Renewables

• Only 7.5 percent of total U.S. energy consumption came from renewable sources in 1998. Of that total, 94 percent was from hydropower and biomass (trash and wood incinerators). (U.S. Energy Information Administration)

• For the 2 billion people without access to electricity, it would be cheaper to install solar panels than to extend the electrical grid. (The Fund for Renewable Energy Everywhere)

• Within 15 years, renewable energy could be generating enough electricity to power 40 million homes and offset 70 days of oil imports.

Photovoltaics

• Providing power for villages in developing countries is a fast-growing market for photovoltaics. The United Nations estimates that more than 2 million villages worldwide are without electric power for water supply, refrigeration, lighting, and other basic needs, and the cost of extending the utility grids is prohibitive, $23,000 to $46,000 per kilometer in 1988.

• A one kilowatt PV system* each month:

  • prevents 150 lbs. of coal from being mined

  • prevents 300 lbs. of CO₂ from entering the atmosphere

  • keeps 105 gallons of water from being consumed

  • keeps NO and SO₂ from being released into the environment

  * in Colorado, or an equivalent system that produces 150 kWh per month

Wind

• Wind power is the fastest-growing energy source in the world. (Worldwatch Institute)

• The wind in North Dakota alone could produce a third of America's electricity. (The Official Earth Day Guide to Planet Repair)

• Wind power has the potential to supply a large fraction--probably at least 20%--of U.S. electricity demand at an economical price.

• In 1990, California's wind power plants offset the emission of more than 2.5 billion pounds of carbon dioxide, and 15 million pounds of other pollutants that would have otherwise been produced.

• Using 100 kWh of wind power each month is equivalent to:

  • planting ½ acre of trees

  • not driving 2,400 miles

Solar Thermal

• Research shows that an average household with an electric water heater spends about 25% of its home energy costs on heating water.

• Solar water heaters offered the largest potential savings, with solar water-heater owners saving as much as 50% to 85% annually on their utility bills over the cost of electric water heating.

• You can expect a simple payback of 4 to 8 years on a well-designed and properly installed solar water heater. (Simple payback is the length of time required to recover your investment through reduced or avoided energy costs.)

• Solar water heaters do not pollute. By investing in one, you will be avoiding carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and the other air pollution and wastes created when your utility generates power or you burn fuel to heat your household water. When a solar water heater replaces an electric water heater, the electricity displaced over 20 years represents more than 50 tons of avoided carbon dioxide emissions alone.

Energy Efficiency

• By taking appropriate energy-saving measures, by 2010 the United States can have an energy system that reduces costs by $530 per household per year and reduces global warming pollutant emissions to 10 percent below 1990 levels. (Energy Innovations report)

• Just by using the "off the shelf" energy-efficient technologies available today, we could cut the cost of heating, cooling, and lighting our homes and workplaces by up to 80%. (U.S. Department of Energy and Maryland Energy Administration)

• Replacing one incandescent lightbulb with an energy-saving compact fluorescent bulb means 1,000 pounds less carbon dioxide is emitted to the atmosphere and $67 dollars is saved on energy costs over the bulb's lifetime. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Alliance to Save Energy)

• A decrease of only 1% in industrial energy use would save the equivalent of about 55 million barrels of oil per year, worth about $1 billion.