President Obama made a visit to Home Depot in Alexandria, Virginia, yesterday to talk about weatherization.
"I know the idea may not be very glamorous, although I get really excited about it. Here's what's sexy about it: saving money," ABC News reported the president as saying to the gathered crowd.
I agree that saving money is good, and doing it through weatherization projects is even better, because weatherization turns into long-term savings. But sexy? Ummm, no. I can't quite picture it. A better dictionary or thesaurus might be in order here.
President Obama's proposed "Cash for Caulkers" program has received a good deal of press in recent weeks. The program would reimburse homeowners for energy-efficient appliances and insulation. Under the program he has proposed, a homeowner could receive up to $12,000 in rebates.
Yes, that's $12,000, which is a hefty sum, assuming a homeowner has an initial $24,000 to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. Many of us don't, especially in the current economy. But if 50 percent of our upgrade investments are refunded to us, then each of us benefit, no matter what our initial investment entails. I'm all for that.
Energy efficiency investments now mean savings down the road, especially as it's pretty clear energy rates are going to increase, depending upon the cap-and-trade measures ultimately adopted by the federal government in its upcoming energy bill.
But getting consumers to look at them as "sexy"? Well, I still think that's still quite a stretch. I'm not sure weatherization projects are inspiring a lot of passion at the moment.
Posted At : December 2, 2009 5:14 PM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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In my last post, I discussed why venture capitalist Steve Westly says he’s so bullish on the smart grid space.
Another speaker at the same conference was not so bullish, though he stopp...
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Posted At : December 1, 2009 6:23 PM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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Back before Secretary Chu delivered an early, 32-course Thanksgiving feast of smart grid demonstration grants, I had promised readers I would connect the dots in some intriguing conversations that too...
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Posted At : November 24, 2009 10:24 AM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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Moments ago, DOE Secretary Steven Chu did the expected, announcing the award of $620 million for projects around the country to demonstrate advanced Smart Grid technologies and integrated systems.
Th...
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Posted At : November 23, 2009 5:51 PM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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My father once told me that there's no such thing as a sure bet. I had bet him my entire allowance for the week on something I was convinced was a sure thing.
I lost. I haven't bet anyone anything,...
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Posted At : November 19, 2009 6:54 PM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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Today’s GreenBeat 2009 conference in San Mateo, California, brought together venture capitalists, analysts, electric utility executives and smart grid solutions suppliers under one roof to discu...
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Posted At : November 17, 2009 11:25 AM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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Back in September, I had the opportunity to meet with Thomas Ligocki, the president and CEO of Clevest Solutions Inc.
This small, Richmond, British Columbia-based company is poised for growth...
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Posted At : November 12, 2009 5:38 PM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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...let’s talk about High-Impact Low-Frequency (HILF) risks to the North American power system.
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) recently convened a two-day, cl...
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Posted At : November 10, 2009 11:52 AM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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At last week’s Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference, a group of electrical utility chief financial officers and those offering credit to utilities sat down together and discussed the f...
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Posted At : November 6, 2009 11:33 AM
| Posted By : Kate Rowland
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If I see the words “dumb grid” used one more time in the popular media, I’m going to scream!
Where is this thoughtless concept coming from? The White House jumps on the &ldq...
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