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Energy Efficiency

Innovating to Save Energy - Efficiency and the Smart Grid

Most people would be outraged if the box of cereal they purchased was 90% air. But a typical incandescent bulb is 90% inefficient--only 10% of the energy used actually makes light. The rest is lost as unwanted heat and actually increases our need for air conditioning! But more efficient stereos, refrigerators, building material, and other products are replacing their energy-wasting predecessors. And new technology is available to transform our old power grid into a smart grid--one that is more reliable and can more efficiently manage and distribute energy. Not only do efficient technologies help the environment by lowering carbon emissions, they save money over their lifetimes.

Efficiency must be a critical piece of America's energy future. Efficiency can meet our energy demand more cleanly, quickly and cost-effectively than any other available supply option. And it offers a bridge between the conventional fossil fuel-based power of today and the clean power of tomorrow. What do we need to do to become more energy efficient?

Our Approach
Domestic: The Energy Future Coalition wants to change the way utilities are regulated to make energy efficiency the first fuel of choice in the U.S. We are forming a Task Force of commercial and industrial energy users, electric utilities, banks, labor unions, and non-profit groups.

International: The Coalition's parent organization, the United Nations Foundation, recently released a report by a distinguished group of energy efficiency experts on how to improve efficiency in G8 and major developing countries. It said industrialized countries could double their rate of improvement in energy efficiency. Click here to access the report.

U.S. Objectives
Intelligent Utility Regulation: Currently, utilities make their money by building power plants and selling electricity. This policy, which does not reward efficiency, unnecessarily burdens ratepayers and contributes to environmental problems associated with energy use. Meanwhile, utilities are finding it increasingly difficult to build new power plants. The U.S. should implement proven policies that provide incentives for utilities to promote efficiency.

Modernize the Electricity Grid: The U.S. power grid--our system for moving electricity from power plants to homes and offices--needs to be digitized and modernized. Not only does the existing infrastructure leak energy, but the Northeast blackout of 2003 showed that it is extremely fragile. Similarly, the grid is not equipped to support distributed energy (like wind and solar power) and advanced technology that will help manage energy use. Revamping the grid should be a national priority to enhance its security and reduce efficiency losses. National, state, and local policies can bring about a secure, efficient, and intelligent digital grid.

Priorities
Our goal is to double the rate of energy efficiency improvements within five years and modernize the grid within ten years. By investing in efficiency, we will gain an energy supply resource that is clean, cost-effective, and homegrown.

Recommendation #1: Modernize the U.S. electric power grid--from the point where energy is made to where it is used--to reduce energy loss, improve security and reliability, facilitate better electrical load management, and enable smart sensing, metering, and monitoring technology.

Recommendation #2: Flip the existing incentive structure for regulated utilities to reward them for generating energy savings rather than for constructing new energy supply. Making efficiency profitable will unlock the creativity and power of the private sector to implement existing efficiency plans more aggressively and to develop innovative new approaches.

Recommendation #3: Encourage the passage of pro-efficiency legislation, such as strong building codes or appliance efficiency standards either at the national or state level. For example:

  • Investment incentives: Federal co-funding for state, utility spending on energy efficiency above a per-capita minimum; estimated cost $1.8 billion/year.
  • Expand Energy Star: Increase the budget to $120 million and expand the products covered.
  • Efficiency training: Training program for building industry and industrial energy managers.

By adopting these recommendations, we can save 225 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and $15 billion on energy bills.

 

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