Switching to renewable energy gets easier

By Brad Foss

updated 9:08 a.m. ET April 27, 2005

For people like Ronald Cascio, who fuels his pickup with a soybean oil derivative, and J.D. Doliner, whose home is partly solar powered, the high price of energy isn’t a worry.

That doesn’t mean their renewable energy preferences come cheap. In fact, it requires an extra financial commitment to wean one’s home or vehicle off fossil fuels.

Nonetheless, a growing number of Americans are embracing cleaner technologies and more energy-efficient lifestyles. It makes them feel good and, depending on how high prices rise for traditional energy sources, they say renewables might even make economic sense over the long haul.

“Some people spend their money on jet-skis and boats,” explained Cascio, who lives in Berlin, Md. “So, say we spend another $1,000 a year on fuel than we have to, what’s the big deal? We feel good about it. You can’t put a price on that.”

Costs, benefits
Cascio regularly spends about $3.35 a gallon for pure biodiesel, chemically altered soybean oil which is fully compatible with the standard diesel engine in his 1989 Ford truck. But because diesel vehicles are nearly a third more efficient than those that run on gasoline, Cascio said his choice of fuel isn’t looking so bad right now that gasoline averages more than $2.20 a gallon nationwide.

In the case of Doliner, who lives in Arlington, Va., it may take more than three decades for the $18,000 solar panel system she and her husband installed to pay for itself. But the former venture capitalist said the investment is worth it merely for the “psychic income” she enjoys.

The Doliners recently renovated their home to be about 50 percent more energy efficient, but they still get about two-thirds of their electricity from the grid and rely on natural gas for home heating and to back up their solar water heater.

“But we are having an impact on the number of power plants that are built,” Doliner said.

'Cheaper to save energy'
That’s right, said Paul Torcellini, who researches residential and commercial building designs for the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Reducing the country’s dependence on fossil fuels requires two behavioral changes: adopting renewables and boosting energy efficiency, he said.

FREE VIDEO Biodiesel power Feb. 11: Environmental Alternatives produces biodiesel, an environmentally friendly fuel manufactured from vegetable oils. MSNBC.com takes a look inside the operation. msnbc.com

“It is much cheaper to save energy than it is to make it, by at least a factor of two to one,” Torcellini said. Anyone considering solar panels should buy the most energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs and make sure their walls and windows are properly insulated, he said.

Those interested in biodiesel simply need a diesel-engine vehicle. To show its support of the technology, DaimlerChrysler ships its new Jeep Liberty off the assembly line fueled with B5, which contains 5 percent biodiesel. The most common grade of biodiesel at the pump, B20, is 20 percent biodiesel and 80 percent regular diesel.

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