Energy Efficiency Is Described as the Most Cost-Effective Way of Meeting Future EPA Greenhouse Gas Targets

Doing more with less is an important tactic in fighting climate change, and it points to what may be the most cost-effective way of complying with potential carbon emissions rules under the Clean Air Act.

With looming carbon dioxide restrictions for power plants under Section 111(d) of the legislation, the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy yesterday highlighted four strategies U.S. EPA could deploy to hit emissions targets in the United States.

In a new report, the group suggested that declaring an efficiency savings target, devising efficiency standards for appliances and the like, enacting national building codes and constructing combined heat and power plants could be viable ways to conform to the new standards, given the law's broad authority.

"There's absolutely precedent for it to be used in this way," said Sara Hayes, one of the report's authors as well as a senior manager and researcher at ACEEE.

If implemented, the measures would cut greenhouse gas emissions across the country by 26 percent below 2012 levels in 2030, saving 925 megawatt-hours of electricity and avoiding the need for 494 new power plants to the tune of $95 billion.

All the while, the push for energy efficiency would generate more than 600,000 new jobs and increase America's gross domestic product by $17.2 billion, according to the report. This would come at a cost of $47 billion in energy efficiency investments.

Energy Efficiency Is Described as the Most Cost-Effective Way of Meeting Future EPA Greenhouse Gas Targets