Energy efficiency was the largest energy resource. In 2012, alone, (the most recent year for which data is available) savings from energy efficiency was greater than the output from any other single fuel source - including coal, oil, nuclear and gas. Who knew?
We already knew from a recently released NRDC report that energy efficiency - stretching our energy dollars to do more with less-- is America's greatest energy resource And that despite it being our most productive and cost-effective resource, we keep forgetting it is a resource just like coal and oil but so much cleaner in terms of our air. (Efficiency isn't even included on the list of the "all of the above" energy strategies being discussed in most public discourse.) This isn't just an American phenomenon, but a global one that the IEA refers to as the "hidden fuel. hiding in plain sight."
Photo of thermal imaging showing energy loss by iied.org, under Creative Commons
The IEA report makes a number of other very eye-opening findings with regard to energy efficiency, including:
* There is a huge economic opportunity to do more globally, and we aren't even close to tapping it. Two-thirds of the economic potential to improve energy savings and cut its waste (in industry, transport, power generation and buildings) remains untapped in the period to 2035.
* Investments in energy efficiency (and remember, it costs less than any other resource) are comparable to renewables and fossil power generation investments - totaling $350 billion in 2012. But investments in energy efficiency are still less than two-thirds of the level of fossil fuel subsidies.
* There are tremendous benefits at stake. Efficiency measures implemented from 2005-2012 saved the energy equivalent of $620 billion worth of oil. Consumers in those 11 countries would have consumed (and paid for) two-thirds more energy than they currently use.
* Efficiency had a larger effect on restraining energy growth than any structural changes in the economy. Energy use between 1990 and 2012 increased by only 0.5% per year.
The report also found that effective policies (necessary because of fuel subsidies, high transaction costs, information failures and a lack of institutional capacity) had a great deal to do with stimulating the energy efficiency market. These policies include efficiency standards and labeling, access to energy-saving information and financing, and energy efficiency standards on utilities.
Given its vast untapped potential and enormous benefits, we should not allow the world's #1 fuel source to remain hidden anymore.
* The 11 countries IEA examined are: Australia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
California - Bill Gives CPUC Leeway to Restructure Utility Rates
A bill to promote greater use of renewable energy in California while allowing for changes in how consumers pay for electricity has been signed into law, Gov. Jerry Brown announced Monday.
The Democratic governor said in a signing message that AB327 will provide "comprehensive rate reform," but what that means will be determined by the California Public Utilities Commission.
The new law authorizes the PUC to restructure electricity rates while protecting low-income customers and encouraging greater use of renewable energy. The bill includes legal guarantees of rate discounts for low-income consumers that the commission must follow as it sets rates, but the bill's impact on the majority of ratepayers is unclear.
Mark Toney, executive director of The Utility Reform Network, a consumer advocacy group, said he expects the regulatory rate-setting process to take at least the next two years.
"We're pretty hopeful that the PUC will adopt something that's fair to consumers," he said.
For instance, he is confident that advocates can fight provisions that would allow the commission to charge ratepayers fees of up to $10 a month or change the tiers that generally limit costs for consumers who use less electricity. He also was satisfied with protections built into the law for low-income and residential consumers.
Assemblyman Henry Perea, D-Fresno, previously said his bill will let the state replace outdated regulations adopted during the state's energy crisis more than a decade ago.
The bill also makes it clear that California's goal of obtaining a third of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020 is a minimal requirement and not an upper limit — "a floor, not a ceiling," Brown said in his signing message. He said the measure will "maintain robust incentives for renewable energy investments."
Bernadette Del Chiaro, executive director of the California Solar Energy Industries Association, said in a statement that the bill should encourage more consumers to switch to solar energy.
Brown said in his signing message that he expects the utilities commission's pending rules to protect customers who previously paid for solar installations. The bill also allows for a new unlimited net energy metering program.
Net metering lets renewable energy producers turn their electricity meter backward as they contribute electricity to the system. Previous law limited the number of consumers who could take advantage of net metering to 5 percent of each utility's peak load.
Other portions of the bill address hold-over regulations from the energy crisis that brought rolling brownouts and high energy costs to California in 2000-2001 following an attempt to deregulate the electricity industry.
