EFFICIENCY WILL RAISE THE SOUTH

Study: Energy efficiency could boost South
Greg Blustein, August 24, 2009 (AP via Houston Chronicle)

"An aggressive strategy to replace aging equipment with more energy efficient products throughout the South would reduce the need to build more coal-fired power plants in the region through 2020, according to a Georgia Tech study…

"Advocates are taking [Meta-Review of Efficiency Potential Studies and Their Implications for the South], funded by the Energy Foundation and the Turner Foundation, to state legislators and regulatory agencies hoping it will bolster their calls for more incentives for energy efficient products as an alternative to new power plants…"

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"The study distilled 19 separate reports published across the region over the past 12 years. It found that better use of energy-efficient products could bring consumption 9 percent below the levels now projected for 2020…It found that the South has been one of the last regions in the country to embrace energy efficiency programs and to foster a culture where consumers value energy efficiency…[and that] the South — which it defines as a 16-state area that extends from Texas to Maryland — accounts for 44 percent of the nation's total energy consumption…[while] the region's population share…[is] around 37 percent.

"The brunt of the energy efficiency upgrades would take place in the private sector. It advocates homeowners and contractors to install heat pumps along with efficient window treatments and insulation… the commercial sector to embrace new lighting standards and more efficient cooling systems…[and industry to replace] aging boilers and burners…[with] newer and more efficient versions."

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"The technology to make the changes already exists…[but will require] a host of more aggressive incentives to prod residents and business owners into action…[Southern] leaders have not yet show the "visionary investment" such as tax breaks and subsidies that other parts of the country have enjoyed.

"Environmental advocates are already using the report's findings to push for those changes. A group met with utility executives a few weeks ago…[and are meeting] with lawmakers and regulatory agencies…The challenge, though, will be proving that policy encouraging more efficiency can pay economic dividends…"