Clearly our future holds little hope for federal incentives or leadership to support energy savings programs. A lot of speculation has been flying around about the impact this will have on our industry. But I’m here to say there might just be some good that will come out of it.

In recent years, we’ve seen a noticeable shift from federally run incentive programs to state-run incentives. In fact, it’s been a topic of several of my blogs (see Will 25C Make an Impact? and The State of Energy Efficiency Incentives ). These programs are proving to be effective because states can develop programs that are tailored to their particular needs.

The View from Here is that economics have to make sense. And now states like Nevada are proving that economic growth and reduced carbon emissions can coexist. We’ll likely see more state incentives emerging as a result.

But with any upside, there’s a potential downside to states developing their own programs. For manufacturers and dealers selling across multiple state lines, it can be tough to keep track of everything that’s available. The best thing we can do as an industry is to stay informed about available incentives via the Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency (DSIRE) website.

What’s your View? Email me directly at Eric.Jackson@Quanex.com.