Shaheen-Portman amendment gets ACEEE endorsement

September 24, 2013 | By Barbara Vergetis Lundin

An amendment to the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (Shaheen-Portman), the State Energy Race to the Top Initiative, has been ranked #1 in cost-benefit to the taxpayers and #2 in terms of potential cost savings for consumers, according to a new analysis of the Shaheen-Portman legislation and its related amendments conducted by the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE).

The initiative incorporates a national goal of doubling the productivity of U.S. electricity use by 2030, encouraging new approaches to energy productivity through a voluntary program for states and localities. Originally offered as stand-alone legislation in June 2013, the amendment strengthens the goals of the Shaheen/Portman legislation by responsibly leveraging limited federal funds without imposing a single new mandate.

The State Energy Race to the Top initiative was triggered by research indicating that the United States currently wastes more energy than it uses. In fact, 57 percent is wasted as heat, noise, and leaks, costing U.S. businesses and households an estimated $130 billion per year, according to the Alliance to Save Energy, which recommended creating, funding and implementing an energy productivity competition for states in its Energy 2030 recommendations.

The amendment seeks to cut in half the energy wasted by our homes and businesses over the next 20 years and would establish a competitive program of voluntary federal incentives to encourage states to adopt strategies to improve energy productivity and help lower energy bills for consumers, create jobs and increase American economic competitiveness. The states with the best ideas to create jobs and lower energy bills by constructing more efficient buildings, retrofitting existing structures, upgrading inefficient appliances and other energy productivity measures would receive federal support to help make it happen.

ACEEE's analysis of Shaheen/Portman amendments concludes that every $1 invested in the Race to the Top Initiative would return $8.40 in energy savings. In addition, ACEEE estimated that the amendment would result in a cumulative reduction of CO2 emissions equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions from nearly 20 coal-fired power plants.

For more:
- see the report

http://www.fierceenergy.com/story/shaheen-portman-amendment-gets-aceee-endorsement/2013-09-24