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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup: September 18, 2008

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National Solar Tour Comes to All But Four States in October

More than 5,000 solar homes, businesses, and schools throughout the United States will open their doors to the public in September and October for the National Solar Tour. The annual event is coordinated by the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and sponsored by DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Promoted as the nation's largest grassroots solar energy event, the ASES National Solar Tour attracted more than 115,000 people to solar buildings in 46 states last year, and the event grows bigger every year.

Although most tours will occur on Saturday, October 4, some events happened as early as late August, while others will stretch into November, so it's key to check the dates and locations of solar tours in your state. This year, events are currently scheduled for every state except Idaho, Mississippi, North Dakota, South Dakota, so if you own a solar home or business or work at a solar school in one of those states, consider organizing a tour! See the ASES press release and the National Solar Tour Web site.

Report: $100 Billion Could Yield 2 Million Clean Energy Jobs

A new report from the non-partisan Center for American Progress concludes that a $100 billion federal investment in clean energy technologies over the next 2 years would yield 2 million new U.S. jobs, cutting the unemployment rate by 1.3%, while putting the nation on a path toward a low-carbon economy. The report, prepared by the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts, proposes $50 billion in tax credits for energy efficiency retrofits and renewable energy systems; $46 billion in direct government spending for public building retrofits, mass transit, freight rail, smart electrical grid systems, and renewable energy systems; and $4 billion for federal loan guarantees to help finance building retrofits and renewable energy projects.

If $100 billion sounds like an unreasonable number, consider the fact that this year's economic stimulus package amounted to more than $152 billion, of which about $100 billion was provided to taxpayers in the form of rebate checks. The Center for American Progress report concludes that clean energy investments would yield about 300,000 more jobs than if the same funds were distributed among U.S. taxpayers. The clean energy investments would also have the added benefits of lower home energy bills and reduced prices for non-renewable energy sources, thanks to the reduced consumption of those energy sources. See the press release and report (PDF 5.3 KB) from the Center for American Progress, and for background, see the White House fact sheet on the 2008 economic stimulus package.

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Kevin Eber is the Editor of EREE Network News, a weekly publication of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). 

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