Department of Energy Recovery Act Funds in Central Appalachia...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was intended to create or save jobs and spur economic activity while fostering accountability and transparency in government spending. If there’s any area in the country that can benefit from new jobs and economic growth, it’s Central Appalachia. Energy efficiency in particular offers great promise for increasing economic activity in the region, particularly in the face of steadily rising electricity prices. Programs designed to help homeowners and businesses use less energy can result in both lower utility bills and reduced carbon emissions, while creating new jobs for contractors installing energy efficiency upgrades. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) received $36.7 billion of the Recovery Act’s climate and energy-related funds. How much of that funding has benefitted Central Appalachia so far? According to the state summary pages on Recovery.gov, Tennessee has received the fourth largest amount of DOE funding in the nation while West Virginia barely made it out of the bottom ten. Total DOE Recovery Act funding Tennessee-$1,205,031,961 Virginia-$282,642,660 Kentucky-$221,212,662 West Virginia-$77,202,457 The Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) has the largest share of total DOE Recovery Act funding, at $16.8 billion. The EERE’s mission includes enhancing energy efficiency and bringing clean, reliable and affordable energy technologies to the marketplace…issues close to the hearts and pocketbooks of many Central Appalachians. As described in the Pew Center for Global Climate Change’s recently released U.S. Department of Energy’s Recovery Act Spending brief, the majority of the awarded EERE money has...

Renewables in Central Appalachia

Support for renewable energy in Central Appalachia is growing, prompting policy makers to consider incentives for renewable energy and energy efficiency throughout the region.While some supporters are motivated by the prospect of cleaner sources of electricity, others are buoyed by estimates of long-term job creation related to the manufacturing, distribution and installation of equipment required to realize renewable energy potential. Speculation persists among some citizens, however, that renewables are not viable in the region due to low-sunlight, variable wind patterns, or other technical barriers.In fact, the role of supportive policies is identified increasingly as the driving force for renewable energy installation rather than technical viability.New Jersey, a state with solar resources comparable to Kentucky’s, has created the second largest solar market in the United States as a result of adopting substantial policy incentives for renewable energy technology. A 2009 report by the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy has projected that: “With energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy could meet 30% or more of the Southeast’s need for electric power.” Andy McDonald, Director of the Kentucky Solar Partnership, wrote in a recent op-ed that the potential for renewable energy technologies—including solar, wind and low-impact hydroelectric installations—is substantial.Furthermore, embracing such technologies will promote a wide variety of benefits for the state not least of which, according to McDonald, would be economic development and job creation: “The bottom line is that solar and wind are being developed at a very large scale in other states. Those states are attracting billions of dollars in...

One Path: Residential Energy Efficiency

As the country continues to battle with tough economic conditions, projects that aim to jump start the sluggish economy continue to catch the attention of policymakers. With the Cash for Clunkers program held up as one of the most visible outcomes of the stimulus for everyday Americans, buzz about additional stimulus opportunities is beginning to spread. The New York Times ran a column by David Leonhardt in November (LINK) detailing some of the supporters of expanded weatherization programs’ plans for encouraging the Obama Administration to include residential retrofitting as part of a possible 2010 job creation program. Silicon Valley venture capitalist John Doerr has called it the “Cash for Caulkers” program, stressing the feasibility of homeowners saving money over several years for relatively modest upfront investments in the efficiency of their homes. The traditional thinking has been that low residential electricity prices in places like Kentucky and West Virginia has kept homeowners from installing long-term energy-saving measures because of the upfront costs associated with installing insulation or energy-efficient appliances. However, as electricity prices continue to increase, homeowners across the region are expressing interest in such efficiency measures. According to the American Housing Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, over 60% of American houses were built prior to 1980. These older homes provide an excellent opportunity for realizing energy and cost savings through retrofits, and putting building trades workers back into jobs after a slowdown in the housing construction industry. A program launched by Governor Beshear’s Administration in February 2009 seeks to provide...