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Executive Summary
As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this report.
By meeting future electricity
demand with wind and solar power, the Mid-Atlantic region can develop a strong
renewable technology industry and position itself as a major supplier to growing
international clean energy markets. The area’s natural resources, high-tech
business experience, and access to trade routes uniquely situate the region
to meet both local and global demand for renewable technology components, creating
a powerful engine for economic growth.
Renewable energy can
provide much of the power needed to meet future electricity demand in the Mid-Atlantic
states of Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Electricity use in the Mid-Atlantic region is projected to grow by almost 20
percent over the next decade. In addition to energy efficiency programs, new
generating capacity will be necessary to meet additional demand and to replace
older power plants as they go offline. Much of these needs can be satisfied
by wind and solar energy:
• According to estimates
prepared by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Mid-Atlantic
region has enough natural wind resources to generate over 52 million MWh per
year, over 17 percent of current demand. This does not include significant potential
from offshore wind power.
• Additionally, NREL predicts
that at least 10 percent of U.S. power-generation capacity will be solar photovoltaic
cells by 2030.
Developing economically
accessible wind energy resources in the Mid-Atlantic would create tens of thousands
of well-paying jobs.
Wind industry experts place the economically developable wind potential of the
Mid-Atlantic states at around 10,000 MW. Developing this amount of energy by
2015 could satisfy just over half of new electricity demand, generate over nine
percent of regional electricity needs, and power over 3 million homes. Through
2014, the benefits
of this scenario for the Mid-Atlantic region include:
• 11,100 year-long jobs
in wind turbine manufacturing and installation, with a total payroll of $334
million.
• 740 permanent jobs in
wind farm operation and maintenance, with a yearly payroll of $30 million.
• 12,700 yearlong jobs and
850 permanent jobs indirectly supported by wind turbine manufacturing, installation,
and service, and induced by increased spending in the regional economy.
• At least $23 million in
royalties paid to rural landowners who lease land for wind generation. Landowners
with favorable wind resources can supplement their yearly income by more than
$2,000 per turbine, with a majority of the land still free for farming, grazing,
or other use.
The economic development
potential of wind power will increase as offshore wind development becomes more
feasible in the next decade.
Placing solar panels
on one out of 10 homes in the Mid-Atlantic would create thousands of high quality
jobs and reduce overall electricity prices by reducing demand.
Using photovoltaic technology, every home, business and office building can
generate a significant portion of the electricity it uses. Installing a 2 kW
photovoltaic system on just one out of 10 homes in the Mid-Atlantic would:
• Create 5,710 yearlong
local jobs in installation, operation and maintenance and 8,080 yearlong manufacturing
jobs, many of them in the Mid-Atlantic.
• Reduce electricity rates
paid by all electricity consumers, especially during summertime peaks in demand
when solar panel output is highest.
• Help to hedge against
future blackouts like the one that struck the northeast in August 2003.
Wind and solar power
create more economic growth than fossil fuels.
Renewable energy technologies have greater economic impact than traditional
fossil fuels. Because the fuel is free, wind and solar expenditures support
more local jobs than natural gas with its ongoing fuel expenses.
• Choosing wind power over
a comparable amount of natural gas-fired generation would create more than twice
as many jobs.
• Installation, operation,
and maintenance jobs for wind farms are likely to be located in rural, mountainous
counties where coal mining jobs have been on the wane. Pennsylvania coal mining
employment, for example, is now less than half what it was in 1990. Some of
these lost jobs may be replaced by wind development.
By positioning itself
to supply growing worldwide demand for renewable energy technologies, the Mid-Atlantic
region can create significant economic growth.
Strong local demand can help the Mid-Atlantic renewables industry to develop
the technical expertise and manufacturing capacity that will enable it to become
a global leader in this economic sector. Combined with access to world-class
ports for shipping, a tech-savvy workforce, and a robust infrastructure for
manufacturing, the Mid-Atlantic could become a major supplier to a rapidly growing
international market:
• Worldwide wind capacity
is predicted to reach 130,000 MW by 2010— more than a threefold increase over
current capacity. The wind generation market, worth $4 billion in 2000, is expected
to grow to $43.5 billion by 2010.
• The global market for
photovoltaic cells is expected to reach $23.5 billion in 2010, as economies
of scale push costs down. Solar is expected to account for 10 percent of U.S.
Power-generation capacity by 2030.
State policies can effectively
promote the development of economical wind and solar energy.
The Mid-Atlantic states can adopt specific policies to jumpstart renewable energy
development and attract high-tech, renewable manufacturing companies here. These
policies include:
• Renewable Portfolio
Standards (RPS). Such standards would require that a significant portion
of electricity provided to consumers come from clean, renewable sources, thus
creating a guaranteed market for generators of wind and solar electricity. New
Jersey already has RPS, but its requirements should be made stronger—and the
other Mid-Atlantic states should enact strong RPS—in order to ensure more generation
from renewables.
• State purchasing obligation.
Government agencies form a potentially large market for renewable electricity.
Mandates that a certain amount of the electricity used in government facilities
come from renewables would guarantee a sizable long-term market.
• More generous net-metering
limits. Net-metering lets owners of small renewable systems (such as rooftop
PV) sell their unused electricity onto the grid, to be used by other consumers.
The Mid-Atlantic states all allow net-metering, but the policies are inconsistent
and too restrictive in the size of qualifying systems. By raising current limits
on the size of net-metered systems, states can encourage more small-scale renewable
generation, which will also create more distributed generation.
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