Penny here, there could save billions in energy

Penny here, there could save billions in energy
By Diane Hirth
DEMOCRAT CAPITOL BUREAU

Use a fluorescent bulb in your torchier lamp instead of an incandescent light bulb and save $24 a year.

Install a ceiling fan with an energy-efficient motor and pocket $13 a year.

Replace the standard cable, satellite and digital TV converter box with a less energy-guzzling model and retrieve $12 per year per box.

Convert traffic lights and emergency EXIT signs to energy-saving LED (light-emitting diode) technology and save $29 per signal and $15 per EXIT.

The amounts sound modest, but in the long run, they could add up to billions of dollars of savings for Floridians, according to a coalition of public interest, energy conservation and watchdog groups.

If the state adopted these and other proposed energy-efficiency standards, Florida consumers and taxpayers could save $3 billion between 2005 and 2030, according to a report released Monday by the Florida Public Interest Research Group, the Florida Public Interest Foundation and the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. State government alone would save about $800,000 a year by implementing just two of these standards, the report said.

"As the old adage goes, a million here and a million there pretty soon adds up," said Dominic Calabro, president of Florida TaxWatch. "We think this will help both customers and taxpayers alike."

The group is calling for Gov. Jeb Bush to establish energy-efficiency standards for the 10 products listed in the report. The report is based on the products mentioned above, plus energy-efficient versions of commercial clothes washers, refrigerators and freezers, large packaged commercial air conditioners, low-voltage dry-style distribution transformers and external power supplies - which are all on the market today. California has adopted six of the standards, and other states are looking at them.

Bush could implement the standards by rule through the Department of Community Affairs or by advocating changes in the state's building code, said Jim Presswood, state attorney for the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy. "That's the route we recommend," he said of the DCA rules.

"We will be forwarding these thoughtful recommendations to the (Florida) Department of Environmental Protection for their review. The governor remains committed to energy conservation, while exploring renewable energy resources, alternative fuel and expanding the energy portfolio of the state," Bush spokesperson Alia Faraj said.

Faraj said state government, with Bush's encouragement, has made numerous efforts to decrease energy consumption, including an overall agencies' goal of 5-percent energy reduction per year and the purchase of hybrid gas-electric cars by several agencies.

Plenty of benefits

Advocates at the news conference said Florida in the past was a leader in promoting energy-efficiency standards for home washers, dryers and refrigerators, later adopted at the national level during the era of Ronald Reagan and the first President Bush.

"Tt's been a great Republican tradition to adopt energy-efficiency standards," said Holly Binns, the clean-air-and-water advocate for the Florida Public Interest Research Group.

Binns also noted: "Gov. Bush said in August of 2001, 'the cheapest, easiest and fastest kilowatt we can generate is the one that we save through efficiencies.'"

These basic energy-saving steps also could create thousands of jobs, while significantly aiding Florida's environment, one advocate said.

"If you wind up saving the $3 billion we're talking about from not using it in terms of energy, that money is still in the economy," said Dr. Tim Lynch, director of Florida State University's Center for Economic Analysis and Forecasting. "You wind up purchasing something else that stimulates more goods and services being consumed." He estimated the redirected savings could generate more than 41,500 jobs over a 30-year period.

Florida also would be polluting less and potentially building fewer power plants if the standards were adopted, Presswood said.

Imagine removing 500,000 cars from the state's roads. Or avoiding building three large power plants in Florida.

By 2020, that is the potential annual equivalent effect of these proposed new energy standards, the report said.

Contact Capitol reporter Diane Hirth at (850) 599-2243 or dhirth@tallahassee.com.