Will Alternative/Renewable Energy
Resources Develop in a FreeMarket Economy, or are
Government Stimuli Needed?
Presented by:
April Landry
Darren Oufnac
Brian Bensen
Outline
 Facts
 Steady-State
Economics
 Grey Area Questions
 Group Consensus on General Question
Facts



USA constitutes 4.5% of the world population, yet we
consume 25% of planets energy resources and emit
25% of the global greenhouse gas emissions.
In order to stabilize the concentration of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere at 550 ppm (double the pre-industrial
amount) within the next 100 years would require
cutbacks of ~70% from current levels.
For USA in 2001, renewable energy generated was 5.5
quadrillion(1015) BTU of the total 97.3 quadrillion BTU of
energy consumed or about 5.7%.
Facts cont’d

1995 numbers:

Utilities:
• 1.8¢/kWh for coal-fired plants
• 3¢/kWh for high-efficiency gas
turbines

Non-Utilities:
• 5.5¢/kWh for nonrenewable
generation
• 8.78¢/kWh avg. for renewable
generation
Older coal plants (~1940’s) escape the 1990 Clean Air Act through a congress
approved “grandfather” clause. It is estimated by Environmentalists to be about
a 2¢/kWh subsidy. This is due to their lack of incorporating cleaner processes
to reduce NO/NO2 & SO2 emissions.
Steady-State Economics

In 1991 Herman Daly authored
Steady-State Economics.

“A sustainable society requires:
1) The rate of usage of renewable resources should not
exceed their rate of natural regeneration.
2) The rate of usage of nonrenewable resources should
not exceed the rate at which renewable substitutes
are found and developed.
3) The rate of pollution emissions should not exceed the
assimilative capacity of earth. “
Grey Area Questions

Is it ethical to just use “as much energy as we want” right
now, just because we can?

How will our behavior at the beginning of the 21st century
appear to future generations when out in a historical
context?

Should the government tax fossil fuels so that their cost
is equivalent to truly renewable resources (e.g., wind,
solar)?
General Question
 Will
alternative/renewable energy sources
develop in a free-market economy, or are
government stimuli needed?
References

COONEY, CATHERINE M. Environmental Science and Technology.
Dec. 1, 1999. pg. 495.

Annual Energy Outlook 2003 With Projections to 2025: Overview.
DOE/EIA-0383(2003). http://www.eia.doe.gov/oiaf/aeo/index.html

Schnoor, Jerald L. “An Environmental Challenge.” Environmental Science
and Technology. April 1, 2003. pg. 119 A.