Madison, WI -
As President-Elect Obama and a new Congress prepare to meet today’s economic
and environmental challenges, Wisconsin Environment released a report that lays
out a blueprint for how we can power America for the 21st
century, protecting
our environment while revitalizing our economy.
“Here in
Wisconsin and across the country, we are facing a slumping economy and an
energy crisis,” said Wisconsin Environment Director Dan Kohler. “During
the campaign, President-elect Obama made a strong commitment to creating a new
energy future. Now voters will be
looking to the new president and Congress to deliver energy savings, new green
jobs, and environmental benefits by boosting wind and solar power as well
putting us on the path for independence from oil.”
The Wisconsin
Environment report makes the case that America has enough renewable energy potential
to get 100% of our energy from clean renewable sources, providing the following
examples:
- The
space available on America’s rooftops alone could host enough solar panels
to meet about 70 percent of our current electricity needs.
- Concentrating
solar power, also known as solar thermal power, on just 9 percent of the
land area of Nevada could produce enough electricity to power the entire
United States.
- The
wind blowing over just five U.S. states – North Dakota, South Dakota,
Kansas, Montana and Texas – could produce enough electricity to power the
entire United States.
- America’s
Atlantic, Pacific and Great Lakes coastlines could host enough wind
turbines to nearly match the capacity of all of America’s current
electricity generators combined.
- Geothermal
energy, heat from below the earth’s surface, has the potential to meet
about half the total electricity production capacity in the United States
today.
The group also
points out that energy efficiency is one of America’s largest untapped energy
sources. By adopting energy efficiency measures that pay for themselves in
energy savings over time, our homes, businesses and factories can cut their
energy use by at least 25 percent.
“When you add
it all together: energy efficiency, wind, solar and geothermal power, with an
assist from other renewable sources like biomass, tidal, and wave energy, and
you have an equation that can power our homes and businesses, drive our
economy, and protect our environment,” said Kohler.
Switching
America over to 100 percent clean electricity was one of three goals laid out
in the report, Renewing America: A
Blueprint for Economic Recovery. The
second goal, cutting America’s oil consumption in half, requires a different
set of policies because transportation accounts for 70 percent of America’s oil
consumption.
While Americans
have been cutting back on driving, with transit ridership at a 50 year high, 85
percent of transit systems are experiencing capacity problems and 65 percent
lack the revenue they need to increase service.
In addition to funding transportation options, Wisconsin Environment pointed
out that increasing auto-efficiency with already available technologies would
dramatically reduce our oil dependence and take a significant bite out of the
$400 billion Americans spend on gasoline annually.
“Clean energy
in America is not some distant dream. We
have the technology, the tools, and the know-how to use energy more wisely and
get more of our energy from clean, renewable sources,” said Kohler. “What’s more,
clean energy can be produced right here at home, creating new jobs in all
sectors of the nation’s economy – including many jobs that can never be
outsourced.”
Wisconsin
Environment summarized several studies that found dramatic employment
opportunities created by investing in clean energy. One study by economists at the University of Massachusetts
for the Center for American Progress found that investing in clean energy
infrastructure would provide four times as many jobs as investing that same
money in the oil industry.
The U.S.
Conference of Mayors estimates that there are already 750,000 “green jobs” in
the United States directly or indirectly supporting clean, renewable energy. Laid-off workers can get back to work
building wind turbines and solar panels; farmers can supplement their incomes
with royalties from wind farms; and residents of economically distressed inner
cities can learn how to install solar panels and weatherize homes for greater
energy efficiency.
“To turn this
trickle of green jobs into a torrent of new economic opportunities, we need to
act boldly – and fast. America can and must switch to 100 percent clean power
and cut our oil consumption in half – and create millions of new jobs doing
it,” said Kohler. “There is much President-Elect Obama and our new
Congress can do. First off, investing in energy efficiency, wind and solar
power, and public transit must be a cornerstone of any economic recovery plan,” he concluded.
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Wisconsin Environment is a state-based, citizen-funded environmental
advocacy group working for clean air, clean water, and open space.
WIE_RenewAmerica.pdf