Consumer Energy Report » Pierre Bull

State Bill Will Make New York a Solar Power Leader, Create Jobs & Boost Economy

Pierre Bull — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:21:43 +0000

A landmark solar power bill pending in the New York State legislature would create thousands of green jobs and billions of dollars in economic output for the state, according to a new report released today by Vote Solar with contributing support from NRDC. It will create 22,000 new jobs and more than $20 billion in new economic activity by 2025 for less than the cost of one postage stamp (39 cents) on an average residential electricity bill.

A coalition of organizations – including Vote Solar, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Solar Alliance, the Apollo Alliance, and the Alliance for Clean Energy New York – urged state legislators to pass the Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act and make New York a leader in the nation’s growing solar economy.

This comprehensive bill sets firm goals, lays out the necessary framework to attract solar investment, and ensures development of diverse market segments, from small residential installations to large utility-scale solar farms. The structure is based on successful models in other states, yet allows for the flexibility necessary to fit New York’s regulatory structure. The combination of long-term market certainty and competitive pressures means that it will enable the most solar development at the least cost to the ratepayer. The New York Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act is a fair roadmap for jumpstarting a real solar future for the Empire State. For a more detailed description of the Solar Program please go here.

States leading the way in the solar industry, such as California, New Jersey and Colorado (see comparison chart below), have recognized the strategic importance and lasting benefits of solar development for their state economies — helping to bolster private investment and industry growth, enhance electric system reliability, lower transmission and distribution costs, increase energy security and improve local and regional air quality while lowering greenhouse gases.

Data Source: SEIA 2010

In the ever expanding clean energy economy, this bill will help make New York become an industry leader in solar power.

Computing Technology 2.8 Million Percent More Energy Efficient Than in 1976

Pierre Bull — Wed, 20 May 2009 20:54:33 +0000

2.8 million percent is how much more energy efficient computing technology (in terms of watt consumed per calculation/second) has become since 1976. Compare that to the 40 percent gain in overall miles per gallon (mpg) efficiency for the U.S. automobile fleet over the same period of time. Divide the energy efficiency gains made in computing by U.S. automobile mpg and you’ll come up with 71,000x. Put it another way, energy efficiency for computing lapped U.S. automotive efficiency gains 71,000 times over the past twenty years.

This staggering statistic is just one of many findings in the report titled, Semiconductor Technologies: The Potential to Revolutionize U.S. Energy Productivity, released by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) last week.

Here are a few more energy and environmental impacts for the U.S. that the ACEEE study discovered as a result of the massive rise in information and communication technology (ICT) in the U.S. over the last quarter century:

20 percent less energy used in 2006 than the 20-year prediction made in 1976.
Equivalent to 184 average-sized power plants avoided

And for the next quarter century (to the year 2030), as our economy matures into the age of ICT, we can expect:

27 percent less energy use than what’s currently forecasted by the Dept. of Energy
11 percent less energy than what we used in 2008 (absolute reduction!)
383 million metric tons GHG reduction (equivalent to taking 70+ million cars off the road)

All the while seeing the U.S. expand at least by 70 percent!

Computers and “mainframes” (now generally referred to as “data centers”) are just a part of the overall ICT economy. The ACEEE report also reveals numerous benefits that ICT has brought to the electric power industry including utility ’smart’ grid technologies and automating electricity grid connection for variable output renewable energy.

From a similar thread in the world of high tech, we’re witnessing more and more applications for semiconductor technology in cell phones, televisions, DVD players, programmable thermostats, and yes, even our automobiles. The International Energy Agency (IEA) picked up on the topic of the growing influence of the ICT economy in its report, Gadgets and Gigawatts. The IEA study looked at both developed economies such as the U.S. and Western Europe and developing economies, where some 4+ billion people are expected to enter into the ICT economy as cell phones, personal computers, televisions, and other electronically powered “gadgets” get introduced.

Discussion:

What does this mean for answering our call for 80% reduction in global greenhouse gases by 2050?
Can we hope for another 2.8 million percent increase in energy efficiency and resulting gains in economic productivity?
And can we foster an international exchange whereby we ‘leapfrog’ the incremental technology developments for our fellow humans in developing countries to help them lead healthier and more productive lives?

Borrowing from NRDC’s emerging motto, yes, “it can be done” with ICT enabling much of the gains.

Investing in Alternative Energy is the only way to Slow Dollar’s Decline

Pierre Bull — Fri, 15 May 2009 16:05:29 +0000

Nouriel Roubini is a professor of economics at New York University's Stern School of Business.

Nouriel Roubini, one of the earliest voices to speak out on the shaky economic underpinnings of our financial system and resulting economic crisis in which we now find ourselves entangled, opined in the New York Times that within the first half of this century, the U.S. Dollar will no longer be the dominant reserve currency of choice. This will have far reaching effects on our nation both domestically and abroad for the coming Century.

As Dr. Roubini states,

Today, the United States is running huge budget and trade deficits, and is relying on the kindness of restless foreign creditors who are starting to feel uneasy about accumulating even more dollar assets. The resulting downfall of the dollar may be only a matter of time.

Continuing that,

If China and other countries were to diversify their reserve holdings away from the dollar – and they eventually will – the United States would suffer. We have reaped significant financial benefits from having the dollar as the reserve currency. In particular, the strong market for the dollar allows Americans to borrow at better rates. We have thus been able to finance larger deficits for longer and at lower interest rates, as foreign demand has kept Treasury yields low. We have been able to issue debt in our own currency rather than a foreign one, thus shifting the losses of a fall in the value of the dollar to our creditors. Having commodities priced in dollars has also meant that a fall in the dollar’s value doesn’t lead to a rise in the price of imports.

While this inconvenient truth of deteriorating U.S. currency leverage bears much semblence in size, scope and complexity to the inconvenient truth of global warming, there is in fact a single solution that will simultaneously confront and help solve both of these problems. Dr. Roubini reveals this solution by concluding,

Now that the dollar’s position is no longer so secure, we need to shift our priorities. This will entail investing in our crumbling infrastructure, alternative and renewable resources and productive human capital – rather than in unnecessary housing and toxic financial innovation. This will be the only way to slow down the decline of the dollar, and sustain our influence in global affairs.

We couldn’t agree more with Dr. Roubini and we think the moment to make our national priority shift is now. While the Stimulus Package (ARRA) enacted by Congress and the Obama Administration earlier this year was a significant step in spurring renewable energy and energy efficiency investment, the Waxman-Markey Climate Bill, now moving forward after several weeks of intense negotiations among the 57-member House Energy and Commerce Committee, is our best chance to set a new national paradigm in how we supply and use our energy resources. And it’s not just super-intelligent economists who see this critical need – a sweeping majority of Americans understand what it will take to address global warming, despite a few remaining members of Congress who are out of touch on the issue and continue to try holding us back. Why would we want to let so much potential for new green jobs, economic growth and cleaner environment go to waste?

Oh, it’s also worth mentioning that while American leadership has been asleep at the wheel the past several years to advance clean energy technologies, China already made a bid (proudly with NRDC’s assistance) to beat us at advancing technological solutions (see here and here) to solve global warming. In the spirit of healthy and fair competition among both nations towards meeting our critical climate goal (at least 80% by 2050), we gladly continue to fuel both sides toward greater innovation and investment in clean energy.