The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) recently released a report that finds “energy efficiency is currently the third largest electric power resource in the United States, and could grow to be the most significant by 2030,” Utility Dive reports. Energy efficiency not only “is a greater contributor to the U.S. energy mix than nuclear power,” but has also “averted the need to build the equivalent of 313 power plants since 1990,” according to ACEEE. Additionally, the group estimates that energy efficiency had a significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions, reducing annual emissions by “490 million tons in 2015.” Most states could meet 25% of their Clean Power Plan emissions reduction targets “through efficiency policies and the resulting investments,” while some could meet 100%. In a blog post, ACEEE said, “[w]e can see further evidence of efficiency’s impact in the fact that electricity consumption has flattened in recent years even as the economy has grown. What’s more, energy efficiency has saved consumers $90 billion annually on electric bills.” For more, read the full Utility Dive article, the ACEEE blog post, and the ACEEE report.
Energy efficiency is third largest power resource in U.S., ACEEE report says
