Business View Magazine | Volume 8, Issue 11

76 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 8, ISSUE 11 What do we need to get there? Nothing short of a coordinated, all-of-government approach will let us achieve climate change prevention goals on the timeline called for by the scientific community, while maintaining America’s affordable, reliable energy services. This doesn’t mean that the government is footing the bill for the energy transition, though, or that consumers should expect energy prices to skyrocket. Many clean energy and energy efficiency solutions pay for themselves over the course of their useful lifetimes. Public-private partnerships leverage private capital to build critical infrastructure. Tax credits for clean energy and energy efficiency have unlocked cheaper generation and lower emissions for customers across the country. There is a massive opportunity to increase the resilience of the built environment while saving on energy costs through a comprehensive energy efficiency retrofit strategy of federal and state buildings and facilities. Performance contracting allows the government to pay for energy efficiency retrofits through energy cost savings, guaranteeing that efficiency investments pay off for taxpayers. Clean, affordable, reliable energy will draw business not only to Maryland, but to all communities invested in cleaner energy. Many of America’s largest corporations, from Walmart to McDonald’s , have committed to sustainability goals, leading them to make business decisions based on where they can get the cleanest energy for the best price. Communities across the country are already benefiting from clean energy job growth. Businesses are seeing energy bills fall with more energy efficient products and more affordable electricity and natural gas. America’s energy future is bright, and clean energy and energy efficiency businesses give us the tools to build it.