At a value of US$310 billion per year and growing, energy efficiency is an “invisible powerhouse” that saves more energy than the United States and Germany consumed in 2012, the International Agency reported last week.
“Energy efficiency is the invisible powerhouse in IEA countries and beyond, working behind the scenes to improve our energy security, lower our energy bills, and move us closer to reaching our climate goals,” said IEA Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven. The second edition of the IEA’s Energy Efficiency Market Report showed that efficiency measures saved 1.7 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (Mtoe) across 18 IEA countries, reducing energy end use 5% between 2001 and 2011 while boosting energy productivity.
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“Previous IEA analysis has shown that energy efficiency is not just a hidden fuel but is also the ‘first fuel’ in the IEA’s largest economies,” GLOBE-Net reports. “This year’s report shows that energy efficiency investments over the past four decades have avoided more energy consumption than the total final consumption of the EU in 2011.”
