Eight Approaches to Enable Greater Energy Efficiency: A Guide for State Government Officials
The benefits of energy efficiency are many: well designed energy efficiency programs can delay the need for new power plants, expanded transmission and distribution capacities, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Most importantly, these benefit scan be realized cost-effectively. Yet despite these advantages, efficiency faces barriers. Investments in efficiency cost more up-front than less-efficient technologies, and financing could increase the number of investments, which in their turn help to bring about the emission reductions.
Issue
Through a variety of policy documents, several governmental
levels within the European Union have committed themselves to
reducing carbon emissions. Within the EU, a substantial 40% of
energy is used in buildings, offices or SMEs. This massive scale of
energy consumption provides an opportunity for cost-effective
measures. There are many technologies available to reduce energy
consumption within the built environment, but all of these
adaptations require a degree of investment. These up-front payments
might deter individuals from implementing energy saving measures –
even if the higher purchase value will be more than compensated by
lower utility bills. Financing can provide the support for
increasing the number of actual, successful investments, which in
their turn help to bring about the emission reductions. This report
gives an overview of the financial stimulus packages available in
the USA, and describes the advantages as well as the challenges
related to these programs.
Approach
The purpose of this guide is to provide government officials with a framework to encourage energy efficiency and conservation. It recommends the following eight good practices when developing energy policy:
- Make early decisions about your efficiency effort;
- Create financial and/or tax incentives for energy efficiency;
- Strengthen and enforce building codes to encourage energy efficiency;
- Lead by example: mandate state facility efficiency;
- Consider energy efficiency resource standards;
- Develop rate structures that encourage energy efficiency;
- Monitor and verify efficiency program results;
- Examine innovative approaches to encourage energy efficiency.
Each of these practices are detailed through describing
different responsibilities of stakeholders, and the pro’s and con’s
encountered in practical situations. Also, samples of different
policies are used as examples of energy policies.
Results
Many different approaches are presented in this report, and the
positive experiences as well as the lessons learned can serve as a
menu of options to any government making policy decisions.
Contact
Miles Keogh: mkeogh@naruc.org
Publication date
November 2009
Document type
Practice
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