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Would You Pay $162 More For Cleaner Electricity?

Kreg Steppe (Flickr Creative Commons)

http://cptv.vo.llnwd.net/o2/ypmwebcontent/Tucker/Morning%20Edition%2005-17-2012%20ERI.mp3

There's been a lot of talk and some political movement toward a national standard for the use of clean energy. But the topic is still rife with politics. Researchers at Yale and Harvard have released a study that says Americans on average would be willing to pay $162 per year in higher electricity bills to fund a national standard requiring that 80% of energy be "clean." 

But "clean" has different meanings for different people.

"When you say clean energy, it's not entirely clear what you mean by clean energy," said Matthew Kotchen who is an associate professor of environmental economics and policy at Yale and co-author of the study. "Some people just think of it as just renewables such as wind, solar or geothermal. Some people would include natural gas because it's cleaner burning than coal and some people would actually include nuclear power because it doesn't produce any greenhouse gas emissions."

The survey asked a variety of "yes or no" questions to respondents who voted on a price increase like a referendum. By using those responses, researchers were able to calculate how much more consumers would be willing to spend.

Another part of the report shows that the current Congress would not pass new energy policies that would increase prices. But they would likely pass under the previous Congress. "Changing the composition of either the House or the Senate by just a few members makes a really big difference in terms of what's possible," said Kotchen.

Ray Hardman is Connecticut Public’s Arts and Culture Reporter. He is the host of CPTV’s Emmy-nominated original series Where Art Thou? Listeners to Connecticut Public Radio may know Ray as the local voice of Morning Edition, and later of All Things Considered.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.