Schatz Applauds President Obama's Solar Energy Actions
Washington, DC – Today U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) applauded President Obama and his administration following an announcement from the White House that he will be making more than 300 private and public sector commitments to create jobs and cut carbon pollution by advancing solar deployment and energy efficiency. The President announced executive actions that will lead to $2 billion in energy efficiency investments in Federal buildings; smarter appliances that will cut carbon pollution by more than 380 million metric tons, and training programs at community colleges across the country that will assist 50,000 workers to enter the solar industry by 2020.
“These clean energy actions by President Obama will protect our environment and cut carbon pollution by more than 380 million metric tons – the equivalent of taking 80 million cars off the road for one year,” Senator Schatz said. “The National Climate Assessment report released earlier this week details how climate change is already impacting Hawai‘i and every state across our country and that we can't afford to wait. We must act to address climate change and cut carbon pollution now. That is why President Obama’s leadership is so important and his announcement today shows his strong commitment to addressing one of the greatest challenges of our time.”
Since 2009, America has increased its electricity generation from solar more than ten-fold and tripled electricity production from wind power. Last year, about a quarter of new power generation capacity was from solar – second only to natural gas. Growing deployment, led in large part by the utility sector, has driven down costs: over the last three years, the cost of a solar energy system has dropped by more than 50 percent – helping to give more and more American families and businesses access to affordable, clean energy.
Last month, Senator Schatz introduced the Energy Efficiency Tax Incentives Act with Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), legislation that would boost energy efficiency in government, in industry, and in commercial and residential buildings which account for more than 40 percent of energy consumption in the United States.
Senator Schatz is also a cosponsor of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, introduced by Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Rob Portman (R-Ohio). This bipartisan bill uses a variety of low-cost tools to reduce barriers for private sector energy users and drive adoption of off-the-shelf efficiency technologies that will save businesses and consumers money, make America more energy independent, and reduce emissions.
###
