05/20/2008 10:14 AM

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Weekly Clean Energy Roundup May 21, 2008

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Report Calls Energy Efficiency an "Invisible" Energy Boom

Energy efficiency has met three-quarters of the U.S. demand for new energy services since 1970, but it goes relatively unnoticed amid a focus on energy production, according to a new report from the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The report notes that the U.S. economy uses half as much energy per unit of economic output than it did back in 1970, making energy efficiency the "fastest-growing success story of the last 50 years."

The report focuses specifically on 2004, when roughly $300 billion was invested in energy efficiency in the United States, supporting 1.6 million jobs. That investment was triple the amount invested in the energy supply infrastructure, and it generated 1.7 quadrillion Btu, or quads, of energy savings. For comparison, the United States currently consumes about 100 quads of energy.

The 2004 savings were roughly equal to the combined energy output of 40 mid-sized coal-fired power plants. Nearly 60% of total energy efficiency investments were made in buildings, including homes, commercial buildings, and energy efficient devices, while about a quarter of the investments went toward industrial energy efficiency improvements. Only 11% of the investments went towards improving the fuel economy of cars, trucks, aircraft, and other forms of transportation, despite the fact that the transportation sector consumes 28% of the U.S. energy supply.

The ACEEE report also finds plenty of room for improvement, noting that the United States can reduce energy consumption by an additional 25%-30% over the next quarter century through cost-effective energy efficiency measures. In an environment of accelerated market transformation and rapid growth in energy efficiency, the total annual investments in energy efficiency could approach $400 billion by 2030, according to the report. See the ACEEE press release.

Alliance to Save Energy Launches a New Fuel Economy Campaign

The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE), the Wal-Mart Foundation, and 16 public and private partners have launched the "Drive $marter Challenge," a fuel efficiency campaign to help U.S. consumers lower their gasoline costs. The new campaign, launched yesterday, offers effective money- and gasoline-saving tips in both English and Spanish, as well as extensive additional resources. The campaign's interactive Web site allows you to find out exactly how much money you can save by following six easy tips for vehicle maintenance and sensible driving, and it also allow you to challenge up to six friends or family members to join you in the fuel savings. See the ASE press release and take the challenge on the Drive $marter Challenge Web site.

The members of the American Trucking Associations (ATA) are also looking to improve their fuel efficiency, partly because they know that reducing the demand for diesel fuel could help keep its cost down, but also out of a need to address global climate change. Under the banner of "Trucks Deliver a Cleaner Tomorrow," truckers aims to reduce their fuel consumption by 86 billion gallons while cutting carbon dioxide emissions by 900 million tons over the next decade.

To meet that goal, the ATA recommends that shippers and carriers join the SmartWay Transport Partnership Program, an effort spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the goal of improving the fuel efficiency of trucking. However, most of the other recommendations call for federal action, including reducing the national speed limit to 65 miles per hour (mph), requiring truck manufacturers to set speed limiters at 68 mph or less, providing incentives for idle-reduction technologies, reducing congestion on highways, allowing trucks to carry larger volumes of freight, and setting fuel economy standards for medium- and heavy-duty trucks. See the ATA press release (PDF 62 KB), the program Web site, and the EPA SmartWay Transport Partnership.

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