Renewable Energy Works for Consumers
Renewable energy delivers multiple benefits to consumers.
First, it reduces demand from power plants that run on natural gas, thus lowering the price of natural gas across the economy. This lowers costs for big industrial users of natural gas who make fertilizer, chemicals, plastics, and a host of other products. It also lowers costs for consumers like you, who use natural gas for heating, hot water and cooking. The federal Energy Information Administration, and independent analysts, have confirmed that a 25 percent RES would drive down natural gas prices enough to make up for the slightly higher cost of power from renewables. The table below summarizes the impact by state.
Second, by diversifying our electric supply, it reduces exposure to price swings from fossil fuels. Oil, natural gas, and coal prices have seen huge price increases in recent years. Renewables, most of which use free fuels like the wind, the sun, moving water, and heat from the earth, have steady and predictable prices. Many utilities are including renewables in their supply portfolio as a way to hedge against other more volatile supplies.
Lastly, renewable energy helps individual consumers save money by generating their own power. Thousands of businesses and homeowners have solar panels and small wind turbines now, and the rate of growth is increasing. These distributed generators increase the reliability of the grid, reduce air pollution, and create jobs in local communities.
The table below, and this clickable map from the Center for American Progress, describe consumer savings from a national RES.
| Cumulative Electricity and Natural Gas Bill Savings by State
(under a 25 percent by 2025 national renewable electricity standard) |
||||
| Alabama | $360 million | Nebraska | $160 million | |
| Arizona | $1.27 billion | Nevada | $760 million | |
| Arkansas | $1.65 billion | New Hampshire | $390 million | |
| California | $10.72 billion | New Jersey | $4.17 billion | |
| Colorado | $1.23 billion | New Mexico | $450 million | |
| Connecticut | $1.17 billion | New York | $8.58 billion | |
| Delaware | $130 million | North Carolina | $970 million | |
| Florida | $1.77 billion | North Dakota | $90 million | |
| Georgia | $1.07 billion | Ohio | $3.56 billion | |
| Idaho | $380 million | Oklahoma | $2.18 billion | |
| Illinois | $3.28 billion | Oregon | $1.14 billion | |
| Indiana | $2.12 billion | Pennsylvania | $5.95 billion | |
| Iowa | $330 million | Rhode Island | $290 million | |
| Kansas | $250 million | South Carolina | $550 million | |
| Kentucky | $320 million | South Dakota | $70 million | |
| Louisiana | $5.37 billion | Tennessee | $390 million | |
| Maine | $470 million | Texas | $21.13 billion | |
| Maryland | $620 million | Utah | $530 million | |
| Massachusetts | $2.06 billion | Vermont | $190 million | |
| Michigan | $2.78 billion | Virginia | $810 million | |
| Minnesota | $440 million | Washington | $1.84 billion | |
| Mississippi | $210 million | West Virginia | $280 million | |
| Missouri | $450 million | Wisconsin | $1.67 billion | |
| Montana | $360 million | Wyoming | $330 million | |
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists, Clean Energy, Green Jobs, 2009.
Reports
Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Easing the Natural Gas Crisis: Reducing Natural Gas Prices Through Increased Deployment of Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, January 2005.
American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Impacts of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on Natural Gas Markets: Updated and Expanded Analysis, April 2005.
