NGA selects Minnesota, Tennessee to take part in energy, water conservation program

Minnesota and Tennessee will take part in a National Governors Association (NGA) program that aims to help state officials identify opportunities to achieve better water and energy efficiency.

Under the program, NGA will host regular policy summits that enable state officials to identify challenges, consult with experts, engage in conversations about opportunities to achieve water and energy savings, and generate a list of actionable steps.

“Coordinating state water and energy policies conserves limited resources and helps consumers save money,” an NGA release stated. “To lower the costs and environmental impacts associated with water treatment and use, states can adopt water management policies and programs that use energy more efficiently. Water efficiency programs can yield substantial energy savings and may do so at a lower cost than programs designed for energy efficiency alone.”

The pumping, treatment, and delivery of water accounts for approximately 13 percent of the country’s annual energy usage. Significant amounts of water is also required to extract, generate and transport energy, as well as to cool some nuclear power plants. That interconnected relationship is referred to as the “water-energy nexus.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s State Energy Program is funding the program. The NGA’s Environment, Energy and Transportation Division is administering the program.