Energy efficiency critical to reducing cost in decarbonized grid, reports says
As the country moves toward a clean energy economy, the efficient use of electricity will be a critical component to reducing costs, averting blackouts and cutting pollution, a new report says.
According to the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy’s (ACEEE) latest report on five U.S. grid regions (California, Texas, the Pacific Northwest, the Southeast, and the Midwest), as the grid decarbonizes, energy efficiency upgrades can reduce consumer costs by $10 to $19 billion annually per region by 2050.
“Energy efficiency will be crucial in a future with much more renewable energy. Efficiency becomes more important for reducing costs the more the electric grid decarbonizes because it offsets projected escalating costs of fossil fuels and carbon capture in the future,” Mike Specian, utility program manager at ACEEE and lead author of the report, said.
ACEEE’s study looked at the impact of a package of energy efficient measures applied to all commercial and residential buildings in a 95 percent decarbonized power grid and modeled the cost savings by 2030 and by 2050. The study found savings ranged between $4.3 billion in the Pacific Northwest to $8.7 billion in the Midwest by 2030, and between $9.5 billion in the Pacific Northwest to $19.5 billion in Texas by 2050.
Energy efficiency improvements in the model also minimized the remaining greenhouse gas emissions, the report found, by reducing the need for fossil fuel plants coming online to meet demand during peak demand periods. The report found that under the 95 percent decarbonized power in 2050, energy efficiency can cut fossil fuel generation by more than two thirds in most regions.
