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The ACEEE's energy-efficiency scorecard for 2009. (image: mobilizingtheregion.wordpress.com)
Although the recession is forcing many states to cut back on services, some are investing in large-scale energy-efficiency programs, hoping to cut emissions and hold down heating and electricity bills, reports the Wall Street Journal. Compared with building new power plants, investments in efficiency are cheaper and provide a quicker return on investment. The programs, funded primarily by surcharges on utility bills, help consumers weatherize their homes and install new lighting systems, among other things.
Annual spending on these programs is expected to increase from $3.1 billion in 2008 to $7.5 billion to $12.4 billion by 2020, according to a study released this month by the Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. The spending has increased so rapidly that it could lead to “shortage of trained professionals to design the programs … and do the actual work of retrofitting buildings,” said Galen Barbose, a staff research associate at the national lab.
Spending is not distributed evenly across states. The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently came out with their third annual energy-efficiency state scorecard. The winners? California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, New York, Vermont, Washington, Minnesota, Rhode Island, and Maine. Several states made strong improvements from a year ago: Maine (up from 19 to 10); Colorado (up from 24 to 16); Delaware (up from 32 to 20); District of Columbia (up from 30 to a tie for 20); South Dakota (up from 47 to 36); and Tennessee (up from 46 to 38).
California, which has longstanding energy-efficiency programs, has expanded their offerings. State utility regulators approved a program last month which authorized utilities to spend $3.1 billion from 2010 through 2012, helping to cut energy use 20 percent at 130,000 homes, install energy-efficient lighting at businesses and help cities and counties cut electricity and natural gas use in public buildings. California is hoping the energy-efficiency push will eliminate the need for three additional 500-megawatt power plants. Although the state represents about 12 percent of the US population, it now accounts for about a third of all energy-efficiency spending.
Maine Democratic Gov. John Baldacci said 80 percent of homes in Maine are heated with oil and he wants all homes weatherized by 2030 to reduce oil imports. His state recently updated its building codes to enhance energy savings.
“By embracing a wide range of cost-effective energy efficiency strategies, the leading states are demonstrating that efficiency is their ‘first fuel’ to meet energy demands while growing their economies,” said Maggie Eldridge, ACEEE research associate and lead author of the report. “States continue to raise the bar with comprehensive strategies to improve efficiency in their buildings, industry, and transportation systems. They are the ‘living laboratories’ of energy efficiency.”
Read about how to conserve energy at home and DIY weatherization.
