissions) does!
So let's have a marriage on the policy circles and get working for set asides or allowances to go to both. Can we interest AWEA and ACEEE in a cocktail party? Maybe a few drinks to break the ice before marriage?
Tom Arnold
Chief Environmental Officer
TerraPass
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johng333 Posted 1:11 am
14 Aug 2007
Not only are they HAPPILY married, but they had a child, energy monitoring and efficiency data visualization solution that monitors, diagnoses, and historically tracks eneryg, renewable energy, and building enviornmental systems that can turn even "brown" buildings green.
Below is the short version of teh story. Check out the monitoring system at http://www.greenbuildingmonitoring.com
Already Green!
First commercial building to achieve Net Zero Electric
Branchburg , NJ , 2007- For the first time a commercial facility in the US produced enough electrical energy from a renewable energy source to meet its entire electric utility demand for a full year. Ferreira Construction headquarters in Branchburg NJ, utilizes renewable energy to produce all of the electricity needed to operate their 42,000 sq ft building, a combination of office and shop space.
The 31 Tannery Project exceeded expectations by not only producing all of the electric energy needed to run this facility but generated a surplus of energy. This "green" energy surplus was made available for use by other businesses to reduce their carbon footprint and use of fossil fuels. The project team invented a new proprietary, patent-pending energy efficiency and building system monitoring solution which proved critical to their success. This monitoring system can now be shared nation wide to help other companies significantly reduce their energy consumption
The US Dept. of Energy has set a goal that renewable energy buildings will be commercially viable by 2025. The 31 Tannery Project and Ferreira Construction have completed a major step forward to achieving the goal set by the DOE. A key element of this amazing project is 100% return on investment in just 5 to 7 years. The project team is committed to sharing this impressive design with the US DOE and the state of NJ. It is the goal
of Ferreira Construction and the 31 Tannery Project to educate and provide other companies with the tools to utilize standard building designs,
renewable energy, high efficiency systems, and their new patent-pending monitoring system to spread this energy efficiency strategy across the US .
Joseph Grabowski and Ed Brzezowski, the team responsible for the technology implemented, look forward to sharing this success and welcome all inquiries.
Contact John Grabowski 908-534-8655 / (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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spaceshaper Posted 4:18 am
14 Aug 2007
The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.
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David Roberts Posted 4:44 am
14 Aug 2007
grist.org
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