ILoveObama
12-16-2009, 09:11 AM
A new report by Vice President Joe Biden, which President Obama mentioned briefly in an appearance Tuesday, projects that the number of U.S. homes with smart meters will jump from about 8 million now to 40 million by 2015.
In a memo to Obama, entitled "Progress Report: The Transformation to a Clean Energy Economy," Biden says the Recovery Act will help fund the installation of smart meters in 18 million homes.
As of January, he says 8 million homes had such meters, which track energy usage by month, week and even hour.
Biden projects that, through a mix of public and private investment, the number of homes with smart meters could skyrocket to 40 million within six years.
These meters, as noted in an earlier Green House post, have sparked criticism in California, where some users say they do not accurately measure power usage and their installation costs have increased utility bills.
Biden said the administraion, along with industry, is funding the installation of 877 sensors on the electric transmission system to improve reliability and security. He says there were 160 sensors in place when Obama took office.
The report says the administration, by making "the largest single investment in home energy efficiency in U.S history," will weatherize the homes of half a million low income Americans through retrofits by the end of next year.
It also says about two dozen tougher energy standards will be finalized in the next few years for everyday appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves and washer/dryers.
Biden says the Recovery Act's $23 billion for renewable power generation will likely create 253,000 jobs and double energy production from solar, wind and geothermal sources by 2012.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/biden-tells-obama-that-40-million-us-homes-will-have-smart-meters-by-2015-/1
In a memo to Obama, entitled "Progress Report: The Transformation to a Clean Energy Economy," Biden says the Recovery Act will help fund the installation of smart meters in 18 million homes.
As of January, he says 8 million homes had such meters, which track energy usage by month, week and even hour.
Biden projects that, through a mix of public and private investment, the number of homes with smart meters could skyrocket to 40 million within six years.
These meters, as noted in an earlier Green House post, have sparked criticism in California, where some users say they do not accurately measure power usage and their installation costs have increased utility bills.
Biden said the administraion, along with industry, is funding the installation of 877 sensors on the electric transmission system to improve reliability and security. He says there were 160 sensors in place when Obama took office.
The report says the administration, by making "the largest single investment in home energy efficiency in U.S history," will weatherize the homes of half a million low income Americans through retrofits by the end of next year.
It also says about two dozen tougher energy standards will be finalized in the next few years for everyday appliances such as refrigerators, microwaves and washer/dryers.
Biden says the Recovery Act's $23 billion for renewable power generation will likely create 253,000 jobs and double energy production from solar, wind and geothermal sources by 2012.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2009/12/biden-tells-obama-that-40-million-us-homes-will-have-smart-meters-by-2015-/1