by Larry Smith
Recent American efforts to address energy issues offer some useful examples for the Bahamas, which has yet to formulate its own energy policy.
The US Energy Independence and Security
Act, which became law in December, mandates measures to improve energy efficiency, vehicle fuel economy
and increase the use of alternative fuels.
The Renewable Fuels Mandate calls for fuel producers to supply at least 36 billion gallons of biofuel in the year 2022. Americans currently use 142 billion gallons of gasoline a year. Last year, the US produced 450 million gallons of diodiesel.
The Vehicle Fuel Economy Mandate specifies a national fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by 2020, which will save billions of gallons of fuel and increase efficiency by 40 per cent.
The Lighting Efficiency Mandate will phase out the use of incandescent light bulbs by 2014, and improve lighting efficiency by more than 70 per cent by 2020.
The Appliance Efficiency Mandate sets over 45 new standards for appliances.
The Federal Government Operations Mandate will reduce the energy use in government facilities by 30 per cent by 2015. Additionally, all new Federal buildings will be carbon-neutral by 2030.
The government is also providing
tax incentives for people to buy fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles that
run on both gasoline and electricity and can cover up to 40 miles on
electricity alone.
The president also signed into law new loan
guarantees of up to $38.5 billion to support nuclear power
plants and renewable and/or energy
efficient systems and manufacturing. The guarantees will also apply to clean coal-based generation.
President
Bush is also committing $2 billion over the next three years to create a new
international clean energy technology fund to help address the growing
problem of accelerating greenhouse gas emissions in major developing
countries.
Along with contributions from the Britain, Japan, and
others, this fund will
accelerate the deployment of cleaner, more efficient technologies in
developing nations like India and China and help leverage substantial
private-sector capital by making clean energy projects more financially
attractive.
In addition, the US has formed clean energy partnerships with Sweden, Brazil and China to expand biofuel production and improve energy efficiency for vehicles and industry.
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