Even with renewable energy costs plummeting, energy efficiency is still the least expensive source of energy services in the United States.
That’s the conclusion the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy reaches in a recent commentary, responding to a renewables cost assessment by the financial advisory firm Lazard.
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Although costs vary by region, “ACEEE research published this summer shows that energy efficiency programs cost utilities, on average, about 3.1 cents per kilowatt-hour nationally,” writes ACEEE Senior Director for Policy Maggie Molina. “The average cost of efficiency to utilities is still generally less than that of wind or utility-scale solar. And overall, energy efficiency and clean energy continue to come in at a lower cost per kilowatt hour than more traditional resources.”
A cost chart accompanying Molina’s post shows efficiency with the lowest average cost, followed by wind, utility-scale photovoltaics, combined cycle natural gas, coal, and community solar PVs. Nuclear electricity shows up as the most expensive option.
On top of the cost savings in ACEEE’s analysis, “efficiency also delivers a host of other benefits,” Molina writes. “It improves electricity grid reliability and resilience, can target savings where and when needed the most, creates jobs, spurs other economic development, reduces customer utility bills, makes homes and buildings more comfortable, and reduces harmful pollution.” She adds that U.S. energy efficiency investments since 1990 “have helped us avoid building the equivalent of 313 large power plants and have delivered cumulative savings of nearly US$790 billion to customers nationwide.”
I’ll read articles and pass them on
Thanks, David!
Who writes this stuff? If anyone is a scientist/engineer, he/she knows that efficiency is an important design consideration everywhere.
And, such an knowledgeable person knows that energy efficiency has a hard limit at 100%.
So, for instance, solar PV is extremely inefficient, wasting ~80% of sunlight as heat and infrared radiation from each panel & cell. This has direct environmental & kWHr cost impacts and is solely because PV is presently an unregulated free for all based on unit cost, unlike other energy-related products.
As a bigger ‘for instance’ consider California’s great per-capita electricity reductions after the OPEC embargo — Art Rosenfeld (CEC head) achieved legislated results that halved our watt-hour/capita consumption. And, our per-capita use became flat. To achieve another halving , however, is nigh impossible.
Efficiency is important, but possible improvements diminish.