ACEEE research claims Florida could gain 135,000 jobs through more energy efficient policies

According to the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE), Florida could stand to gain an additional 135,000 jobs by embracing five new energy policies.

In 2017, Florida ranked fourth in the nation for efficiency jobs. To unlock the additional workforce potential, ACEEE identified the areas in which they believe Florida could improve, which includes everything from more efficient appliances and equipment to regular energy audits.

Specifically, and most importantly, the ACEEE noted that the state should set stronger energy savings goals for their utilities. By setting energy savings at a mere 1 percent per year, they said that alone could give the state more than 100,000 jobs. Beyond that, they also want to see state-level appliance standards, much like in California, to remove less efficient goods out of the market entirely.

Other policy change recommendations include greater use of combined heat and power (CHP) and an update to Florida’s building energy codes. Beyond this, the ACEEE noted that by benchmarking energy in major cities, Florida could reach savings up to to 14 percent. Florida already benchmarks a number of state-owned buildings, with the City of Orlando leading the way by benchmarking municipal buildings as well as large, privately owned commercial buildings. Helping large cities adopt similar policies can spur efficiency investments, the ACEEE said.