Governments — be they federal, state, or local — represent important customers that can further the commercialization of renewable energy. At the same time, renewables can help governments meet a number of its basic obligations. Many governments have selected renewable technologies to supply energy for a variety of functions. But, as this paper shows, for the union of government and renewables to be fully realized, much more needs to be done.

Of course, government is but one sector in a huge U.S. energy economy — dwarfed by private energy consumers, who are ultimately the only market that can provide enough demand to spur investments in physical infrastructure, manufacturing, distribution and consumer finance to give renewables a market share anywhere close to fossil fuels. This should not dampen attempts to open the government to cleaner energy sources, but it should lead to three conclusions:

• If government procurement is to make an important contribution to a clean energy future, it has to be one part of a much broader effort to commercialize renewables.

• Governments should identify procurement opportunities that build on existing market development efforts and business networks rather than attempting to create an entirely new physical and business infrastructure.³

• Government procurement should approximate the dynamics of private markets as much as possible, while bearing in mind that its early involvement also responds to the failure of most private energy suppliers, consumers, and policymakers to make renewable energy a preferred product.

For more information on renewable energy technologies (including cost, features, case studies of successful applications, standards, and policy issues), visit: U.S. Department of Energy’s Efficiency and Renewable Energy Network at <http://www.eren.doe.gov/> and Million Solar Roofs Initiative at <http://www.millionsolarroofs.org/>. The Center for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technology’s Solstice at <http://www.solstice.org/>. National Renewable Energy Laboratory at <http://www.nrel.gov/>.

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