| Vol. 10 | No. 2 | Spring 2008 |
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Dialogue
Will consumers always have to pay more for renewable energy? |
Renewable energy is a smart response to the domination of America’s energy system by fossil fuels, which pose serious threats to our health and environment and leave us vulnerable to price spikes and supply shortages. In most places today, renewable energy costs more than conventional energy sources, but that equation is changing. At the best sites, wind power is already competitive with other new power supplies. Solar water heating can also reduce energy bills.
Accelerating demand for renewable energy is increasing investment, leading to more manufacturing facilities, industry learning, and economies of scale. Renewable energy prices should thus continue to fall, while scarcer fossil fuels will see short-run price swings and long-run price increases.
Renewable energy also reduces demand for fossil fuels, and therefore their prices. UCS analysis showed that the national renewable electricity standard that Congress failed to include in last December's energy bill would have saved U.S. consumers as much as $18 billion cumulatively through lower electricity and natural gas bills by 2020. Savings from renewable energy would be even greater if a price were placed on global warming pollution.
Paying a little more for renewable energy today will help ensure stable and lower energy prices in the near future, and accelerate America's transition to responsible energy and a safer world.
For more information on renewable energy's economic and environmental benefits, visit the UCS website at www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy.
Also in this issue of Earthwise:
Close to Home
One Fewer Car?
