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Feasibility of Wedge Options. Team Simple Green January 27, 2009. End Use Efficiency. Decreasing end energy use by 25% through installation of programmable thermostats, basic weatherization if needed, and attic insulation - High feasibility, very attractive cost/benefit ratio
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Feasibility of Wedge Options Team Simple Green January 27, 2009
End Use Efficiency Decreasing end energy use by 25% through installation of programmable thermostats, basic weatherization if needed, and attic insulation - High feasibility, very attractive cost/benefit ratio Most striking merit is payback time of investment: - For typical home, material + installation costs will not exceed $2,000. At 25% reduction in energy use, typical payback time (without any incentives) will be less than 2 years This is a no-brainer - There are no relative weaknesses to this initiative
Cap-and-TradeAir Travel • Today: 0.5 billion tons CO2/year • Projections for 2050 range from 0.8 to 5.3 billion tons CO2/year • Mid-range projection = 2.7 billion tons CO2/year • Merits: • For mid-range projection, 20% reduction in air travel could reduce CO2 emissions by 0.5 billion tons/year • Government revenue generation through sales transactions • Weaknesses: • Deciding number of credits and how distributed • Could limit economic growth • Political resistance to implementation
Vehicle Efficiency • Increase fuel economy from 30 to 60 MPG • Expected increase from one billion to two billion cars • Maintain travel of 10,000 miles/year • Merits: • Maintain level of CO2 emissions • 25 billion tons CO2 emissions reduced • Weaknesses: • Enabling all countries to mandate MPG increases
Increase Wind Power 40-Fold • Displace coal if accounts for 30% of peak power (on average) • Increase world capacity from 94.1 GW to 3.76 TW • Government-enforced mandates to utility companies to phase in 3.669 TW of power generated by wind by 2056 Feasibility • Technology already available at competitive prices NREL, 1986