Efficiency First

In an opinion piece published yesterday by Earth2Tech, Efficiency First policy chair Matt Golden lays out the logic behind the HOME STAR energy retrofit program, and calls for the Senate to move forward with the legislation that the House of Representatives passed earlier this month. “For the legions of unemployed Americans who have lost jobs in construction and related industries,” Golden concludes, “there’s not a moment to lose.”

The article summarizes the differences between product-based SILVER STAR incentives and performance-based GOLD STAR incentives, and explains how the program would leverage these two incentive paths to scale up a sustainable private industry that will thrive long after the rebates have been phased out:

The potential impact of the Gold Star model is huge. While the Silver Star path is designed for rapid deployment and job creation in today’s market, Gold Star will enable a different set of market forces and shift our attention away from the prescriptive policies that have been used in the past. Placing a clear economic value on energy saved rather than on specific products or technologies will drive innovation, and lead us towards a market based, and highly economically efficient, model that can continue to scale into the future without the long-term need for government subsidies.

The combination of an industry that is capable of consistently delivering on predicted savings, coupled with a smart grid that will provide real energy pricing and transparency, will allow the energy efficiency industry to directly monetize energy savings on forward capacity markets and through ESCO relationships with our customers. Home Star represents an investment in the foundation of this future market.

Read the full posting here:
www.earth2tech.com/2010/05/16/opinion-home-star-a-smart-investment-in-jobs-innovation/

For more information about the proposed HOME STAR program, go to www.efficiencyfirst.org/home-star.