NRDC credits energy efficiency for energy sector success

October 10, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

The United States has found so many innovative ways to save energy that the nation has more than doubled its economic productivity from oil, natural gas, and electricity over the past 40 years, according to a new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). This means energy efficiency has contributed more to meeting America's needs than all other resources combined, NRDC contends.

"Although the nation's energy news has trended from bad to worse for decades, we've seen a remarkable turnaround, much of it due to the huge and inexpensive resource of energy efficiency -- getting more out of every energy dollar," said Ralph Cavanagh, NRDC co-director of the energy program. U.S. energy use in 2012 was below the 1999 level even though the economy grew by more than 25 percent during that period. As a result of national energy-efficiency measures, factories and businesses are producing substantially more products and value with less energy, the amount of gasoline per mile driven is down, and the cost of all energy services (from lighting to refrigeration) also has decreased, according to NRDC.

The report notes that since 2000, for the first time in modern history, the rate of growth in electricity use has dropped well below the rate of population growth. Further, the amount of oil used in U.S. vehicles, homes, and businesses continued an extended decline last year, down 14 percent from its 2005 peak and also lower than in 1973 (when the nation's economy was only about one-third its current size).

Also according to the report, U.S. coal use in 2012 was less than in 1985 and down almost one-fourth from the 2005 peak year, reflecting a shift away from coal-burning power plants while natural gas increased its market share to above 30 percent of electricity generation in 2012. U.S. nuclear generation has flattened, with market share dropping below 19 percent of total electric generation in 2012, and total nuclear power production down almost 5 percent from its peak five years earlier.

Energy efficiency standards and financial incentives, underwritten mostly by the utility industry, have dramatically reduced both the energy intensity and costs of energy, according to the report. The report also notes that additional investments in efficiency could cut U.S. energy consumption by 23 percent by 2020, save customers nearly $700 billion.

For more:
- see this report

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/nrdc-credits-energy-efficiency-energy-sector-success/2013-10-10