Americans are Using Less Energy But Imports of Solar Energy are Increasing

There is no doubt that Americans are united in the fight against imported and environment-damaging sources of energy. Energy efficiency has become a great weapon against foreign oil. The cars being manufactured today use less and less gasoline. American homes are being tested in increasing numbers for wasted energy and this is equating to a decrease in electricity use (and thus, coal use), and this is expected to level off and maybe even decline.


Light bulbs of today are much more efficient, as are all appliances. The home of the future will use less energy and manage resources better. From 1980-2000, residential power demand grew about 2.5 percent a year. From 2000-2010, the growth rate slowed to 2 percent. Over the next 10 years, demand is expected to decline by about 0.5 percent a year, according to the Electric Power Research Institute, a nonprofit group funded by the utility industry.

But homeowners are not the only ones in the game. IT companies such as Google are doing a lot to reduce their carbon foot prints and reduce energy cost. Last week Google released a white paper called Google’s Green Data Center that details the company’s efforts. Commercial lighting also is going through a radical change that will save manufacturers, warehouses and large commercial businesses lots of power and money.

This new energy revolution would be a great way to create jobs in a way that has never been done before -- something new. All of this could be financed with electrons in the form of the sun’s rays, the same way that solar companies are financing solar panel installations with a lease plan. This would create jobs that will eventually pay for themselves and then would even return a profit. Imagine that.

But progress always seems to come with question marks. Jobs, Jobs, Jobs, that is the promise of the new green economy. Lately the whispering has been about solar panel manufacturers filing bankruptcy. This is not an affliction exclusive to the solar or wind industry. Bank of America is about to lay off a large portion of its staff. We need to look at all the reasons that these solar giants are losing their battle and it may be more insidious than you think.

Senator Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) has written a letter to President Obama in which he recommends actions to combat unfair Chinese practices crushing the U.S. solar industry. From his Press Release: The global market for renewable energy technologies is increasingly being dominated by Chinese manufacturers reaping the benefits of unscrupulous trade practices that give them an unfair competitive advantage against U.S. industries. This is a critical problem for the U.S. solar industry facing an expected 240 [percent] increase in the import of Chinese solar panels this year. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), chair of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade, called on President Obama to take action to curb the flood of Chinese subsidized solar products, identifying existing trade tools that he can use to level the playing field for American manufacturers. Wyden indicated he would initiate legislative action if the president was unwilling to respond.

While I applaud all the efforts being taken to save money on energy and to reduce our carbon footprint, I also caution all Americans to be aware that billions of dollars NOT sent to the Middle East for oil should stay at home and not go to other countries. World trade hawks refuse to make other countries trade fairly and we seem to be in denial as there is little discussion, let alone outrage, about this. The world marketplace is not fair when even one country subsidizes its goods and services. There is nothing wrong with international trade but can we afford to help others at the expense of jobs right here at home?

By George Lopez
Executive Director


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