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Executive Summary
As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this report.
Prepared by Bruce Biewald,
David White, Geoff Keith, and Tim Woolf Synapse Energy Economics
Prepared for the National
Association of State PIRGs
A better electricity future
is within our reach. By 2025, the United States has the ability to revamp its
electricity system to:
• slash fossil fuel
consumption
• reduce polluting carbon dioxide emissions by 47% (compared to "business
as usual")
• save as much as $36 billion annually
A new analysis conducted
by Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. for the state Public Interest Research Groups
(PIRGs) - entitled "A Responsible Energy Future" - contrasts a "business
as usual" view of the future based on projections from the U.S. Department
of Energy with a "balanced" energy future in which renewable energy,
energy efficiency and local generation of electricity play an increasing role
in meeting the nation's electricity needs.
The balanced energy plan
includes:
• Reducing the projected
growth in electricity demand between 2001 and 2025 from 42 percent to 5 percent
by employing cost-effective energy efficiency strategies identified in more
than a half-dozen studies.
• Increasing generation
from renewable energy from about 3 percent of total power generation in 2025
to 15 percent by taking advantage of the potential for development of wind and
solar power, biomass energy and other renewable sources of energy.
• Taking greater advantage
of opportunities for combined heat and power.
Employing these resources
would allow for the retirement of many older coal and oil-fired power plants
that account for a disproportionately large share of emissions of global warming
gases and health-threatening pollutants, along with older nuclear plants that
pose a threat to public health and safety. By employing such a balanced energy
strategy, the U.S. could:
• Reduce fossil fuel
consumption for electricity generation by 19 percent from 2001 levels by 2025,
versus the 48 percent increase projected under a "business as usual"
scenario.
• Reduce electric-sector
emissions of global warming-inducing carbon dioxide by 21 percent below 2001
levels by 2025 - as opposed to the 50 percent increase projected under business
as usual.
• Achieve a net annual
economic benefit of $36 billion by 2025 through reduced need for investment
in generation and transmission facilities and lower fuel costs. This estimate
does not include savings associated with improved environmental and public health
or economic benefits outside the electric sector.
Achieving the vision of
a balanced energy future will require a shift in public policy. The National
Association of State PIRGs' forthcoming report, "Toward a Consumer-Oriented
Electric System" (to be published in August) details a number of policies
that can help to realize this vision, including:
• Minimum requirements
for renewable generation as a percentage of electricity use; ratepayer-financed
programs to improve energy efficiency and support renewable power; and strong
energy efficiency standards for buildings and equipment.
• Regulatory changes
that remove incentives for utilities to sell more power to consumers; remove
barriers to energy efficiency improvements and distributed generation; implement
long-term planning to take advantage of the stability of renewable resources;
and require the employment of cost-effective energy efficiency improvements
wherever they are available.
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