Most policy analysis agrees energy efficiency is the cheapest way to reduce consumer power bills and cut emissions by lowering overall electricity demand, but if you really want to get a sense of how powerful efficiency can be, you’ve got to compare the states with ambitious policy to those without.
Just over half the US states have energy efficiency resource standards (EERS), but those 26 states represent nearly all of the electricity savings secured nationwide in 2012, finds Energy Efficiency Resource Standards: A New Progress Report on State Experience, a recent report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
But if there were any doubts about the potential for energy efficiency to decarbonize our economy, consider these states are exceeding their goals, while costing utility customers far less than generating power from fossil fuels.
cleantechnica
