34% Drop in US Electric Demand Possible Through Energy Efficiency Improvements: Rocky Mountain Institute

electric transmission wires photo
photo: Eric Jusino

We often say that making energy efficiency improvements is the easiest way to reduce energy demand, but a new report coming out of the Rocky Mountain Institute shows just how much of a reduction in electric demand could occur, if only the most energy inefficient US states performed as their most efficient neighbors. You can tell by the title how much of a reduction could be made, but this is how it could happen:

62% of Coal-Fired Electric Power Could Be Displaced
In the report Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the US Efficiency Opportunity, the authors come to the conclusion that if the 40 worst-performing states got their collective act together and performed as well as the 10 most-efficient states in terms of electricity usage then a total of 1.2 million gigawatt-hours could be saved annually. That’s equivalent to 62% of the US’s coal-fired electric power.

In calculating electric productivity, the example was given that California and New York earned more than one and a half times more GDP per kWh of electricity than the national average. Overall, it was found that the top 10 states generated $6.10 of GDP per kWh, while the average was only $3.76.

Read the full report: Rocky Mountain Institute

via: Business Green

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