So much money being spent trying to reduce carbon emissions.
So little progress.
Could it be because words seem to prevail over numbers?
The math behind the economic viability of SE
2 (Sustainable Environment and Energy) projects is not arbitrary or even that difficult.
And like a consumer underwater or credit cards, every month we fail to embrace pragmatic small steps we can take today only compounds the hole we have to dig ourselves out of later. (More on painfully obvious mis-guided policy expenditures in future blogs). But for now, lets ask the question: What can be done
today to slow the size of our future problem?
While not sexy, sensible conservation is the right answer for today. The greenest kWH is the one we didn't need to create.
Which brings us to commercial and industrial lighting retrofits. They make economic sense today, and they use 20% to 25% less energy for the same light output.
An industrial customer with a 24X7 operation and 10 cent electricity will have a 13 month payback on installing efficient high bay flourescent lighting.
A commercial customer with 60 hours of operation a week and a 12 foot ceiling or less, and 10 cent electricity will have a 18 month payback.
Finance these projects and they cash flow from day 1.
These are great economic returns that deliver at least 20% reduction in carbon emissions. Rapidly retrofiting industrial and commercial lighting to efficient flourescents would have a larger impact than all the solar and wind energy in the United States today. Write us if you want a copy of our calculations.
OESX is a public company in this market. We think its the wrong company in the right market segment.
What about LED's. -- They are not in the "Viability Zone" yet.
http://www.usmicrogrid.com/aboutus_viabilityzone.html . We think they will fall in the viability zone before broadscale Solar PV does, so they are worth watching. Track NASDAQ: CREE as a pretty good proxy on the general LED Market.
Why are John, Hillary, and Barack not shouting about this Environmental Opportunity Right in Front of Our Noses?
What can we do to promote awareness? What programs can we put together?