Energy inefficiency wastes money, while strong standards that increase energy efficiency are a powerful economic driver, putting money back in Indiana consumer pockets, which we spend on goods and services, generating more jobs and economic growth.
- Strong energy efficiency standards are projected to save every Indiana household $888 per year, create as many as 19,500 jobs in Indiana, save consumers $2,418 million in energy costs, and avoid the need to build 33 new power plants.[1]
- Energy efficiency investments generally cost less than half as much as comparable fossil fuel generation capacity and, on a per kilowatt hour basis, are less than half average retail electricity rates, according to Duke University.[2]
- If the US could achieve on a national level the electric productivity of its top performing states, the country will reduce projected electricity demand by 34 percent – while maintaining 2.5 percent annual economic growth.
Indiana business leaders know that reducing waste increases the bottom-line and improves competitiveness. Across the U.S., major corporations are saving energy and reducing global warming pollution to save money.
- The U.S. as a whole uses roughly twice as much energy to produce a dollar of goods as our European and Japanese trading partners. That puts us at a serious competitive disadvantage.
- Some major U.S. corporations have already taken action to correct this disadvantage:
- Weyerhaeuser plans to reduce its greenhouse gases 40% below 2000 levels by 2020 for purely economic reasons: reduced costs and reliance on oil through increased use of biomass.
- BP has reduced emissions by 10% and saved $650 million.
- DuPont has reduced emissions by 69% and saved $2 billion.
- IBM has reduced emissions by 65% and saved $791 million.
- Alcoa has reduced emissions by 25% and saved $100 million.
- 3M has reduced emissions by 50% and saved $200 million.
[1] http://www.aceee.org/energy/national/W-M%2050%20State/Indiana.pdf
[2] Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, Duke University, “Transforming Utility and Ratepayer Support for Electrical Energy Efficiency Nationwide,” October 2008. http://nicholas.duke.edu/institute/ccpp-ee.pdf
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