Senate committee holds hearing on opportunities to advance energy efficiency efforts

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing this week on opportunities to advance renewable energy and energy efficiency efforts in the United States.

“Many renewables are now cost competitive without subsidies in certain parts of the country, and that’s leading to greater investment. In 2018, U.S. corporations broke previous records by signing contracts for 8.6 gigawatts of wind and solar production,” U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), chair of the committee, said. “We have also made great progress on energy efficiency—an often untold story—but there are still plenty more ways to increase efficiency going forward.”

Murkowski highlighted some examples from her home state of Alaska, where energy efficiency upgrades were successful.

“There is a lot of good happening with renewable energy and energy efficiency right now. And there’s more to come,” Murkowski said. “There are dozens of communities in Alaska that can benefit from greater efficiency and the adoption of renewables. The same is true all across the country. Our challenge, here, is to ensure that the costs of new technologies continue to decline—and to make sure that upfront costs don’t stall out needed or beneficial investment.”

Murkowski also cited the impressive work being done at Alaska’s Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC), which is building homes that use 80 percent less energy than comparable homes built without their assistance.

“Energy efficiency offers the greatest return on investment for governments and individuals, and spreads benefits to consumers, communities, and the planet,” Bruno Grunau, chief programs engineer for CCHRC, testified at the hearing.

Other speakers at the hearing included Department of Energy (DOE) Assistant Secretary of Energy for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Daniel Simmons, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Director Martin Keller, and representatives from Solar Holler and the Alliance to Save Energy.

“While other countries’ policies have resulted in higher energy prices and increased CO2 emissions, in the U.S. we have proven that through the power of innovation, we can advance affordable, reliable energy and protect the environment at the same time,” Simmons said.