Environment Maryland Research and Policy Center today unveiled
the ten best opportunities to move America beyond fossil fuels and toward a
cleaner, more secure energy future for America.
The list is based on the group’s new report The Road to a New Energy Future, which
highlights numerous technologies to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels. It
is the second of two reports that reinforce the importance of an American
commitment to moving toward a cleaner and more secure energy future.
“With war in the middle east, volatile gas prices, and the
gathering storm of global warming, America
needs a new energy future,” said Brad Heavner, state director of Environment Maryland Research &
Policy Center.
“We cannot afford to pass up any of these golden opportunities.”
The report shows that the U.S.
already has the tools to accomplish
the goals of reducing U.S.
dependence on oil; harnessing clean, renewable, homegrown energy; and saving
energy with high performance homes, buildings and appliances.
The Ten Best Opportunities for a New Energy Future highlighted
in the report are:
- Hybrid vehicles. Vehicles already
exist that go 100 miles on a gallon of gas.
- “Zero
Energy” homes. Build homes that
can generate as much energy as they use by combining energy efficiency
technologies and renewable energy such as solar-panels.
- Industrial motor efficiency. The
use of high-efficiency motors and better controls in the industrial,
electricity generation and commercial sectors could reduce total U.S. electricity demand by as
much as 15 to 25 percent.
- Solar heated water. Using roof-mounted
solar collectors to heat household water can reduce energy consumption for water
heating by about two-thirds and pay for themselves within four to eight
years.
- Farm energy. The U.S. already gets about 3
percent of its energy from “biomass” -- plant waste and energy crops which
can be obtained from a variety of sources, from forestry industry residues
to crop residues to dedicated energy crops.
- Harness the wind. The wind that blows through America’s Great Plains
could theoretically generate enough electricity to power the entire
country. The cost of wind turbines has declined by approximately 90
percent in the last 20 years and wind now cost-competitive with fossil
fuel electricity generation in many parts of the country.
- Capture the power of the sun. The
potential for electricity from solar energy in the United States is huge; Solar photovoltaic
panels, or PV panels, placed on just 7 percent of the area currently
covered by cities and residences could generate all of America’s electricity. The
price of solar energy has dropped dramatically over the last two decades.
- Change light bulbs. Lighting accounts for about 9 percent of
household electricity consumption. If every American household replaced
its most highly used incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents, total household
lighting consumption could be cut in half.
- Capture the heat of the earth. The natural heat and hot water contained
deep within the earth itself provides a renewable source of energy. More
than one million geothermal heat pumps are currently in use in the United States,
but there is great potential for expansion in the market.
- Put a stake in the heart of the energy
vampires. Replacing existing appliances with those that minimize the
energy wasted by “standby” power use could reduce energy losses by 68
percent.
