During World War II some 85 million Americans were said to have purchased “Victory Bonds” in order to help keep the U.S. economy afloat. it raised around $185 billion at the time, which translates into $2 trillion today. Could this concept be used in other arenas, say clean energy development? That’s an idea Green America, an environmental group, is floating with its Clean Energy Victory Bonds (CEVB) campaign.
The push for the CEVB action is to get Congress and the Obama administration to agree upon allowing Americans interested in speeding up clean energy development in the United States to invest financially in the form of bonds ranging from $100 to $1000 and above. These investments, handled by the U.S. Treasury, would “help fund the rapid deployment of renewable energy development projects and energy efficiency upgrades.” It is believed by Green America that between $5 and 10 billion in investments could create up to $200 billion in public and private finance. To learn more about this interesting program to invest in America’s clean energy future, we turned to Todd Larsen from Green America for some details.
EarthTechling (ET): What exactly are Clean Energy Victory Bonds?
Todd Larsen: Modeled after Victory Bonds of WWII, which raised billions of dollars for the war effort, Clean Energy Victory Bonds would raise billions of dollars for clean energy. Like the Victory Bonds of WWII, Clean Energy Victory Bonds would be offered in smaller denominations so that millions of ordinary Americans could take part in financing a clean energy future.
ET: What areas specifically would these bonds invest in?
Larsen: Clean Energy Victory Bonds would invest in clean energy solutions – such as solar, wind, and geothermal – innovative and renewable technologies that need financing in order to increase manufacturing and deployment. The bonds would also invest in energy efficiency solutions.