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 Clean energy like wind and solar power can create a New Energy Future for Massachusetts.
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In September, Environment Massachusetts and our allies launched a nationwide effort to call on candidates to support our New Energy Future plan. The plan, which would save a third of the oil we use today and cut our energy use 10 percent by 2025, has attracted support from members of Congress, leading environmentalists, energy experts, hundreds of state and national environmental groups and thousands of ordinary citizens.
The plan addresses the foremost steps toward a New Energy Future, and sets science-based goals for changing America’s course on energy.
Reducing dependence on oil
Our ambitious plan aims at reducing oil use by one-third by 2025. Our demand for oil has been on a skyrocketing upward trajectory—the DOE predicts that America will use approximately 25 percent more oil in 2025 than we do now—and a third less might sound fantastic.
Given that some hybrid cars can get 100 miles to a gallon of gas, increasing fuel economy standards to 40 miles per gallon is well within reach. A bill to raise fuel efficiency standards introduced last year had the support of some formerly vocal opponents.
That step, combined with expanding use of biofuels and public transportation, will enable us to meet this ambitious goal.
Clean, renewable, homegrown energy
Our plan lays out how to get 25 percent of our energy from clean, renewable, homegrown sources by 2025. We need to tap into the virtually limitless potential our country has to generate electricity from renewable energy sources, especially as we make technological advances.
Wind power could provide as much as 30 percent of America’s electricity by 2025 and possibly more as new technologies and practices allow us to integrate more wind power into America’s electricity mix. Using plant-based fuels to substitute for oil in transportation and industry could supply about 4.5 percent of our total energy use in 2025.
Additional renewable energy can come from wave and tidal power, solar hot water heaters, and geothermal heat pumps that are in development right now, and show strong potential.
Saving energy
Our plan reduces America’s energy use by 10 percent by 2025. Faced with rolling blackouts during California’s recent energy crisis, the state embarked on an ambitious energy-saving strategy that shaved more than 6 percent off the state’s electricity consumption within a single year.
We’ll reach our goal by setting stronger energy-efficiency standards for household and commercial appliances, requiring utilities to meet growing energy needs through energy-efficiency improvements instead of new power plants, expanding energy efficiency programs and educating the public about the benefits of conserving energy.
Investing in technology
New homes meeting Energy Star home standards use 15 percent less energy than homes meeting even the most rigorous current building codes. Higher standards combined with tax credits and incentives will enable us to build vastly more efficient homes and public and commercial buildings.
Our plan for a New Energy Future will set our nation on a cleaner, safer path. But to make progress in Washington, we’re going to need to make progress in Boston. That’s why Environment Massachusetts is also asking state policy-makers to lead the way in putting efficiency and renewable energy first. |
