Importing
fuel drains millions from local economies. In Nebraska 80 cents
of each dollar spent for energy leaves the state; only 34 cents
of other consumer spending is exported.
In
1987 HUD commissioned The Energy Task Force of Public Technology,
Inc. (PTI) to prepare reports on how energy expenditures influence
community economic development. PTI prepared two volumes entitled
The Hidden Link: Energy and Economic Development. Volume
one deals with strategic planning and volume two is subtitled Marketing
and Financing Strategies for Community Energy Projects, A Guidebook
for Local Governments.
The
following excerpt from the preface of volume two outlines the problem
and approaches taken to deal with it. These strategies, prepared
in 1987, are appropriate today for Empowerment Zones and Enterprise
Communities: Cities and counties must continue to focus on making
homes, businesses, and industries
energy efficient despite the low-to-moderate fuel prices currently
prevalent in many areas of the country. The reasoning behind the
continued focus may be found at two levels: the impact of increasing
energy consumption on the nation as a whole and on most local economies....
On
a local level, millions of dollars are being exported out of U.S.
cities and counties to pay for energy. This exodus of dollars has
very real effects on local economic vitality. City and county leaders
across the U.S. often fail to realize that the dollars being spent
on energy by their residents, businesses, and industries drain their
local economies and would be better spent on public works, consumer
goods, industrial site development, and new plants and machinery.
These are dollar expenditures that keep an economy strong and vital.
Some
states and local governments, however, have already begun to study
the multiplier effect of energy versus non-energy dollars. The Nebraska
Energy Office has estimated that for each dollar spent on energy
by the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors, $.80 will
leave the state; for typical consumer purchases, only $.34 leaves
the state economy.
Once
the hidden links between energy and community/economic development
become apparent, the question becomes, how can local government
officials develop energy programs to halt the drain of energy dollars
from their cities and counties? Also, how can local government officials
use lowered energy costs as an economic development tool to retain
and attract industry and commerce?
To
identify and support similar efforts in other localities, in 1998
HUD and the Department of Energy (DOE) provided financial assistance
to PTI for the provision of technical assistance
to a group of localities on marketing techniques and establishment
of public/private partnerships. The technical assistance was focused
on ways to support energy projects related to community and economic
development which were being conducted by the localities including
Community Development Block Grants.
The
work presented in this guidebook combines USHUDs interest
in providing technical assistance to mitigate the impact of energy
costs and consumption on community and economic development activities
with the Energy Task Forces interest in supporting innovative
approaches for community energy management.
Public
Technology, Inc.
1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20004
(202) 6262400
Energy
is the single largest expense for the retailer after payroll. .
. . Even a one-percent reduction can have a significant impact on
a corporations bottom line. Every dollar saved on energy is
pure profit.
Bill Lyon, Vice President for Energy, Federated Department Stores
E News March/April 1999
|