Top of Page
Skip main navigation

Economic Benefits of Renewable Energy

Energy Facts

If you live in a typical U.S. home, your appliances and home electronics are responsible for about 20% of your energy bills.

Reference: US Department of Energy

Heating and cooling account for about 56% of the energy use in a typical U.S. home, making it the largest energy expense for most homes.

Reference: US Department of Energy

Water heating can account for 14%-25% of the energy consumed in your home.

Reference: US Department of Energy

You can reduce your home's heating and cooling costs by as much as 30 percent through proper insulation and air sealing techniques.

Reference: US Department of Energy

Amount of money that would be saved if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10 percent: $20 billion.

Reference: Energy Star

Amount of greenhouse gas emissions that would be reduced if the energy efficiency of commercial and industrial buildings improved by 10 percent: equal to about 30 million vehicles.

Reference: Energy Star

Amount of global carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the atmosphere in 2005: 6,000 million metric tons.

  • U.S. contribution of global greenhouse gas emissions: about 20 percent.
  • U.S. population relative to the world: 5 percent.

Reference: Energy Star

  • While overall venture capital investment fell 14 percent to $18.2 billion in 2003, investments in renewable energy rose by 8 percent, totaling $1.2 billion.
  • As compared to traditional fossil fuels, renewable energy is a labor-intensive sector that generates a wide variety of high-wage and high-skilled jobs.
  • When compared to coal or natural gas, renewable energy technologies create more jobs per average megawatt (MW) of power generated, and per dollar invested in construction, manufacturing, and installation.
  • According to the DOE, because utility-scale wind projects are generally more capital intensive than conventional power plants, property tax payments for wind projects are often two to three times higher per unit of energy than payments from conventional power plants.

References

  • US Environmental Protection Agency
Return to top of page