September 24, 2020
New and expanded policies to improve the energy efficiency of homes and buildings in North Carolina over the next two decades could restore jobs while saving $5.9 billion in electricity costs—equivalent to $565 for each state resident—according to a report released Wednesday by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE).
With extensive participation and contributions by NCBPA and our Member partners, the new report shows how the state’s executive branch, legislature, utilities commission, and utilities can expand efficiency investments and policies to support economic recovery while helping ratepayers and protecting the climate. The measures analyzed in the report could trim the state’s growing electricity needs by nearly one-fifth by 2040.
The report finds that a suite of energy efficiency policies and programs, based on stakeholder-driven recommendations, such as those in the North Carolina Energy Efficiency Roadmap and the state’s Clean Energy Plan, would do the following:
- Reduce air pollution from power plants that contributes to heart attacks and respiratory illnesses, cumulatively averting $300-700 million in health harms, based on avoided deaths, hospital admissions, and lost work productivity.
- Produce $2.30 in benefits to residents and businesses, on average, for every dollar invested.
- Reduce electricity costs for households and business by $5.9 billion (net of costs) over the lifetime of efficiency measures instituted through 2040.
