How the U.S. Government is Promoting Green Energy in the Country

Sustainability has become a much bigger focus in recent years. Green energy is one of the biggest ways that companies and individuals are trying to lower their carbon footprints. Around 11.2% of all energy consumed in 2019 came from renewable energy sources. That figure is likely to rise significantly in the future.

The United States government recognizes the value of green energy. It has started offering incentives to try to get people to focus more on using solar, wind and other renewable energy sources to lower their carbon footprints.

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Incentives for green energy

Through different state programs, the U.S government offers incentives to promote renewable energy. There are various incentives like low-interest loans on renewable energy products, subordinated loans, and maintenance support grants that the U.S government offers to the renewable energy sector.

In addition, sometimes, the Federal government credits the qualifying green energy projects like the Renewable Electricity Production Tax Credit. Some eligible activities that receive incentives include energy-efficient home improvements, business investments in renewable energy, and production activities. The government offers all these incentives to promote the use of renewable energy across the country. This will likely help more people realize the benefits of green energy.

Renewable energy finance policy

Renewable energy finance policy mainly involves an established financing technique used to fund most of the large, long-duration, and high-cost projects related to funding renewable energy development.

According to the Energy Act of 2005, the United States federal government must consume at least 7.5% of the total electricity from green energy sources. Different financing options are under the federal government of the U.S to support the use of green energy.

These options are mainly available to the state energy offices that deal with renewable energies and other government agencies that seek to promote green energy in the country. The California Energy Commission provides the grants required to fund renewable energy development across the U.S.

Renewable energy certificate tracking systems

The government has facilitated the sale of Renewable Energy Certificates from underlying electricity to minimize fraud activities. Most of the certificates are tracked from their creation to the final point of use.

The EPA’s Green Power Partnership facilitates the tracking systems. This includes the mapping of the areas that are covered by the certificate in the United States. To promote the development of green energy, most of the certificates are sold at affordable prices compared to certificates of the other forms of energy.

In addition, the tracking systems promote the development of renewable energy by ensuring that no extra charge is made and all activities outlined in it are adhered to effectively. Still, there is a lot of study in the USA on improving the tracking systems. 

Output-based environmental regulations

The output-based environmental regulations ensure a set limit of emissions per unit of the energy output. Although this policy favors the conservation of the environment mostly, it also promotes renewable energy development. It sets restrictions on the growth of non-renewable sources of energy. That’s because there is a set limit of operations that should not be exceeded.

If the limit is exceeded, there will be a lot of emissions emanating from the power plant, which calls for strict action by the government. Since the policy was put into effect, the number of renewable energy sources has increased rapidly, and currently, they’re an adequate supply of electricity from renewable sources.

Conclusion

The use of green energy is of utmost importance to most states in the United States. It helps to promote an environment that is free from pollution and, hence, creates a conducive environment for the country’s development. The above points summarize different ways the U.S government is using to promote renewable energy across the country.