ACEEE Issues 3rd Annual Energy Efficiency Scorecard
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has issued its 2009 State Energy Efficiency Scorecard. And the winner is... CALIFORNIA. California came in first place again this year. Out of a possible 50 points, California received 44.5 (the only state with over 40 points). The top five were California, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon and New York. The most improved state was Delaware which rose 12 places from 2008 to 20th place. Other "most improved" states included Maine (10th place, up 9 places), Colorado (16th place, up 8 places), District of Columbia (20th place, up 10 places), South Dakota (36th place, up 11 places) and Tennessee (38 place, up 8 places). It is not surprising that most of the top 10 states (all but Minnesota and New York (is New York part of New England?)) are either west coast or New England states since these states have focused on energy efficiency due to high electric costs, customer/public interest and population density.
The report focuses on utility efficiency programs, transportation efficiency policies and building energy codes. The rankings are heavily weighted towards programs and policies with 20 of the 50 points being awarded to that category. For Programs and Policies, Vermont was ranked No.1. Vermont spends 3.4% of utility revenues on energy efficiency programs which is the highest in the country.
