Enigin Update - Experts and Scientist Agree on Energy Efficiency
WE HAVE all come to realise that there is a major drawback with using energy as we have been doing - the expense to the environment and the budget, but using less energy has only positives.
This was the basic message delivered by policy experts and scientists yesterday at the Rutgers Energy Institute’s, New Jersey, sixth annual energy symposium - highlighting how energy efficiency can be far more productive than developing new large energy generation plants.
Alexander Glaser, an assistant professor at the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs stated: “Energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit of the next decade.”
Glaser said this when discussing the problems with nuclear energy in response to the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami in March.
He highlighted the obstacles to developing safer nuclear energy, with safer nuclear plants being more expensive. He added that the price of a state-of-the-art nuclear plant in Finland is 100 percent over budget and years behind schedule, costing the builders billions of dollars.
Glaser did advise that: “Smaller reactors could play a role, they are much more appropriate for the 21st Century.” One reason is that smaller reactors run cooler.
Marilyn Brown, professor at the School of Public Policy at the Georgia Institute of Technology, stressed during the symposium the importance of energy efficiency for the development of jobs.
“You get a much bigger labour payback by investing in efficiency,” she said.
Brown explained that every $1 million spent on a new power plant produces around four jobs, whereas the same amount invested in energy efficiency and conservation produces a minimum of 16 jobs. “Energy efficiency is more labour intensive,” she said.
The gathered experts heard how many manufacturers have previously been slow to realise the savings potential of energy efficiency, while more enlightened business leaders have saved billions of dollars.
As an example Brown said that Dow Industries estimates it has saved $8.6 billion through its energy efficiency strategies over the last few years.
Enigin Distributors are already helping many businesses and organisations, large and small, to enjoy the financial and environmental benefits of energy efficiency by implementing energy efficiency solutions from Enigin.
Picture of Vogtle nuclear power plant, Georgia, USA, By BlatantWorld.com under Creative Commons
