Summary: GAO discussed the barriers to installing energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs in federal buildings. GAO found that: (1) there was a lack of funding for investment in conservation technology; (2) during the last administration, energy conservation did not receive a high priority in government operations, and the dispersion of operating authority for government buildings makes central leadership difficult; (3) no one in government has the responsibility to test the claimed benefits of energy-efficient lighting equipment; (4) little work has been done to evaluate specific innovations or competing products, and there is no formal mechanism in place to transfer the information obtained at research centers to individual building managers; (5) baseline data on energy is lacking for measurement of conservation savings; (6) only 20 states have utilities that offer rebates for energy conservation measures, which provide an additional incentive where they do exist; and (7) negotiating shared energy savings contracts can be time consuming because they involve both unfamiliar procurement procedures and relatively untested private-sector financing concepts.
