Here in Massachusetts, there’s a lot of noise about wind farms off shore. They are a terrific potential power resource but everyone seems to be suffering from Not In My Back Yard syndrome. So check out this image, to get an idea of how things would actually look from only 20 miles away.

I’ll be honest, I’m cheap. I’m also a Yankee, so I guess it comes pretty naturally. Cheapness is not even really a trait that has been forced upon me – I love bargains, I love things that pay for themselves – I love Return on Investment (ROI). What’s nice is that being conscious about energy usage and being an alternative energy enthusiast actually works beautifully with being cheap.

I love our planet – I went to a small liberal arts school so I was well exposed to environmentalists and their movement long ago. I recycled, I didn’t use aerosol, but I’ll admit I never really associated myself with the movement. And then I saw “An Inconvenient Truth” and I looked down at my small daughter. I knew I really wanted to make some changes just to do the right thing. And hey – by doing the right thing, I support my cheapness. Sweet!

Some things were already done – mostly out of frugality – but I felt good that we were already on our way. My husband and I are a one car family, and our one car is a Toyota that gets fabulous gas mileage. I work primarily out of my home – so I’ve reduced my car emissions significantly. We keep our heat low, we buy local produce and we have a part in an organic farm share. We have replaced old incandescent bulbs with CFL as they go out, we carry the reusable grocery bags and we recycle. But the bills were still rising with the cost of oil and electricity so we knew we needed to and wanted to do more.

Sadly, we have old and inefficient home heating and water heating. When our oil costs crested at $500 for a tank, I started to get really worried. I knew that we didn’t have the income to cover a winter of $500 tanks of oil – and also, I just didn’t want to pay that much on principle.

I was pumping so much money into oil that I couldn’t even save up for a more efficient boiler or an alternate heating system. I live in the boonies, so natural gas wasn’t an option (and really, I’d just be trading one fossil fuel for another) and our fireplace is tiny and inefficient. My feeling was and is that the cost of oil isn’t going to go down in the future – sure it will ebb and flow but I felt like it was really time to start long term planning and implementation now.

We live in a small, split level house that was built in 1964. In 1966, the square footage of the house was roughly doubled with the addition of a “sun room.” Roughly 600 square feet, this room is really where we “live” and it is comprised of three walls of five foot high jalousie windows. This made the room three seasons ready – with a chilly fourth tacked on for those of us who were really determined.

Every winter we put the storm windows up – and last year we even duct taped the seams. We hung curtains made from fleece, kept the heat down to 62 degrees and wore a lot of cozy clothing and layers. The rest of the house is quite snug but since the sunroom is critical to our sanity, I knew I couldn’t spend another winter watching the curtains move with the cold air seeping through.

I determined that I would change my situation. I’ll admit it, part of me wanted to jump in the deep end; solar electricity, grants, wind turbines! But I learned that the first step had to be in upgrading the efficiency of my home. The truth is that even if you get grants and help and tax write-offs, you still need cash flow. And how can you design a renewable energy power system without really knowing your optimal (most efficient) power needs? I needed to slow down and get informed.

Becoming an Energy Ace isn’t as fun or cool as buying and installing some cool and massive renewable energy system – mostly I knew it was just changing some habits. Turning off lights, using power strips to get rid of ghost loads, faster showers…you know the drill. We did that stuff

As I became more informed, I realized we needed to invest in some larger changes and that ultimately I could incorporate alternative energy technology in my home – technology that wouldn’t break the bank - and so began my adventure in renewable energy.

According to the NY Times, the House and the Senate are in a stalemate over the renewal of a number of tax incentives, including those for the production of renewable energy.

At this point, the tax incentives will expire at the end of the year, delaying a number of large and small solar and wind power installations nation wide. These incentives not only impact the larger installations but also the individual homeowner.

The really aggravating issue is that it’s not the renewable energy tax incentives that are really the issue - its the other stuff in the bill along with them.  By combining these issues, rather than separating out the renewable tax incentives, the Congress is hampering the ability of US RE companies and individuals from moving forward into a more renewable and sustainable future.

And this isn’t only about ideology - its about jobs and fiscal health.

Hopefully they will not simply accept this impasse and will work through it ASAP for the good of everyone. Aren’t we in enough trouble without throwing a potential 39,000 jobs away??

You can still find incentives and rebates online at DSIRE: The Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency.