DOE Report: Recovery Package Clean Energy
Provisions Are Working
Apr 21, 2009 -- Congressional Documents and Publications/ContentWorks
The Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA) released
its updated 2009 Energy Outlook Report last Friday to assess the impact of
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), passed by Congress in
January, on the U.S. energy outlook. The Recovery Act's energy-specific
provisions aim to create more than 500,000 jobs, by accelerating deployment
of smart grid technology, providing energy efficiency funds for the nation's
schools, offering support for the nation's governors and mayors to tackle
their energy challenges, and establishing a new loan guarantee program to
keep our transition to renewable energy on track during the economic crisis.
The EIA report shows that the recovery bill's clean energy provisions are
working. As Congress begins consideration of the Waxman-Markey clean energy
and climate bill this week, the EIA report signals that America's economy
should be fueled by clean energy that will grow jobs, decrease energy costs
and oil dependence, and reduce heat-trapping pollution.
The report's key conclusions on the impact of ARRA's energy-specific
provisions versus business as usual are below:
INCREASES IN RENEWABLES: ARRA's clean energy tax credits and loan guarantee
program will result in "a significant expansion in the use of renewable
fuels for electricity generation, particularly in the near-term."
* WIND: The recovery package doubles the amount of wind energy built by 2012
with a 67 percent overall increase by 2030
* GEOTHERMAL: 16 percent increase in installed geothermal capacity by 2013
* BIOMASS: 18 percent increase in biomass installed capacity by 2030
* PHOTOVOLTAIC: 15 percent increase in commercial sector photovoltaic
capacity by 2011
DECREASES IN CONSUMER PRICES: ARRA weatherization and efficiency
improvements will permanently reduce consumer consumption and lower
household energy bills
* 3.4 percent drop in household heating and cooling consumption by 2030
* 4.5 percent drop in household energy expenditures by 2028
* 3 percent drop in commercial fuel oil consumption by 2030
REDUCES GLOBAL WARMING EMISSIONS: ARRA's provisions promoting clean energy,
greater efficiency and lower energy consumption will reduce carbon dioxide
emissions.
* 1.3 percent reduction in energy-related carbon dioxide emissions in 2013,
the equivalent of the emissions from nearly 168,000 barrels of oil.
Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Select Committee on Energy
Independence and Global Warming, and the Energy and Environment
Subcommittee, expressed optimism upon reading the EIA report.
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