Now,
as any scientist will tell you, it’s often a challenge to commercialize research. You come up with a great idea, but moving that new discovery from theory to practice or from the lab to the marketplace, that's a challenge. So that's why today, here at Penn State, I’m announcing what we’re calling the Better Buildings Initiative, and it’s a plan to dramatically improve the energy efficiency of America’s businesses over the next decade. (Applause.)
So by reaching this goal, we could save America’s businesses nearly $40 billion a year in their utility bills（账单） . Think about that -- $40 billion. That's money that could be spent growing those businesses and hiring new workers.
I’ll just take one extreme example -- the Empire State Building. Right now its owners are investing in renovations that will reduce their energy consumption, and this investment will soon pay for itself and save them $4.4 million a year in energy costs. That one building.
Now, granted（算是如此） , it’s a big building. (Laughter.) So most buildings aren’t as big. They're not going to use as much energy as the Empire State Building. But what we’re saying to people is if you’re willing to make your buildings more energy-efficient, we’ll provide new tax credits and financing opportunities for you to do so. (Applause.)
And this plan would build on the HOMESTAR program we proposed last year, which would have provided rebates of up to $3,000 for homeowners to make their own homes more energy-efficient. And these are upgrades that could save families hundreds of dollars each year in energy costs.
See, the problem for both homeowners and businesses is they’ll recover the money that they make by lowering their utility bills, but they may not have the cash upfront（预付的） . And if we can provide you -- if we can provide the American people an incentive, you’ll recover that money. You’ll get it back. And in the meantime, we’re making our entire economy more efficient. So steps like these also can boost manufacturing and private sector jobs.
So over the last two years we’ve offered similar incentives for cities and companies and clean energy manufacturers that wanted to help America become more energy-efficient. I"ll give you a couple of examples. In Maryland, our program helped an energy-saving window manufacturer boost business by 55 percent. In North Carolina, there's a company that makes energy-efficient lighting -- hired hundreds of new workers. A company that manufacturers LEDs just down the road from here in Altoona saw their business increase by a million bucks.
We’re also going to support state and local governments who come up with（提出，想出） the best ideas to make energy-efficient buildings the norm（规范，基准） . So you show us the best ideas to change your game on the ground; we’ll show you the money. (Applause.) We will show you the money, states and local government. (Applause.)
To get the private sector to lead by example I’m also issuing a challenge to CEOs, to labor, to building owners, to hospitals, universities and others to join us.
Now, tax credits mean lost revenue（税收，收益） for Treasury. It costs money. Since we’ve got big deficits, we’ve got to pay for it. So to pay for it, I’ve asked Congress to eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars that we currently give to oil companies. (Applause.) They are doing just fine on their own. (Laughter.) So it’s time to stop subsidizing（资助） yesterday’s energy; it’s time to invest in tomorrow’s. It’s time to win the future. That's what our project is. (Applause.)
Now, Penn State is a place that knows a little bit about playing to win. Last I counted, Coach Paterno has got more than 400 wins under his belt. (Applause.) But your nation needs to win, too. We need you to be as proud of what you do in the lab as you are of what your football team does on the field. (Applause.) We need you to seek breakthroughs and new technologies that we can’t even imagine yet. And especially the young people who are here, we need you to act with a sense of urgency -- to study and work and create as if the fate of the country depends on you -- because it does. It depends on you. (Applause.)
And if we’re harnessing（治理） all the energy in this room, all the young people in this audience, then I’m confident we’ll do it. We can do this because what this university is going to lead will be more than a pioneering research center or an economic engine for Pennsylvania and America for years to come. What you’re going to do is lead a modern-day incubator for what sets us apart -- the greatest force that the world has ever known -- and that is the American ideal. (Applause.)
If you remember that and keep breaking new ground, if we as a country keep investing in you, I’m absolutely confident that America will win the future in this century, just like we did in the last.
Thank you. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.
