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The Trump Administration is launching an Energy Week to promote our nation's "energy dominance" by increasing fossil fuel production. Notably absent in White House plans so far are discussions on how to increase energy efficiency, generally the cheapest way to meet our energy needs. Energy efficiency doesn't just save us money, it supports millions of jobs. It should be included in a truly great Energy Week.
Energy efficiency is already big. Our recent research report, which evaluated only the electricity sector, estimates that efficiency measures since 1990 have made efficiency our third largest electricity resource, after natural gas and coal. (Broader analyses that go back to the 1970s have found that efficiency is already our nation's largest energy resource). While this finding may seem strange to some---how can not using power be considered a resource---in reality, it's simple. Utilities can meet rising electricity demand in two ways: by generating more power or by reducing demand. Utilities encourage customers to use efficient technologies to reduce their energy waste while providing the same level of service. Considered this way, energy efficiency is a resource similar to power plants, wind turbines, or solar panels...
To continue reading the blog post, visit: http://aceee.org/blog/2017/06/energy-efficiency-deserves-center
