Chapter 5: The United States: Policies and Scenarios By Howard Geller Summary by John Carlin Critique by John Cadwell

Business as usual Base scenario for energy usage in the next 20 years Increase in energy requirements Increase in pollution Digging ourselves in deeper

Possible U.S. Policy Actions Increase passenger vehicle fuel economy standards Establish national system benefits trust fund Adopt voluntary agreements to reduce industrial energy use Establish renewable portfolio standard for power generators Adopt new appliance efficiency standards and stronger building codes

Possible U.S. Policy Actions (cont.) Provide tax incentives for innovative renewable energy and energy-efficient technologies Expand federal R&D programs Remove barriers to combined heat and power systems Strengthen emissions standards on coal-fired plants Establish renewable energy or carbon content standards for vehicle fuel

Passenger vehicle fuel economy Increase fuel efficiency standards at a rate of 5% for 10 years 44 mpg for cars 33 mpg for light trucks Savings of 1.0 million barrels of oil per day by 2010 and 3.6 million barrels of oil per day by 2020.

National system benefits trust fund Establish a surcharge of about 0.2 cent/kWh Fees would go to fund efficiency programs Savings of 300 terawatt-hours by 2010, 800 TWh by 2020

Voluntary industrial energy agreements Companies or industries would voluntarily agree to reduce their energy intensity or carbon intensity Similar to programs established in Germany, the Netherlands, and Denmark

Renewable portfolio standard Require utilities to purchase a certain fraction of their total power from non- hydro renewable resources 10% by 2010 and 20% by 2020 Already enacted in a limited form (4% by 2010 and 10% by 2020%)

Appliance efficiency standards and building codes Efficiency standards on all home appliances Higher standards for transformers, exit signs, traffic lights, and lighting fixtures 95 billion kWh by 2010 and 265 billion kWh by 2020

Tax incentives for energy Extend tax incentives to all non-hydro renewable energy sources Increase tax incentives for new homes, commercial buildings, hybrid and fuel cell vehicles, CHP

Federal R&D programs Expand DOE’s energy efficiency R&D by 15% per year and renewable energy programs by 20% per year Total cost of $190 million per year Expected savings of about 1 quad by 2010 and 3 quads by 2020

CHP system Barriers Remove government and utility regulations that hinder CHP systems Goal of adding 50,000 MW of new capacity by 2010 and another 95,000 MW of new capacity by 2020

Coal-fired plant emissions Change regulations to reduce the number of old coal fired power plants grandfather in in 1970 by requiring plants to meet new emissions standards or Provide credits for the shutdown of old power plants

Energy or carbon content standards for vehicle fuel Require gasoline suppliers to increase the fraction of renewable content in fuel Push the development of bioethanol over ethanol to further reduce emissions

Net Effects Total energy use in 2010 down from 86.5 quads to 79.2 quads Total energy use in 2020 down from 98.3 quads to 78.4 quads Total savings for US is $554 in the clean energy scenario

Critical Analysis John Cadwell

Index Article Viewpoint Strengths Weaknesses Conclusions

Viewpoint of Article Tone and Political Alignments Purpose

Strengths Solutions result in change Could create jobs Monetary savings within specific sectors

Weaknesses “The MAN”, Stick it to the… Could create jobs Monetary savings by who?

Conclusions Solutions could work But will they?

The End I’d like to thank the Academy, first of all, for giving us the opportunity to be here. It means so very much to us. I’d like to thank my coworker John Carlin, for all the effort he put in, and Mr. Geller for the time and effort he exerted in creating such a dynamic piece. Without their efforts, I certainly wouldn’t be standing here. Thank you.