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Lansing,
Mich. – A national renewable electricity standard requiring utilities to
increase their use of wind, solar and other renewable energy sources would
generate 4,800 new number of jobs in Michigan per year, lower electric and
natural gas bills, and slash global warming pollution, according to a Union of
Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis released today by Environment Michigan. UCS
examined the impact of a proposed national standard on the nation as a whole
and on 20 states, including Michigan.
“Turning
on renewables in Michigan
would cut energy costs not only for individual families, but for small
businesses and large energy users such as university hospitals and auto
plants,” said Environment Michigan Field Organizer Daylan Dufelmeier. “At the
same time, increasing our use of renewable energy would help clean up air
pollution and make a down payment in the fight against global warming.”
The
U.S. House of Representatives may vote on renewable electricity standard
legislation as early as next week. The Senate has passed a standard three times
over the last five years, only to be thwarted by House inaction. The House bill
(HR 969), sponsored by Reps. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Todd Platts (R-Pa.), would
require that utilities increase their use of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020.
For
Michigan,
UCS’s analysis found that a 20 percent national renewable electricity standard
would:
- generate an
annual average of more than 4,800 renewable energy jobs by 2020 in
manufacturing, construction and other industries.
- be a $377 million
financial boon for farmers, ranchers and rural landowners who produce
biomass energy and/or lease their land to wind developers.
- save Michigan residents
$160 million on energy bills through 2020 by reducing demand for fossil
fuels and lowering natural gas and electricity prices. By 2030 those
cumulative savings would balloon to $540 million.
- slash Michigan global
warming pollution equivalent to taking 36.4 million cars off the road.
Nationally,
UCS’s analysis found that a 20 percent national renewable electricity standard
would:
- generate more
than 185,000 total renewable energy jobs nationally by 2020 in
manufacturing, construction and other industries.
- be a $25.6
billion financial boon for farmers, ranchers and rural landowners who
produce biomass energy and/or lease their land to wind developers.
- save consumers
$10.5 billion on energy bills through 2020 by reducing demand for fossil
fuels and lowering natural gas and electricity prices. By 2030 those
cumulative savings would balloon to $31.8 billion.
- slash global
warming pollution by 223 million metric tons a year, the equivalent of
taking 36.4 million cars off the road.
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Environment Michigan
- a statewide, citizen-based, non-profit, non-partisan environmental advocacy
organization. www.environmentmichigan.org
The Union of Concerned Scientists is the leading
science-based nonprofit organization working for a healthy environment and a
safer world. Founded in 1969, UCS is headquartered in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, and has offices in Berkeley, California, and
Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.ucsusa.org.
