The government is often looked at to provide stimulus to emerging technologies and concepts that otherwise run counter to business as usual. When it comes to promoting sustainability and efficiency, the government could easily set forth a good example of “putting your money when your mouth is.” By retrofitting government-subsidized housing with modern energy efficient features, we can provide the private sector with a functional proving ground to promote the adoption of said features. According the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), there are approximately 1.2 million units of publicly funded housing in the United States. On top of that, millions of additional Americans receive heating assistance funding. The government could create more efficient use and increased impact of this funding by promoting energy efficiency upgrades for the publicly and privately held properties. As stated by McKinsey Global energy, a 28% reduction in energy consumption can be achieved using only NPV positive improvements. With an upfront investment, state and federal governments could reap significant savings over time. This means either more people could be served with the existing funding level or the same number of current recipients could be served for fewer dollars per capita.
I believe a public-private partnership could be forged between the local governing bodies responsible for administering public housing and heating benefits and private sector contractors which would focus on bolstering the weatherization and insulation of all public housing units while also offering subsidized work on private properties whose owners receive heating assistance. The business model would be based off of a series of systematic grants given out in the form of labor contracts. The contractor would be responsible for sourcing any and all necessary parts and equipment as long as it meets specific criteria set forth by the governing body. In the end, public housing and private homeowners would be less burdened by utility costs, occupants would experience better seasonal comfort, and private industry would receive the economic boost.
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/topics/rental_assistance/phprog
Unlocking Energy Efficiency in the US Economy, McKinsey Global Energy, page 29, July 2009
Efficiency could be increased in government held properties however I believe that the housing assistance programs are assistance based programs tying a consumer with a provider and subsidizing the rent I don’t believe the government is a owner of the building I could be wrong in part there could be some cases out there but in large part I believe the buildings are privately owned. What the government could do is require any private provider to be at a certain level of energy efficiency before they will allow them to take part in the program
Hi Christopher and thanks for your post. I had definitely considered how the government should make changes regarding policies directly impacting the industry however I had not considered how they could be reflecting this in the housing developments which state governments build. That is actually an awesome suggestion and one I’d like to see come to fruition. The likelihood of it happening tomorrow is slim however, the more progress renewables make with making their technologies more affordable, the easier it will be to use/implement them. Great post!