President Obama Focuses On Retrofitting Buildings To Save Money
Yesterday the Vice President sent a memo (pdf) to the President demonstrating how the new foundation for a clean energy economy has been laid this year.
The memo is thorough and solid – take a look to get a shapshot of how the future will unfold as a result of the investments in the Recovery Act and the President’s budget.
Today the President honed in on one element of that emerging clean energy job market, an element he announced a renewed focus upon during last week’s speech at Brookings – retrofitting homes. Speaking at a Home Depot, he described the focus as one of several “strategic surgical steps,” explaining why this area of the economy is so well-fitted for an immediate boost that will help the economy as a whole turn around:
In our nation’s buildings — our homes and our office consume almost 40 percent of the energy we use and contribute almost 40 percent of the carbon pollution that we produce and everybody is talking about right now in Copenhagen. Homes built in the first half of the last century can use about 50 percent more energy than homes that are built today. And because most of our homes and office aren’t energy-efficient, much of that energy just goes to waste, while costing our families and businesses money they can’t afford to throw away.
The simple act of retrofitting these buildings to make them more energy-efficient — installing new windows and doors, insulation, roofing, sealing leaks, modernizing heating and cooling equipment — is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest things we can do to put Americans back to work while saving families money and reducing harmful emissions.
As a result of a variety of investments made under the Recovery Act, including state and local energy grants, we’re on pace to upgrade the homes of half a million Americans by this time next year — half a million Americans: boosting the economy, saving money and energy, creating clean energy jobs that can’t be outsourced. But this is an area that has huge potential to grow. That’s why I’m calling on Congress to provide new temporary incentives for Americans to make energy-efficiency retrofit investments in their homes. And we want them to do it soon.
I know the idea may not be very glamorous — although I get really excited about it. We were at the roundtable and somebody said installation is not sexy. I disagree. (Laughter.) Frank, don’t you think installation is sexy stuff? (Applause.) Here’s what’s sexy about it: saving money. Think about it this way: If you haven’t upgraded your home yet, it’s not just heat or cool air that’s escaping — it’s energy and money that you are wasting. If you saw $20 bills just sort of floating through the window up into the atmosphere, you’d try to figure out how you were going to keep that. But that’s exactly what’s happening because of the lack of efficiency in our buildings.
So what we want to do is create incentives that stimulate consumer spending, because folks buy materials from home improvement stores like this one, which then buys them from manufacturers. It spurs hiring because local contractors and construction workers do the installation. It saves consumers money — perhaps hundreds of dollars off their utility bills each year — and it reduces our energy consumption in the process.
Background on The President’s Meeting on Energy Efficiency & Job Creation
HOME DEPOT, ALEXANDRIA, VA
Fact Sheet on The Vice President Biden’s Memo to The President on Progress Building a Clean Energy Economy:
BACKGROUND ON THE PRESIDENT’S MEETING ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY & JOB CREATION
As a follow up to his speech last week, the President will visit a Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia this afternoon to highlight the importance of providing incentives to consumers who retrofit their homes save money, reduce the pollution and create jobs. He will first meet with a group representing the labor, small business and manufacturing communities, all stakeholders in the shift to a more energy efficient economy. Following the event, the President will have lunch at the White House with business leaders representing different parts of the supply chain; manufacturing, retail and in-home audits and implementation to discuss the opportunities for creating jobs through incentivizing home energy efficiency upgrades.
The Vice President also sent a memo to the President yesterday afternoon on the positive impact of the energy components of the Recovery Act. Through the Recovery Act and more effective use of programs already in existence, the administration is taking the critical steps to transform the United States into a global clean energy leader. The energy components of the Recovery Act represent the largest single investment in clean energy in American history and are leveraging private investment and fostering American innovation and ingenuity. They are jumpstarting a major transformation of our energy system including unprecedented growth in the generation of renewable sources of energy, enhanced manufacturing capacity for clean energy technology, advanced vehicle and fuel technologies, and a bigger, better, smarter electric grid.
Background on meeting participants below:
Stephon Burgess, Ardently Green
Stephon Burgess is a 23 year old DC resident who was unemployed for 12 months. Recently, Stephon was retrained and hired to work on installing weatherization and energy efficiency solutions in existing homes. He was recruited to the LIUNA Weatherization Training Center by Washington Interfaith Network, a local DC clergy organization and is supported by WeatherizeDC, a non-profit developing community interest in weatherization. Stephon now works full time for Ardently Green, a local small business Home Performance Contractor and Energy Star partner focused on making existing homes more energy efficient.
Gerald Palmer, President, Southland Insulators
Gerald Palmer is the President of Southland Insulators, an insulation and home performance contractor in Northern Virginia. Southland works in residential, commercial and building retrofit. In addition to insulation, Southland has crews trained in Home Performance with Energy Star. Southland has been named “Contractor of the Year” twice by the National Association of Home Builders. Southland currently employs about 100 office and field staff in its Manassas headquarters, and conducts energy efficiency work in about 5000 homes per year.
John R. Shields, Jr., Sheet Metal Workers’ International Association
John R. Shields, Jr. grew up in the Washington, DC metropolitan area and currently resides in Crofton, MD. He has been a sheet metal worker since 1977, and came in through their residential program. After working for two years as a residential mechanic, installing sheet metal ductwork in single family homes and townhouses, Mr. Shields entered the apprenticeship program. He completed his four year sheet metal apprenticeship, and has also graduated from the National Labor College with a Bachelor of Arts in Labor Studies. Mr. Shields was a full time instructor for Sheet Metal Workers Local Union #100 for two and one half years, and he currently serves as Business Manager/Financial Secretary for Local Union #100 and the Financial Secretary for the Maryland State and Washington, D.C. Building and Construction Trades Council.
A. Tamasin Sterner, Founder, Pure Energy
Tamasin Sterner has been working on energy efficiency in buildings for 30 years. She is the founder of Pure Energy, an energy services firm that develops, designs, and implements energy efficiency programs for homeowners, utilities, and state energy efficiency agencies. Ms. Sterner is certified by the Building Performance Institute, and she has taught hundreds of courses on energy efficiency strategies for individuals and organizations. Ms. Sterner and Pure Energy are based in Lancaster, PA.
Michael Thaman, Chairman and CEO, Owens Corning
Michael H. Thaman is the chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Owens Corning, a world leader in building materials and composite systems. He started with Owens Corning in 1992, and has held positions in manufacturing, corporate development and international business. Mr. Thaman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering and computer science from Princeton University where he graduated with highest honors. Mr. Thaman is a member of the Business Roundtable where he chairs the Energy Efficiency Task Force and serves on the Executive Committee of the Policy Advisory Board of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Topics: America, clean energy, clean energy economy, Congress, consumer spending, cooling equipment, Copenhagen, economic development, economic growth, economic recovery, Economy, emissions, employment, energy consumption, energy efficient, environment, Governance, heating, incentives, investment, jobs, manufaturers, pollution, President Obama, President's budget, recovery act, renewable energy, retrofit, strategic surgical steps, U.S., United States, utility bills, Vice President Joe Biden
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