Solution and Advantages, Research Paper Example

After consulting a number of relevant sources, it appears that the overarching solution to these three main problems are incentives, for as R.L. Bradley relates, the U.S. Department of Energy has recently suggested that incentives would help stimulate America’s growing need for alternative energy sources. Some of these incentives include subsidies for renewable energy development, “early entry into open-access programs for renewable energy generation, taxpayer subsidies for energy-efficiency programs, and government payments for renewable energy research” (1997).

As discussed by the Alternative Fuels Data Center, there are currently a number of federal and state-based incentives for the development and application of alternative energy sources. At the federal level, there is the Advanced Research Projects Agency- Energy (ARPA-E), part of the U.S. Department of Energy, “with the mission to fund projects that will develop transformational technologies that reduce the nation’s dependence” on traditional energy sources like coal and gas. The ARPA-E also funds programs that will help eliminate fossil fuel emissions like CO2 and methane, improve energy efficiency across all sectors of the American economy, and ensure “that the United States maintains its leadership in developing and deploying advanced energy technologies” (Federal and State Laws and Incentives, 2012). As of August of 2012, a number of private entities and entrepreneurs have taken advantage of these funds; however, due to the powerful influence of lobbyist in Washington, D.C. that represent traditonal energy producing companies, ARPA-E funding has been either limited or eliminated altogether (Federal and State Laws and Incentives, 2012).

There is also Improved Energy Technology Loans available through the U.S. Department of Energy. These specialized federal loans with low interest “provides loan guarantees through the Loan Guarantee Program to eligible projects that reduce air pollution and greenhouse gases and support early commercial use of advanced technologies” (Federal and State Laws and Incentives, 2012), such as solar panels and cells, wind turbines, non-fossil fuel biofuels like ethanol, and alternative fuel vehicles.

At the state level, the state of Florida, perhaps one of the best geographical places for solar energy producing plants, offers the Renewable Energy and Energy-Efficient Technologies Grants Program that provides state grants for “demonstration, commercialization, research, and development projects” concerning renewable energy technologies and sources like solar and wind and projects for the development of bioenergy or energy that is derived from biological materials, such as wood pulp, corn for ethanol, and swish grass for certain types of biofuels (Federal and State Laws and Incentives, 2012). Also, the state of Illinois offers the Illinois Science and Energy Innovation Trust in relation to “Smart Grid” development and support.

This trust focuses primarily upon “financial and technical support and assistance to public or private entities within the state for projects that support, encourage, or utilize innovative technologies and methods to modernize the state’s electric grid” (Federal and State Laws and Incentives, 2012) which would help to lower costs to consumers and make the electrical grid safer and more efficient.

Three Major Advantages

The following three advantages related to incentives are founded upon common sense and logical assumption and have been discussed and examined by a number of prominent advocates for alternative energy sources, such as the U.S. Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the American Enterprise Institute which J. Pierobon notes is well-known in the U.S. for advocating policies that enable and promote “the private-sector’s ability to solve many of the nation’s energy challenges,” especially related to solar and wind energy (2012).

The first major advantage of incentives is based on economics via the creation of jobs in new alternative energy companies. As Pierobon reminds us, alternative and renewable energy sources need to be viewed through an “economic lens” in relation to creating state and federal tax revenues through jobs that would come about if big companies like Exxon and Consolidated Edison dedicated themselves via incentives to developing alternative energy sources. Pierobon also notes that advocates for new energy sources “need to consider which types of energy producing systems would create the most jobs” (2012). Statistically, it has been estimated that solar-based energy systems would be of the greatest economic value to the U.S., due to creating some five million new jobs (Pierobon, 2012).

The second major advantage of incentives is environmental, for as M. Brower observes, in order to wage war against the most common negative impacts of burning fossil fuels like coal and gas, the United States “must switch to renewable energy sources like sunlight, wind, and biomass” (2002). For example, wind power via the construction of wind turbines is “benign to the environment” and produces “no air or water pollution or toxic or hazardous substances, and although some studies have suggested that it takes more fossil fuel energy to operate a “solar system,” the “energy balance is generally favorable to solar systems in applications where they are cost effective” (Brower, 2002). Thus, the incentive aspects of alternative energy sources will help the natural environment by decreasing the burning of fossil fuels and in the long-term will lower the costs associated with generating electricity for businesses and private homes.

The third major advantage of incentives are how they positively impact human society. For instance, once alternative energy sources are up and running because of incentives, disparities in income could be leveled out through the creation of jobs and opportunities for entrepreneurship, and the need for raw materials (i,e., coal, oil, and gas) would be significantly lowered, thus affecting the standard of living. As to social benefits, these may include “improved health, consumer choice, greater self-reliance, work opportunities, and technological advances” that in the near future might influence others to continue doing research on even more efficient alternative energy sources and systems (Akella, Saini, & Sharma, 2008, pp. 390-391).

M. Lobash, writing in “Alternative Energy: Green Incentives and Options are on the Rise,” provides a precise reason why incentives are the best way to create alternative energy sources. “Organizations and energy companies that use alternative energy sources to power their facilities,” such as technologically advanced coal burning plants, “achieve greater energy independence, reduce monthly energy expenses and earn appreciation from their customers for placing importance on sustainable facility practices” (2005). The key word here is “customers,” for if private individuals like homeowners and small business owners reap financial benefits from using alternative energy sources, then they will insist that power companies continue to provide such sources for the long-term