Building & Design

US utilities increase spending on energy efficiency 43%

US utilities last year increased spending on energy efficiency programmes by 43% reaching $5.3 billion, according to the Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE).

The annual report from the CEE, which is a nonprofit organisation representing energy efficiency programme administrators from the US and Canada, found that the total budget for the two countries was $6.1 billion in 2009, up half a billion on the previous year.

Energy efficiency programmes have also expanded in the last year to cover 46 states, up from 37 last year. While California continues to lead the way in energy efficiency budgets, the biggest increases came from Southeast and South Central states, which averaged a 76% increase in their budgets.

These programmes and those like them are likely to keep US greenhouse gas emissions level over the next two decades, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance. By 2030, US emissions could fall 2% below 2005 levels.

Its recent report warns, however, that deeper cuts in emissions will be much more expensive. The US will need new, more aggressive policies to drive improvements in energy technology, says the report, to reach targets of a 17% reduction on 2005 levels by 2020 or 30% by 2030.

“Many energy efficiency improvements will happen as a result of trends already in place,” says Milo Sjardin. “Others will require consumers to reconsider how they use energy and there are genuine costs associated with convincing them to rethink their ways.”

For further information:
www.cee1.org/files/2009CEEAnnualReport.pdf
www.newenergyfinance.com/

24 February 2010

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