American Forum

When President Obama spoke to the nation about the Gulf Coast Oil Spill, he gave us needed straight talk for holding BP accountable and helping those affected by the spill. But, when it came down to talking about clean energy, he disappointed. This was his moment to say America needs a new investment in renewable energy and that it’s time to end America’s dependence on fossil fuels.

While Americans are all feeling the impacts of the spill, we have collectively failed to make the connection between our everyday oil use and the recklessness and negligence that led to the destruction we are witnessing now. Our consumption habits and antiquated infrastructure are exponentially increasing demand, creating an environment in which taking shortcuts on safety standards can prove to be profitable for oil and gas companies.

We need a structural shift to make our economy oil independent. This starts at the grassroots level by mobilizing our family, friends and neighbors to support federal, state and local solutions to our oil dependence. We need a clean energy and climate proposal that is comprehensive and ambitious enough to incentivize real energy independence. Even if Congress continues to delay, there are opportunities for change available at the local level. We need to promote state-based clean energy initiatives and engage local leaders to commit to clean energy policies to curb urban sprawl and promote oil-free transportation.

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In May, the Missouri General Assembly passed Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a green jobs proposal that makes going green even easier for Missourians.

Up-front cash is often the main barrier preventing people from pursuing efficiency or renewable energy projects like replacing an old HVAC system or installing solar panels. The PACE program creates a huge new market for upgrades and thousands of green jobs in Missouri. The yearly savings on energy bills from the PACE projects outweigh their yearly property assessment, which makes these upgrade projects immediately cost effective.

So how does it work? The PACE program is a financing tool that allows homeowners to pay for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy installations through a property assessment on their taxes over 20 years. The PACE model provides little risk for lenders as the loans are assessed to the property, carry a fixed interest rate, and stay with the house so if the owner moves the person who purchases the property becomes responsible for the remaining amount.

ALABAMA FORUM

By Pat Byington

It was one of those see-it-to-believe-it moments. While visiting my sister-in-law on a typically gray day in Seattle, I noticed she had just replaced her roof, and on top of the house were several solar panels.

Solar panels in cloudy and rainy Seattle?

With a grin on her face, she took me down to her basement and showed me her electrical meter. And there it was...running backward.

She then explained, "At this moment, Seattle City Light, the local power company, is paying me. And, in fact, they want this." She then pulled out her monthly Seattle City Light newsletter. It had a story encouraging its customers to help them "build a power plant" by using less energy and turning to alternative sources so it would not have to build a new coal-powered plant.

By Andy McDonald

This past October more than 400 Kentuckians learned a powerful lesson: Solar energy works in Kentucky. The Kentucky Solar Tour featured more than three dozen homes and other sites that use solar energy to produce electricity, heat water or provide space heating/cooling. The Solar Tour crossed the state from Bowling Green to Berea, from Kenton County to Rockcastle County. Kentucky was one of 48 states on the solar tour that day, with 150,000 people nationwide participating. The message is simple: Solar energy has arrived. It works. It’s proven technology. It’s no longer the technology of the future; solar is the technology for today.

Wind energy presents another great opportunity for Kentucky. Conventional wisdom says Kentucky has poor wind resources. However, conventional wisdom is based on outdated wind resource maps that analyzed Kentucky’s wind resources at 50 meters above the ground. Modern wind turbines, the kinds we see in neighboring states like Indiana and Illinois, operate at 80 meters or more, where wind speeds are much higher. More recent studies measuring wind velocity at the height of modern wind turbines found enough wind to justify hundreds of millions of dollars in investment. Now, Indiana has an additional 500 megawatts of wind farms under construction.

Our in-state wind resources do not limit our ability to use wind power. With utility-scale wind farms in operation or development in every state bordering Kentucky, and with existing power lines crossing state borders, Kentucky has access to thousands of megawatts of wind potential in neighboring states. Meanwhile, we can research and develop appropriate sites within the state.