The United States is considered one of the biggest contributors to the increasing rate of carbon emissions throughout the globe. While China is admittedly similar to the US’ contribution to carbon emissions, the US had held the position for more than a century as it was one of the nations who supported the Industrial Revolution. Since carbon emissions are considered one of the primary causes of global warming, the US, alongside other world governments and organizations, had come up with various solutions to reduce emissions and resuscitate the once sustainable environment. With emissions come mostly from the use of non-renewable energy like fossil fuel and coal, many nations have advocated the use of renewable energies to sustain their demand for electricity and energy. For the United States, renewable energy remains to be speculated due to the lack of energy policy supporting it and the still growing use of fossil fuels. However, there are several solutions in which the federal government could utilize to establish renewable energy transition and lessen the use of fossil fuels that induce global warming.
Since the discovery of global warming and the harsh effects it has to each nation, governments and organizations are now trying to assess the damages it caused their territories and now devised ways to lessen the risks caused by global warming. It was noted by various studies that global warming is mostly caused by human-induced pollution or known as carbon emissions. The studies reflected that a handful of countries are notable carbon emitters – namely the United States, China, India, Germany, the UK and France. In the United States, the country has long used coal and other forms of non-renewable energies or fossil fuels to generate electricity to almost 300 million homes scattered across the continent. Almost 50% of the country’s energy supply, or 3,101 TWh, is generated through coal, while the remaining is from fossil fuel and 4-5% on renewable energy. The country’s coal consumption places the country as the largest consumer of coal and respectively, it also placed them as one of the leading carbon emitters in the globe. While the country strives to implement its own climate change policies, the country continues to increase its use of fossil fuel and coal as the country continues to manufacture automotive to add to the country’s 230 million automobiles. With the increasing use of fossil fuel and other non-renewable energy around the country, America’s carbon emissions would likely increase up to 40% per year. For the globe to achieve recovered sustainability, emissions must be reduced of up to 60% .
With the uproar on finding quality solutions to reduce the strain of global warming in the United States, the issue on using renewable energy remains to be speculated and yet moving. The federal government, under the leadership of Barack Obama, called for more sustainable and environment-friendly policies that would introduce renewables to the American market. He had proposed several projects, which he notes his Administration would create throughout his term in office. However, states had varied over their position in utilizing renewable energy sources with a few only adopting renewables in their regions. In Nebraska, for example, Governor Dave Heineman approved the Keystone XL pipeline extension that would expand the country’s fossil fuel lines through his state and to the rest of Nebraska’s neighbors. The Keystone proposal, amongst many others, is noted by experts to be one of the black marks on the US’ renewable energy position.
While experts, policy makers, and even the public continue to note that America has indeed the capacity to implement renewables as America’s new power source; the only problem is the support behind these laws and programs. According to Russell Gold, an expert for Wall Street Journal, the issue on renewable energy in the country is not surprising as the country has yet to create a formal energy policy that can sustain America’s need for power. While there have been calls to cultivate renewable energy sources, Gold notes that one reason for reluctance is the fact that major forms of renewable energies are intermittent. Since one renewable energy source, like wind or solar, could not be harvest due to natural cycles; there is a need to create a backup system or another energy source that would sustain energy production. Aside from the intermittent power, deconstructing current fossil fuel lines and incorporating renewables in the power grid may take months or years to stabilize, which may influence the country in more ways than one. In addition to this, a possible transition from fossil fuel to alternative energy as the dominant energy source would not occur unless the government intervenes with policies that would support technological development and market penetration for technologies sustaining renewable energy. Studies have noted that there are positive correlations between renewable energy production and policies that could aid its development. Other nations have already embraced and benefited from policies that would encourage renewable energy production. If the United States would create policies that would enable renewable energy companies to develop their technologies, it is likely the prices for these devices would become cheaper for the public.
Nonetheless, it is undeniable that the US could still power up the country with the use of renewable energy given the current policies and the renewable energy supply it has across the region. Studies have already noted that the US has the potential in making renewable and alternative energy dominant in the region with the use of technology and study. The results even indicated that while one alternative energy The study done by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory indicated that the Southwest and the Greater Western area has the potential for solar energy and geothermal power. Wind energy is mostly prominent in the Great Plain states – North Dakota, South Dakota, and Kansas and in the regions in the Southwest. Biomass is also available for the East and in the Northwest. Wave power is visible in the East and West coasts. OTEC energy is also another potential alternative energy that the United States could develop. With the available renewable energies in various parts of the US, it is visible that investing and developing the energy would present many benefits, not just in energy creation and environment, but also for the economy.
While there are indeed problems in the concept of renewable energy transition, making renewable energy America’s dominant energy source can be done in various methods, each supporting the country’s current policies on energy and demand. The public is becoming more understanding in the field of expanding renewable energies in the country than expanding in either nuclear or fossil fuel energy. The country also plays host to various policies that already fosters renewable energy source use. The US is currently producing 9.5% of energy from renewable energy sources: half comes from biomass and the others come from hydroelectric dams, geothermal energy, wind energy, and solar energy. Projections have already noted that unless there is a change to the current policies, renewable energies might only increase up to less than 2% by 2020. Gold noted that collaboration with other renewable energy sources and power providers could be viable in cases of intermittent energy.
Gold also emphasizes that the United States must indeed create a coherent energy strategy that would both sustain its electrical need and how could the renewable energy source enter the grid . In this end, it is essential to get the federal and state governments involved in creating a coherent energy strategy to sustain renewable energy transition. Government intervention is also seen by supporters of renewable energy in the United States as they argue that market forces would not promote energy transition quickly without adding to the current destruction done to the environment unless there is a stringent government policy. Government intervention can also assist in the development of renewable and alternative energy since these policies will set guidelines for officials and companies to lay the foundations of transition. Proponents of renewable energy transition in the country also note that while there are indeed energy policies already enacted for renewables, it is only concentrated on the state level rather on a federal level. As noted above, states have varying positions in the field of renewable energy. Some states have been aggressive over their passages of renewable energy policies and standards, while a few would still support fossil fuel use. A stronger energy policy would enable the United States to tackle climate change and sustain energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies; which would reduce the country’s carbon emissions to ensure the removal of 450-550 ppm of carbon dioxide emitted to the atmosphere .
Strengthening the current policies tasked to introduce renewable energy to the country is also a visible solution to renewable energy development in the country. Several policies have already been implemented in recent years to foster renewable energy. Twenty-three US states and Columbia had already enacted Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards, which sets the percentage of electric power that states must acquire from renewable energy sources. It has been noted that federal legislation would support state action regarding the RPS or other energy policies, which would then foster a federal standard creation. Several US Senate bills and proposals have been proposed to increase the RPS up to 20%, however, these proposals were defeated by votes. Another notable solution seen by experts is to expand the renewable energy market share that can support the RPS. Utilizing the feed-in tariff law would also oblige energy suppliers to utilize renewable energy electricity, which is both affordable and sustainable. Guarantees could be given to ensure that investment would continue to support renewable energy development. According to the Stern Review, a feed-in tariff would reduce the cost of deploying renewable-energy technologies as they are notably expensive, especially solar panels for domestic use. Feed-in tariffs could also be used to augment the effects of RPS standards and also open new opportunities for clean-energy generation. Feed-in tariffs have already proven its capacity in California. The average generation price for photovoltaic-crystalline silicon technology is noted to be at $0.25 per kilowatt-hour if the cell is capable of $2.5-3 per watt peak power. The feed-in rate would be lower the current peak-rate usually charged by independent power producers or utility districts. In the example given, time-of-use customers handled by Pacific Gas and Electric North California would only need to pay $0.32 per kilowatt hour. These supporting programs for current renewable energy policies could also aid in small businesses, especially those concentrating on residential districts . Federal policies are handled mostly by the US Department of Energy and these must also be strengthened to foster renewable energy use. One of the notable projects that must be strengthened is the Million Solar Roofs Initiative which would outfit 300,000 homes with solar panels and would encompass millions of homes by 2010. The Wind Powering America Initiative is another example of federal policies that introduces wind power to the public .
Strengthening the country’s renewable energy farms throughout the region would also foster the use of renewable energy throughout the US. In the case of solar power, creating policies or rules to maintain these plants would both ensure the continued development of power and at the same time, protect the native ecosystems especially if the proposal is to proceed. As of today, the Obama Administration had already begun its policy in incorporating renewable energies in the country. One of the notable Obama-led renewable energy projects is the all-of-the-above-energy strategy that would utilize renewable energies like solar power and other similar renewable energies for the country’s energy demand. In the July 2012 project of both the Department of Energy and the Department of Interior, the federal government launched several solar power campaigns that would be a part of the Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) scheme. The Solar PEIS covers the development of six southwestern states that are reported to have high solar readings for the entire year. The development of these southwestern states – namely Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah – would incorporate the creation of solar farms around these areas to attain energy, as well as convert its power source to solar power. The Obama Administration had also approved the 17 utility-scale solar energy projects that are capable of producing 5,900 megawatts of power that can sustain 1.8 million American homes. It is also the intention of the government to set up 17 Solar Energy Zones, covering 285 acres of land from the identified southwestern states to also generate electricity for its neighboring regions. In addition to this project, the US federal government also aims to develop additional solar zone farms in other solar zones outside the noted 17 states part of the Solar Energy Zone (SEZs) to generate 23,700 megawatts worth of power for additional 7 million homes. Once the project becomes fully operational, the administration aims to create additional SEZs across the continent to ensure that the country can convert easily to renewable energy in the near future . Aside from this, other projects are lined for both national and state renewable energy programs, which prove promise to the ideal growth of renewable energy use throughout the country.
The capacity of renewable energy is boundless thus the necessity to understand, study, and assess how it could aid the environment and the people without jeopardizing any more resource. While some of these renewable energies would not be suitable for one area or would not be able to generate electricity due to natural circumstances; it does not mean that a country would be rendered powerless without power as they could lean back with backup systems that would also utilize renewable energies. In the case of the United States, the road to renewable energy dominance remains unclear but the seedlings of its importance and the projects supporting it is visible. Ensuring that these seedlings of utilizing renewable energy sources in America would continuously require the cooperation from both federal and state governments to add additional energy reforms and strengthen the country’s renewable energy market for the future. Unless there is cooperation between all sectors of government, the possibility of getting renewables supported by the American public would not foster further development of renewables or incite transition.
Works Cited
Eastwood, Elton. Global Warming: What Else Can You Do About It? Bloomington: iUniverse, 2011. Print.
Goudie, Andrew and David Cuff. The Oxford Companion to Global Change. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. Print.
Pittock, Barrie. Climate change: the science, impacts and solutions. Collingwood: CSIRO Publishing, 2009.
Smith, Zachary and Katrina Taylor. Renewable and Alternative Energy Resource: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2008. Print.
The Takeaway. "Collaboration couldbe the answer in US energy debate." Public Radio International, 24 January 2013. Web. 7 February 2013
US Department of Energy. "Obama Administration Releases Roadmap for Solar Energy Development on Public Lands." Energy.gov, 24 July 2012. Web. 6 February 2013
