If the United States commits to energy efficiency and cleaner energy in the next 10 years, it will set the course for the nation’s energy options for decades into the future, a new report by the National Research Council says. Likewise, actions we do not take as a nation will also shape our energy options in the long-term future, the report warns.
The National Research Council on July 28 released “America’s Energy Future: Technology and Transformation,” urging development and deployment of technologies to move us away from polluting energy production and energy inefficiency.
The National Research Council is the operating arm of the National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering. The report is part of America's Energy Future project, which examines the role of energy in long-term U.S. economic vitality, national security, and climate change.
Focus On Buildings
Implementing energy efficient technology in buildings alone could save enough power to eliminate the need for new electricity generating plants to meet the country’s increasing energy demand, it says. Additional energy efficient measures in the industrial and transportation sectors would reduce overall energy use by 15 percent in 2020 and by 30 percent in 2030.
New sources of electricity in the next 20 to 30 years are possible, but will likely translate into higher consumer rates, the report finds. The national electric grid is in need of expansion and modernization, which must take into account security measures and changes in technology and demand.
Alternative Fuels, Clean Cars Needed
The council says the U.S. will remain dependent on petroleum for decades but predicts difficulty maintaining the current rate of petroleum production. The council sees limited options for replacing or reducing petroleum use before 2020, but says that increasing efficiency of vehicles and production of alternative fuels and cleaner cars will help to reduce petroleum dependency.
Investing in appropriate technologies could substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions from electricity and transportation over the next three decades, the report says. The report highlights carbon capture and carbon storage as part of the means to achieve this goal. Steps taken in the next 10 years in the public and private sector will have significant impacts. The council suggests that in lieu of tedious analyses of technology winners and losers, a portfolio approach is our best bet.
The America's Energy Future project is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, BP America, Dow Chemical Company Foundation, Fred Kavli and the Kavli Foundation, GE Energy, General Motors Corp., Intel Corp., and the W.M. Keck Foundation. Support was also provided by the National Academies through the following endowed funds created to perpetually support the work of the National Research Council: Thomas Lincoln Casey Fund, Arthur L. Day Fund, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Fund, George and Cynthia Mitchell Endowment for Sustainability Science, and Frank Press Fund for Dissemination and Outreach.
