Solar, Wind, & Energy Efficiency:

Fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) currently provide most of the energy used in the United States and worldwide. In addition to the environmental and public health consequences of ongoing fossil fuel use, the United States is producing less and less of its energy from domestic resources, exporting U.S. jobs and capital.

Some believe that excavating more fossil fuels from U.S. lands is the answer. But the body of evidence confirms that putting our resources into renewable energy and energy efficiency programs is better for the environment, our economy, and the American people.

The National Research Council recently completed a review of energy efficiency research supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from 1978 to 2000. Six of the advanced technologies supported by these research programs will yield $30 billion in net economic benefits, compared to the $7 billion DOE invested in the program. During the same period, modest investments in renewable energy research and development have reduced the price of wind energy by 80 percent, the cost of photovoltaic modules by a factor of ten, and the retail price of solar systems by 50 percent.

Clean energy technologies enhance America’s energy security by promoting energy diversity, harnessing safe and abundant domestic resources, and expanding the use of viable technologies that can be built and operated without imposing new security burdens on the nation’s energy infrastructure and military. These programs have created hundreds of new domestic businesses, supported thousands of American jobs, and kept U.S. energy dollars at home. And they are the only solution to the imminent economic and environmental impacts of global warming.

REAP actively supports federal and state efforts to promote renewable energy development. These efforts include the 2002 federal farm and energy bills, California Assembly Bill 2076 (Petroleum Reduction Strategies), and other initiatives via REAP members.

Energy Policy Reports Published by REAP member EESI:

Renewable Portfolio Standard and System Benefits Fund: 
Opening Markets to Clean, Domestic Energy Sources                  
National Energy Security: Implications for National Energy
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Various reports from REAP member Climate Solutions:

Publication List