LinkLawmakers are slowly but steadily waking up to put stringent emission norms. Obama got ten car makers to sign his landmark emissions reduction plan that asks for 10% reduction in CO2 releases by 2016. Such initiatives come at a price. Reduced emissions mean the automobile prices would go up by 1000$ to 1500$. How will the consumers react to such a move?

Everyone would love to have a less emitting car. But would they be willing to pay more for essentially the same utility? Not if the savings don't accrue in their purse. Classic point in case is incandescent bulb versus CFL. Consumers readily bought CFL because of the energy savings results in cost savings. Hybrid cars became successful because it saved in running costs. The payback period of a solar water heater is a cool two years thereby prompting many people to install the same without an argument.

Renewable technologies like solar photo voltaic, roof top wind turbines, bio-digesters, gasifiers, etc don't offer attractive payback periods. In some case, like in solar PV lighting, the payback period is well over fifteen years if designed appropriately.

The only hope for these alternative technologies is in consumers adopting in mass quantities. Then, certainly, the prices will come down as more funds become available from venture capitalists. When that happens, more entrepreneurial energy will get in to invent better products and improve these technologies to make them even more affordable and far more efficient than what they are today.