New Energy Future News

HARRISBURG—Pennsylvania businesses and consumers could save over $5 billion in energy costs and dramatically reduce harmful air emissions if the state were to enact minimum energy efficiency standards for 15 available residential and commercial products, according to a new report released today by PennEnvironment.

The report, Energy Efficiency Standards: A Low-Cost, High Leverage Policy for Northeast States, was co-authored by Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. (NEEP) and the Appliance Standards Awareness Project (ASAP), both of Massachusetts. Joining PennEnvironment to release the report were State Reps. Ellen Bard (R-Montgomery) and Carole Rubley (R-Chester and Montgomery).

"With the state's looming budget deficit, and thousands of Pennsylvanians feeling the effects of air pollution through asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, energy efficiency standards should be a no-brainer," said Nathan Willcox, Energy and Clean Air Associate for PennEnvironment. "These standards use existing technologies to do the same amount of work while using less energy-providing businesses and consumers with billions of dollars in savings, and providing us all with cleaner air to breathe down the road."

"This report reiterates the need for Pennsylvania to take an aggressive role in adopting and implementing energy policy," said Rep. Ellen M. Bard (R-153), who chaired the Task Force for 21st Century Energy Policy for Pennsylvania. "Increasing appliance and building efficiency in state buildings and school buildings, as proposed in the package of legislation implementing Task Force recommendations, would go a long way toward reaching our goals of making Pennsylvania a leader in state energy policy."

"The importance of energy efficiency programs cannot be underestimated," said Rep. Carole Rubley (R-157). "Earlier this year, I introduced new Green Buildings legislation, which would promote energy efficient appliances and also promote the use of energy efficient technologies in buildings."

"When we talk about minimum energy efficiency standards, we're not talking about products that are still in development; we're talking about products that are available today, providing consumers with considerable savings," explained Isaac Elnecave, manager of the Northeast States Energy Efficiency Standards Project. "By enacting minimum efficiency standards, Pennsylvania would help bring those savings to all of its businesses and consumers."

"Further," Elnecave noted, "minimum energy efficiency standards will help ensure the reliability of the state's energy supply by lowering energy use. And, by virtue of the need to generate less energy, fewer harmful chemicals - such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxides - will be emitted by power plants, helping to slow global warming and improve air quality."

If Pennsylvania were to enact minimum energy efficiency standards for the identified residential and commercial use products, the state would accomplish the following by 2020:

· Conserve the equivalent of 11 percent of the energy used by Pennsylvania households in 2000, or nearly 96 trillion BTUs of energy.

· Save consumers and businesses $5 billion.

· Reduce the projected growth in peak energy demand by over 4,300 megawatts-equal to 11 percent of the Commonwealth's 1999 in-state generating capacity.

· Reduce carbon emissions by 1,349,184 metric tons-the equivalent of removing over 1 million cars from the road. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming, and Pennsylvania is currently responsible for one percent of the world's annual greenhouse gas emissions.

· Reduce emissions of nitrogen oxides by 1,576 metric tons and sulfur dioxide emissions by 6,836 metric tons. Nitrogen oxides are the main ingredient in ground level ozone, or 'smog,' and sulfur dioxide causes acid rain, which damages our forests and rivers.

"Following the prompting of several states throughout the 1970s and '80s, federal energy efficiency standards were established in 1987 through the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act. In the years since, however, the federal standards program has missed opportunities by failing to keep up with technological progress," noted Nathan Willcox of PennEnvironment. "But now, more states are once again taking the lead in efficiency standards. They recognize that standards can save consumers money while also enhancing the reliability of the region's energy system and improving the environment," he explained.

"With recent volatile world events, standards can also help states achieve a measure of independence from foreign energy sources," Willcox added. "Energy policy is prominent once again, and enacting minimum energy efficiency standards can help Pennsylvania lead the way."

Included among the residential product types identified in the report are: central air conditioners and heat pumps; ceiling fans; consumer electronics; furnace fans; and torchiere lamps. Included among the commercial product types identified in the report are: beverage vending machines; building voltage transformers; coin-operated clothes washers; exit signs; ice makers; packaged air conditioners and heat pumps; refrigerators and freezers; traffic signals; and unit and duct heaters. These products were chosen because they are either not covered under the federal efficiency standards program, or they are subject to more stringent state-level standards.

In addition to identifying the economic, energy and environmental savings available through minimum efficiency standards, the report also recommends that Pennsylvania:

- Adopt a set of standards for 10 of the identified products types - none of which is preempted by federal law - either through legislation or administrative proceedings.

- Upgrade Pennsylvania's commercial building energy code to apply the standards to products that are installed during construction (e.g., exit signs).

- Establish state procurement specifications for targeted products.

A full-copy of the standards report is available at the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships Web site, www.neep.org/standards.

PennEnvironment is a statewide environmental advocacy organization with more than 10,000 members across Pennsylvania. Founded in 1996, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, Inc. is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to steadily increase energy efficiency in homes, buildings and industry throughout the Northeast region of the United States.