Response to WSJ Coverage of Boulder Retrofit Program
In widely cited article published by the Wall Street Journal this month, reporter Stephanie Simon painted a bleak picture of energy efficiency retrofit initiatives undertaken by the city of Boulder, Colo., which has offered free energy audits to homes and businesses but has seen disappointing follow-through in terms of efficiency upgrades. “Boulder has found that financial incentives and an intense publicity campaign aren’t enough to spur most homeowners to action,” Simon wrote, “even in a city so environmentally conscious that the college football stadium won’t sell potato chips because the packaging isn’t recyclable.”
Various pundits and bloggers have singled out Simon’s article as an indictment of public incentives for basic efficiency measures, but Efficiency First views Boulder’s well-meaning efforts in a very different light. In fact, the article makes a good case for a different kind of incentive program along the lines of the HOME STAR initiative now under consideration on Capitol Hill. What we need is a market-driven solution focused on solving real problems, and Boulder’s audit program failed to create the kind of market environment that will allow our industry to grow.
While energy audits are a good way to identify sources of household energy waste, there is ample evidence that programs focused on incentivizing audits don’t lead to widespread adoption of energy retrofit measures. Only the most motivated homeowners are likely to follow through when given general recommendations and left to track down a contractor on their own. Simon’s reporting found that existing incentives available to Boulder residents are not sufficient to drive strong demand for energy retrofit measures – and this is precisely the problem HOME STAR was conceived to address.
HOME STAR is modeled after market-based programs that have a history of success. One strong example is New York State’s Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program. In 2009, New York’s whole-house retrofit market grew by 22 percent, even while the rest of construction industry plummeted. This program significantly amplified public investment in market transformation, with over $228 million of private homeowner capitol. The program solves real problems by linking energy audits to cost-effective renovation plans that deliver significant long-term energy savings.
HOME STAR promises to jumpstart a new American industry that can begin to put our failing construction industry back to work. While the economy as a whole is beginning to show signs of recovery, with unemployment falling to 9.7 percent, construction unemployment has gotten worse. In January, unemployment among construction workers climbed to 24.7 percent, which means one in four American construction workers are without a job..
HOME STAR will help to quickly retool our construction and manufacturing industries by creating a viable market for home retrofit services – a market that will stand on its own as incentives are phased out. And because more than 90 percent of the materials commonly used in energy retrofits are made in America, jump-starting the energy retrofit market also will provide a much-needed boost to the domestic building-materials manufacturing sector (insulation manufacturers, for example, are currently working at only 40 percent of capacity).
Retrofitting America’s 100+ million existing homes is a win for the economy, a win for the environment, and a win for American families.
Read “Even Boulder Finds It Isn’t Easy Going Green” here:
www.online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704320104575015920992845334.html
