There are people in this country that care very deeply about alternative energy legislation. For some, they volunteer their time to meet with politicians and do work to try and see legislation gets passed, whether it's in the federal, state or local government.For others, they devote their entire lives to that type of work. Alex Kragie is one of those people. Kragie is an employee for the Coalition For Green Capital (CFC), a non-profit organization that advocates on behalf of policies that support investment in clean energy and energy efficiency.
As part of his work, Kragie is currently working as a Project Manager of a state program in Connecticut called "Lead By Example". "Its goal is to reduce energy usage in state buildings by 10% by 2013," Kragie explained.
In addition to his role as Project Manager, he works with the Connecticut Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection and advises the nation's first Green Bank (a topic which has been elaborated on in a separate post.)
Having done work in Connecticut, Washington D.C. and Pennsylvania, Kragie has intimate knowledge on the topic of alternative energy as well as the benefits of making homes and businesses more energy efficient.
"Energy efficiency upgrades are the most economical method of improving buildings and homes," Kragie said. "Depending on the measures undertaken, the cost of a retrofit can pay itself back in very little time and be profitable to the home or building owner after that."
He added, "One of those measures is a tool called an Energy Savings Performance Contract (ESPC) which allows a builder or a homeowner to pay no upfront costs for a project being undertaken and pay back the cost through savings accrued on their energy bills."
An example of how the federal government is using ESPC's can be found here.
Though his current work is outside of Pennsylvania, Kragie has a keen understanding about the alternative energy situation going on in the Keystone State. "The extraction of natural gas through fracking is certainly the dominant issue in Pennsylvania," Kragie says.
For those who live in Pennsylvania, they likely have heard about fracking as it has been in the news for several years now and it's a topic clean energy advocates often debate about. While documentaries like Gasland talk about the environmental risks of natural gas drilling, the fact is, it still can reduce carbon emissions and as Kragie explained, "provide a bridge fuel to clean energy generation sources."
Why is it important we have "bridge" fuels you may ask? The reason is, for many areas in the country, clean energy is still more expensive than conventional sources such as coal and oil. However, as Kragie said, "costs are rapidly declining and in some areas such as the high-priced Northeast, some forms of clean energy are as cheap as conventional energy."
With a chance to help start a new domestic industry, Alex Kragie is working tirelessly throughout the Northeast to raise awareness about clean energy, and its economic and environmental benefits. The work is undoubtedly hard, but he knows the success in helping businesses and homeowners convert to alternative energy will be very rewarding. If you hear about state governments or businesses using tools such as an ESPC, you will know it's people like Alex Kragie who had a hand in it.
Sources:
www1.eere.energy.gov/femp/financing/espcs.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasland
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing
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