Concord, NH—A new national report shows that New Hampshire households would save an average of $377 per year and 2,900 sustainable jobs would be created in the state over the next ten years if Congress acts now to include strong energy efficiency improvements in energy and climate legislation. The report, entitled Energy Efficiency in the American Clean Energy Security Act of 2009: Impacts of Current Provisions and Opportunities to Enhance the Legislation, was released by Environment New Hampshire and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE). The efficiency provisions would prevent 3 million metric tons of global warming emissions in New Hampshire alone, the equivalent of removing the pollution from 550,000 cars from the road for a year.
"Americans know that energy efficiency is the cleanest, quickest, cheapest way of reducing our energy use and pollution," stated Environment New Hampshire’s Program Associate Jessica O’Hare. "These common sense solutions will put cash back in our pockets and help protect the air we breathe, the water we drink and the future of the planet."
"It’s time to harness the power of American ingenuity to put thousands of people back to work and save businesses and consumers money on their energy bills every year in New Hampshire," said Rep. Suzanne Harvey. "By supporting stronger energy efficiency components as part of energy and climate legislation, our senators can bring big economic results when their constituents need them most."
The report also found that energy efficiency policies from the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 (ACES), which passed the House of Representatives in June, would create 1,700 new jobs, save the average household $231 a year, and reduce annual carbon emissions by 1.6 million tons in New Hampshire by 2020. Environment New Hampshire was joined by Rep. Suzanne Harvey, Building Energy Technologies and KW Management, Inc. in releasing this report.
"Many of the employment opportunities that will be created through the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 will provide NH residents with a livable wage and job skills that will keep them employed for years to come," said Tiler Eaton of IBEW Local 104.
Andy Duncan, co-owner of Building Energy Technologies, LLC also understands the clean energy economy benefits: "The ACES bill with enhanced energy efficiency has triple benefits: it will put more people back to work, save money on energy bills, and reduce New Hampshire’s carbon footprint," Duncan stated.
Mark Weissflog of KW Management, based in Concord, considers the economic potential of energy efficiency essential. "While we have seen first hand the results of the current economic down turn, KW Management Inc. believes that the creation and retention of new jobs is critical to our economic stability and growth in New Hampshire," said Weissflog. "We well understand the need to promote Conservation and energy efficiency while providing consumers the next step—Renewables."
ACEEE’s report called for policy improvements which would generate more than 569,000 clean energy jobs and save the average household $283 per year nationwide by 2020. These policy improvements would result in 48 percent more jobs and 32 percent more consumer savings than the efficiency measures in the House passed bill. In addition, these improvements would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 480 million metric tons in 2020, equivalent to taking over 87 million cars off the road for a year.
One example of actual energy savings and pollution reduction can be seen in the Capozzoli home in Sunapee, NH. After Building Energy Technologies LLC weatherized their home, the Capozzoli’s heating bills went down by 60 percent. "Their home was much more livable in the winter and their family’s carbon footprint got much smaller," said Andy Duncan, co-owner of Building Energy Technologies, LLC.
New Hampshire’s U.S. Senators can maximize economic benefits to consumers by:
•Supporting a strengthened Energy Efficiency Resource Standard (EERS) requiring utility companies to reduce their energy usage by at least 10 percent by providing incentives and assistance to help customers make their homes and businesses more energy-efficient (ACESA included a 5% EERS with an optional 3% increase).
•Modeling electric utility allocation on that of the natural gas utility allocation in ACES, by requiring that one-third be used for energy efficiency improvements.
•Extending the allocation of carbon allowance revenue to the State Energy and Environmental Development (SEED) provision.
"While the House bill is a critical first step in harnessing the power of energy efficiency, this report shows we can save even more money, create more jobs and reduce more pollution," said O’Hare. "Senators Shaheen and Gregg should lead the fight for common sense energy efficiency policies and jumpstart the transition to a clean energy economy."
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Environment New Hampshire (www.environentnewhamsphire.org) is a state-based, citizen-funded environmental organization working for clean air, clean water, and open space.
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient America (ACEEE) is a nonprofit research organization
dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting economic prosperity, energy
security, and environmental protection. For more information, see http://www.aceee.org.
