Closing a national "electric productivity gap" could curtail up to 30% of current electric power consumption nationwide, according to a report released yesterday by the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).
RMI's analysis determined that the electric productivity among U.S.
states varies dramatically. Electric productivity is a measure of how
much gross domestic product is generated for each kilowatt-hour
consumed. This finding is extremely significant because if laggard
states achieved the electric productivity of the top 10 performing
states by adopting best practices for energy efficiency, more than 60%
of coal-fired generation could be displaced in the country.
RMI also released a companion interactive map, which ranks the electric productivity of each of the 50 states, and points out opportunities for more states to adopt the practices of the best-ranked states. Developed to provide an interactive, visual representation of the report's findings, the web-based tool for policymakers, the electric industry and the media is available at the link below.
"Closing the electric productivity gap through energy efficiency
is the single largest near-term opportunity to immediately reduce
electricity use and greenhouse gases, and move the United States
forward as a leader in the new clean energy economy," Natalie Mims, Consultant on RMI's Energy and Resources
Team,
The electric productivity of top performing states, such as New York,
Connecticut, and California, can serve as examples of how to overcome
barriers to efficiency practices, regulate utilities, and implement
technologies. Lower performing states, like Kentucky and Mississippi,
have a huge opportunity to build on the success of higher performing
states by closing their electric productivity gap using known and
tested technology and policy, the RMI team reported.
The next
step, according to RMI, will be to assess how to cost-effectively close
the electric productivity gap. The analysis will focus on the impact
that efficiency measures can have on existing building stock in the
residential, commercial and industrial sectors, and whether a
combination of these measures will cost-effectively close the electric
productivity gap in each state.
The title of the RMI report is "Assessing the Electric Productivity Gap and the U.S. Efficiency Opportunity."
