CONCORD - The New Hampshire State Senate passed a landmark
bill today establishing minimum energy efficiency standards for new products
that include heating, lighting, and refrigeration.
"The quickest, cheapest
and cleanest way to get smart about energy use and cut down on high energy
costs is through energy efficiency," said Erika Staaf, Advocate for Environment
New Hampshire. "This bill will force
everyday items to use less energy than they do now, and we are thrilled to see
support for it in the New Hampshire Senate."
Senate Bill 259, which
passed unanimously through the Senate Energy, Environment, and Economic
Development Committee last December, speeds up the availability and use of
energy efficient products.
Sponsored by Sen. Martha
Fuller Clark, Rep. David Borden and Rep. Jacqueline Cali-Pitts, the bill will
save consumers, businesses, schools and the state government over $200 million
by 2020 and will avoid over 35,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions, the
state’s largest contributor to global warming.
New England states Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut,
along with seven other states across the country have passed minimum efficiency
standards for appliances in previous years.
The bill will now move to
the House for consideration.
"This legislation helps us
reduce the demand on old, dirty power plants, curbing air pollution from their
smokestacks and avoiding the need for more power plants," said Staaf. "We look
forward to working with the House on this important bill in coming months."
